“Hope” takes a to-infinitive when it directly introduces a following action, and it also supports clause patterns. A bare gerund after “hope” is not the like-for-like alternative that a simple gerund-versus-infinitive label might suggest.
ReviewedEvidence2 sourcesSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Use “hope to do” when the hoped-for outcome is your own following action; direct “hope doing” is not the standard equivalent complement.
Key details
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familyverb complement pattern
TermsHope Doing, Hope To Do
Further guidance
Clause Boundary
Hope also introduces clauses for hoped-for situations; keep those clause patterns distinct from the to-infinitive pattern.
Decision
When “hope” directly controls the following action verb, choose the to-infinitive rather than a bare gerund.
To Infinitive
Use hope + to-infinitive for a hoped-for action expressed directly after the verb.
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.
