Dedicate Yourself To Doing vs. Dedicate Yourself To Do

Key details

Confusion Familyverb complement choice

Rule Familyverb complement licensing

TermsDedicate Yourself To Doing, Dedicate Yourself To Do

Choose the right form

Decision table for Dedicate Yourself To Doing vs. Dedicate Yourself To Do
Meaning / situation	Form / construction	Decision
the complement names an activity receiving sustained effort	dedicate yourself to doing something	Use prepositional “to” + -ing.
the complement is a noun or cause	dedicate yourself to + noun	The preposition can introduce a noun.
the -ing activity is replaced by a direct to-infinitive	do not make that substitution	Here “to” is a preposition, not an infinitive marker.

Quick tests

Meaning / construction test

Does the phrase mean commit your time or effort to an activity?

If yes: Use “dedicate yourself to doing …”.

If no: Use “dedicate yourself to + noun” when a noun names the cause, task, or purpose.

Caveat: In this construction, “to” is a preposition. Its presence does not make the following verb a to-infinitive.

Examples

Example

She dedicated herself to improving the archive.

The activity follows prepositional “to” as an -ing form.

Example

He dedicated himself to the project.

A noun can follow the same preposition.

Example

They dedicated themselves to helping new staff.

The -ing activity names the sustained effort.

Further guidance

Boundary

The construction uses prepositional to before an activity; do not replace it with a to-infinitive simply because both contain the word to.

Construction

Oxford documents dedicate yourself to doing something for giving substantial time or effort to a purpose or activity.

Decision

Use dedicate yourself to + -ing when the complement names the activity.

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.

dedicate (opens in a new tab)Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries · Preferred lexical authority directly documenting dedicate yourself to doing 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