Consent Doing vs. Consent To Do
Oxford documents both consent to something and consent to do. That distinction explains why an -ing form can follow prepositional “to” while the direct action pattern uses the to-infinitive.
Use “consent to do” when someone agrees to perform an action. In “consent to doing,” the **to** is a preposition and the -ing form names the thing consent is given to; bare “consent doing” is not the standard pattern.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| agree to perform an action | consent to + base verb | Use the to-infinitive for the action the subject agrees to perform. |
| give agreement to an activity or proposal treated as a thing | consent to + noun/-ing | Here “to” is a preposition, so an -ing form can follow. |
| direct bare -ing complement without “to” | consent doing | Do not use this as the standard complement pattern. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Is the subject agreeing to perform the following action?
If yes: Use “consent to do.”
If no: If the action is treated as the object of prepositional “to,” “consent to doing” can occur; bare “consent doing” is not the standard pattern.
Caveat: “Consent to do” and “consent to doing” have different grammatical structures. Do not collapse them into a simple infinitive-versus-gerund preference.
Examples
She consented to participate in the interview.
The to-infinitive names the action she agreed to perform.
They consented to the recording of the session.
A noun phrase follows prepositional “to.”
He consented to sharing the document with the group.
The -ing phrase functions after prepositional “to.”
Further guidance
Decision
Distinguish infinitival “to” in “consent to do” from prepositional “to” in “consent to doing”; do not omit the preposition before the gerund.
Prepositional To
In consent to + noun/-ing, “to” is a preposition introducing the matter or activity being agreed to.
To Infinitive
Use consent + to-infinitive when someone agrees to perform the following action.
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.
- consent — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries · Consent to something and consent to do; prepositional to before noun/-ing complements
- Verb patterns: verb + infinitive or verb + -ing? (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Verb-complement patterns, including verbs taking -ing, to-infinitive, or both with meaning differences