Hesitate Doing vs. Hesitate To Do
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.
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
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| be reluctant or uncertain about performing an action | hesitate + to-infinitive | Use “hesitate to do.” |
| be uncertain about an action expressed with -ing | hesitate about/over + -ing | Use the preposition before the -ing form. |
| proposed bare gerund alternative | hesitate + -ing | Do not collapse this into the documented prepositional gerund pattern. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you expressing reluctance or uncertainty about taking the action?
If yes: Use “hesitate to do”; if using -ing, use the documented “hesitate about/over doing” structure when that meaning fits.
If no: Choose another construction for a different sense.
Caveat: The -ing form in the reviewed alternative follows a preposition; it is not evidence for a bare “hesitate doing” complement.
Examples
Do not hesitate to ask for clarification.
The to-infinitive is the standard reluctance/uncertainty pattern.
She hesitated over signing the agreement.
The -ing form follows the preposition “over.”
They hesitated about changing the schedule.
The gerund is licensed by “about.”
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.
- hesitate — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries · Hesitate to do and hesitate about/over doing patterns
- Verb patterns: verb + infinitive or verb + -ing? (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Verb-complement patterns, including verbs taking -ing, to-infinitive, or both with meaning differences