Imagine readily licenses a new subject before an -ing form. Oxford also records object + to-infinitive uses, but that pattern is more restricted and formal; avoid treating any arbitrary “imagine someone to do” sentence as a direct substitute for the -ing form.
ReviewedEvidence2 sourcesSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
“Imagine someone doing” is the ordinary pattern for picturing an action. An object + to-infinitive pattern exists in more limited/formal uses, especially with “to be,” so the two are not freely interchangeable.
Key details
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familyverb-complement and object pattern
TermsImagine Someone Doing, Imagine Someone To Do
Further guidance
Boundary
The existence of an object + to-infinitive pattern does not make every lexical “to do” continuation natural; context and the following verb matter.
Construction
Cambridge documents imagine + object + -ing; Oxford also records a more limited object + to-infinitive construction.
Decision
Default to imagine someone doing for picturing an action. Use an object + to-infinitive only where that formal construction is idiomatic, especially established patterns such as imagine someone to be.
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.
