Condemn Someone To Do vs. Condemn Someone To Something

Key details

Confusion Familyverb complement choice

Rule Familyverb complement licensing

TermsCondemn Someone To Do, Condemn Someone To Something

Choose the right form

Decision table for Condemn Someone To Do vs. Condemn Someone To Something
Meaning / situation	Form / construction	Decision
impose an action as punishment or unavoidable result	condemn + person + to + verb	Use the documented to-infinitive pattern.
cause someone to suffer a condition, fate, or punishment	condemn + person + to + noun phrase	Use the documented noun-complement pattern.

Quick tests

Meaning / construction test

Does the complement name an action the person is forced or destined to perform?

If yes: Use “condemn someone to” + verb.

If no: If the complement names a condition, fate, or punishment as a noun phrase, use “condemn someone to” + that noun phrase.

Caveat: The two documented patterns have different complement structures; this guide does not create a third “condemn someone to doing” equivalent.

Examples

Example

The ruling condemned him to spend years away from home.

The infinitive names the imposed action.

Example

The failure condemned the project to months of delay.

A noun phrase names the resulting condition.

Example

Poor planning can condemn a team to repeated rework.

The noun phrase describes the adverse situation.

Further guidance

Boundary

The two to-patterns have different complement structures and can carry different senses. This guide does not infer condemn someone to doing as a third equivalent pattern.

Construction

Cambridge separately documents condemn someone to (do) something for imposing a punishment and condemn someone to something for causing someone to suffer a particular situation.

Decision

Choose the directly documented pattern that matches the complement: condemn someone to do something for an imposed action, or condemn someone to something for a noun phrase describing the punishment or condition.

Sources and evidence

Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.

condemn someone to (do) something (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press & Assessment · Preferred lexical authority directly documenting condemn someone to (do) something.
condemn someone to something (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press & Assessment · Preferred lexical authority directly documenting condemn someone to something.

Related guides

English Usage

Accustom Yourself To Doing vs. Accustom Yourself To Do

Cambridge directly gives accustom yourself to followed by an -ing form for becoming familiar with new conditions. The to belongs to the prepositional construction accustom yourself to something; do not infer an equivalent to-infinitive from the surface word to.

English Usage

Apply Yourself To Doing vs. Apply Yourself To Do

Oxford documents apply yourself to (doing) something for working hard and attentively at a task. This apply-yourself construction takes prepositional to; other senses of apply use different complements and should not be merged into this pattern.

English Usage

Be Busy Doing vs. Busy To Do

Cambridge directly documents busy + -ing for being occupied with an activity, and separately documents too busy to do something. Busy doing and too busy to do are different constructions with different meanings. Do not treat bare busy to do as a direct alternative to busy doing.

English Usage

Be Capable Of Doing vs. Capable To Do

Cambridge directly documents capable of something/doing something for having the ability, power, or qualities needed to do something. The documented adjective complement is capable of + noun or -ing form; do not replace the prepositional complement with capable to + infinitive on the basis of meaning alone.

English Usage

Be Good At Doing vs. Good To Do

Cambridge directly documents be good at something/doing something for being skilled or successful at an activity. Good to + infinitive can occur in other constructions and meanings, but it is not a substitute for the documented skill construction be good at + -ing.

English Usage

Be Reduced To Doing vs. Be Reduced To Do

Oxford directly documents reduce somebody/something to (doing) something, usually in the passive, for being forced into a worse state or action. Here to introduces the resulting state or activity; the authority does not establish an equivalent be reduced to + bare infinitive pattern.

Explore the topic

Grammar Verb Forms