English UsageComparison guide

Hinder Someone From Doing vs. Hinder Someone To Do

For an action that is obstructed, standard patterns include hinder + person + from + -ing (and, in some varieties or contexts, hinder + person + in + -ing). “Hinder someone to do” is not the usual corresponding complement.

Reviewed2026-09-28Evidence1 sourceSectionEnglish Usage

Quick answer

Use “hinder someone from doing something” when you mean make the action difficult or prevent progress toward it. Do not normally replace from + -ing with a to-infinitive.

Key details

Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction

Rule Familyverb-complement and object pattern

TermsHinder Someone From Doing, Hinder Someone To Do

Choose the right form

Decision table for Hinder Someone From Doing vs. Hinder Someone To Do
Meaning / situation	Form / construction	Decision
obstruct a person from carrying out an action	hinder + person + from + -ing	Use the documented “from doing” pattern.
alternative documented in some contexts/varieties	hinder + person + in + -ing	May occur where supported by context.
proposed to-infinitive equivalent	hinder + person + to do	Do not treat this as the usual corresponding complement.

Quick tests

Meaning / construction test

Do you mean that something makes it difficult for the person to carry out the action?

If yes: Use “hinder someone from doing something.”

If no: Use another construction if the relationship is different.

Caveat: Some evidence also supports “hinder … in doing”; this page does not turn one attested complement into a universal prohibition on all other structures.

Examples

Example

Poor visibility hindered the pilot from landing safely.

“From” plus -ing expresses the obstructed action.

Example

The delay hindered us from completing the review on time.

The person object is followed by “from” plus -ing.

Example

Nothing should hinder users from reporting a problem.

The same construction applies in formal guidance.

Further guidance

Boundary

Hinder does not always mean complete prevention; it can mean making progress difficult, so the semantic strength should match the context.

Construction

Hinder supports an object plus a prepositional -ing complement to identify the obstructed activity.

Decision

Use from + -ing as the straightforward prevention/obstruction pattern; recognize documented in + -ing alternatives where applicable rather than treating to + infinitive as equivalent.

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.

hinder — Collins English Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Collins Dictionary · Hinder someone from doing something and related obstruction patterns

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