Oxford distinguishes hesitate + to-infinitive from hesitate about/over + -ing. The gerund is licensed by the preposition, so the two patterns should not be collapsed into a bare gerund-versus-infinitive choice.
ReviewedEvidence2 sourcesSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Use “hesitate to do” when you are reluctant or uncertain about performing an action. Use “hesitate about/over doing” when the -ing form follows the preposition; bare “hesitate doing” is not the same construction.
Key details
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familyverb complement pattern
TermsHesitate Doing, Hesitate To Do
Further guidance
Decision
Keep the preposition with the gerund; bare “hesitate doing” is not the like-for-like alternative.
Preposition Pattern
Use hesitate about/over + -ing when the action is the object of the preposition.
To Infinitive
Use hesitate + to-infinitive for reluctance or uncertainty about performing 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.
Cambridge documents both admit + -ing and admit to + -ing for acknowledging something. Other passive patterns such as “be admitted to be” are separate constructions.
Both patterns are standard. “Advise waiting” recommends an action generally or in context, while “advise him to wait” names the person who is advised to perform it. A that-clause is another standard option.
When “afford” is followed directly by another verb, standard learner references use a to-infinitive: “afford to do.” An -ing form can appear elsewhere in a sentence, but it is not a like-for-like direct complement after “afford.”
“Agree to do” expresses consent to take an action. An -ing form normally follows a preposition in patterns such as “agree with doing,” which expresses approval rather than the direct promise-to-act construction.
Cambridge documents aim + to-infinitive for intention and aim at for directing effort toward an objective. Do not omit the preposition and present bare “aim doing” as equivalent to “aim to do.”
“Allow” can take an activity as its object, as in “allow smoking,” or a person/thing followed by a to-infinitive, as in “allow visitors to enter.” The patterns answer different structural questions: what is allowed versus who is allowed to do what.
