Drive Someone Into Doing vs. Drive Someone To Do
Oxford directly documents “drive somebody to do something” for forcing or causing someone to act in a particular way. The cited causative sense directly supports object + to-infinitive; physical drive + object + into a place is a different construction and does not license an inferred into + -ing complement here.
Use “drive someone to do” for the directly documented causative pattern; do not infer “drive someone into doing” from unrelated physical into constructions.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| pressure or circumstances cause someone to act | drive someone to do something | Use object + to-infinitive for the directly documented causative sense. |
| a vehicle or person is moved into a physical place | drive someone/something into + place | This is a different physical construction. |
| into + -ing is proposed as if it were licensed by the physical construction | do not infer drive someone into doing | The reviewed causative entry supports “to do,” not that inferred pattern. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Does “drive” mean cause or force someone to take an action?
If yes: Use “drive someone to do …”.
If no: If “into” names a physical destination, treat that as a different construction; do not use it as evidence for an into + -ing causative pattern.
Caveat: The evidence distinguishes the causative “drive someone to do” pattern from unrelated physical “drive … into” constructions.
Examples
The delays drove the team to revise the schedule.
The causative sense uses object + to-infinitive.
Fear drove him to leave early.
The sentence uses the directly documented causative pattern.
She drove the car into the garage.
Here “into” introduces a physical destination, not an -ing action complement.
Further guidance
Boundary
The cited causative sense directly supports object + to-infinitive; physical drive + object + into a place is a different construction and does not license an inferred into + -ing complement here.
Construction
Oxford directly documents “drive somebody to do something” for forcing or causing someone to act in a particular way.
Decision
Use “drive someone to do” for the directly documented causative pattern; do not infer “drive someone into doing” from unrelated physical into constructions.
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.
- drive — Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries (opens in a new tab)Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries · Direct construction evidence for drive somebody to do something in the causative sense