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English UsageComparison guide

Leave Someone Doing vs. Leave Someone To Do

Leave + object + -ing and leave + object + to-infinitive are both documented patterns, but they package different relationships between leave, the person, and the following action.

ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer

Both patterns are standard but mean different things: “leave someone doing” describes the state/activity continuing when you depart, while “leave someone to do” assigns or permits an action to that person.

Key details

Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familyverb-complement and object pattern
TermsLeave Someone Doing, Leave Someone To Do

Choose the right form

Decision table for Leave Someone Doing vs. Leave Someone To Do
Meaning / situationForm / constructionDecision
activity continues when you depart or stop interveningleave someone doingUse the -ing pattern for the continuing state/activity.
assign or allow a person to handle an actionleave someone to doUse the infinitive pattern for responsibility or permission.

Quick tests

Meaning / construction test

Do you mean the person was still engaged in the activity when you left?

If yes: Use “leave someone doing.”

If no: If you mean entrust/allow the person to perform an action, use “leave someone to do.”

Examples

Example

I left Maya waiting in the lobby.

The -ing form describes the activity continuing.

Example

I left Maya to finish the report.

The infinitive assigns or permits the task.

Example

They left the children playing quietly.

The -ing clause describes the state at departure.

Further guidance

Boundary

Do not treat the forms as stylistic variants: the intended sense of leave determines the construction.

Construction

Oxford documents both leave + somebody/something + doing and leave + somebody/something + to do.

Decision

Use doing when the person remains engaged in the activity; use to do when the person is left with a task, responsibility, or freedom to perform the action.

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.

  1. leave — Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries (opens in a new tab)Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries · Direct leave + object + -ing and leave + object + to-infinitive constructions with distinct senses

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