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.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
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
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familyverb-complement and object pattern
TermsEncourage Someone To Do, Encourage Doing
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.
Oxford directly documents “argue somebody into doing something” for persuading somebody by giving reasons. The cited construction evidence directly supports into + -ing; it does not license “argue someone to do” as an equivalent complement pattern.
When ask means request an action from a person, Cambridge documents ask + person + to-infinitive. Bare “ask doing” is not the ordinary request complement for that meaning.
Cambridge directly documents both badger + object + into + -ing and badger + object + to-infinitive for repeated pressure or requests that push someone toward an action. The verb also covers repeated questioning, so context must show whether the sentence is about persistent persuasion or interrogation rather than assuming every use names a requested action.
Cambridge directly illustrates bamboozle + object + into + -ing for deceiving someone so that the person takes an action. The cited entry does not establish bamboozle + object + to-infinitive as an equally documented alternative, so this guide does not manufacture a two-way rule.
Cambridge explicitly documents beg + object + to-infinitive for an urgent request and also records beg for + noun and other request patterns. A following -ing form may appear elsewhere in a sentence, but it is not the ordinary replacement for the documented object + to-infinitive request construction.
Cambridge gives direct evidence for beguile someone into doing something in the literary persuade/attract/deceive sense. The cited entry supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish beguile + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this meaning.
