Cambridge documents incite + object + to-infinitive for encouraging a person to do something unpleasant or violent, and incite + object + to + noun for related targets. The verb is semantically restricted toward encouraging unpleasant, violent, or otherwise problematic action; do not generalize it to neutral encouragement.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Use “incite someone to do something” when the action is expressed as a verb; do not treat “incite doing” as the parallel person-plus-action construction.
Key details
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familyverb-complement and object pattern
TermsIncite Someone To Do, Incite Doing
Further guidance
Boundary
The verb is semantically restricted toward encouraging unpleasant, violent, or otherwise problematic action; do not generalize it to neutral encouragement.
Construction
Cambridge documents incite + object + to-infinitive for encouraging a person to do something unpleasant or violent, and incite + object + to + noun for related targets.
Decision
Use “incite someone to do something” when the action is expressed as a verb; do not treat “incite doing” as the parallel person-plus-action construction.
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.
