Encourage Someone To Do vs. Encourage Doing
Both patterns are standard. Encourage + person + to-infinitive names the person being persuaded or supported; encourage + -ing presents the activity itself as something promoted or made more likely.
Use “encourage someone to do something” when the person is explicit. Use “encourage doing something” when the activity itself is the focus and no person object is required.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| the person being supported or persuaded is named | encourage + person + to-infinitive | Use the object + to-do pattern. |
| the activity itself is promoted or made more likely | encourage + -ing | Use the -ing pattern without requiring a person object. |
| both participant and activity matter | choose the pattern that keeps the important information explicit | The two standard constructions differ mainly in what is foregrounded. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Do you need to name the person who is being encouraged?
If yes: Use “encourage + person + to-infinitive.”
If no: If the activity itself is the focus, use “encourage + -ing.”
Caveat: Both constructions are standard in the reviewed source. Choose according to whether the participant or the activity needs to be foregrounded.
Examples
The teacher encouraged the students to ask questions.
The students are the explicit people being encouraged.
The policy encourages cycling for short local journeys.
The activity itself is presented as something promoted.
Signs encouraged visitors to use the stairs.
The object identifies the people, followed by the to-infinitive action.
Further guidance
Boundary
The two constructions can describe similar policies or intentions, but they are not mechanically interchangeable because one contains an explicit person object and the other need not.
Construction
Oxford documents both encourage somebody to do something and encourage (doing) something.
Decision
Choose the object + to-infinitive pattern for a named participant and the -ing pattern when the promoted behaviour or activity is the direct focus.
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.
- encourage — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries · Encourage + object + to-infinitive and encourage (doing) something