Invite Someone To Do vs. Invite Doing
Invite + person + to-infinitive is the standard pattern for asking or formally requesting someone to act. Invite also takes ordinary noun objects in other senses, including things whose occurrence is encouraged; those object uses are not interchangeable with the person + to-infinitive request pattern.
Use “invite someone to do something” when requesting that person’s action. Treat a bare -ing form only as a noun-like object where the separate meaning supports it, not as a drop-in replacement.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| request or encourage a named person to perform an action | invite + person + to-infinitive | Use “invite someone to do something.” |
| noun-like object or a different lexical use | invite + noun/gerund-like expression | Do not treat a bare -ing form as a drop-in replacement for the person + infinitive pattern. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you asking a named person or group to perform an action?
If yes: Use “invite + person + to-infinitive.”
If no: If no person is named, recast according to the intended noun-like or lexical meaning rather than forcing a bare -ing complement.
Caveat: The guide compares complement patterns; “invite” also has ordinary noun-object uses such as inviting discussion or questions.
Examples
We invited Priya to speak at the workshop.
The invited person is followed by the requested action.
The editor invited contributors to submit revisions.
The people invited are followed by a to-infinitive.
The chair invited questions from the audience.
A noun object is natural when the thing invited is “questions,” rather than a person-action complement.
Further guidance
Boundary
The “encourage/cause” sense of invite can take an event-like noun object; it is semantically different from asking a person to perform an action.
Construction
Cambridge documents invite someone to do something for friendly or formal requests and separate direct-object uses such as inviting criticism or trouble.
Decision
For a request to a person, use person + to-infinitive. For a different object sense, make sure the object names the result or response being invited.
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.
- invite — Cambridge English Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Invite someone to do something for personal/formal requests and separate invite + noun/object uses