Miss Doing vs. Miss To Do
Cambridge documents miss + -ing in senses such as regretting an absent activity and narrowly avoiding something happening. Do not confuse this complement pattern with miss + noun (“miss the bus”) or with an infinitive elsewhere expressing purpose or result.
Use “miss doing” when you regret no longer doing something or narrowly avoid an event/action; a direct “miss to do” is not the reviewed complement pattern.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| regret no longer having an activity or experience | miss + -ing | Use the documented -ing complement. |
| narrowly fail to perform or experience an action/event | miss + -ing | Use the -ing form for the action narrowly avoided or not achieved. |
| miss + noun | miss + noun | Keep ordinary noun objects such as “miss the bus” separate from the complement question. |
| direct miss + to-infinitive as the same complement | not the reviewed pattern | Do not substitute “miss to do.” |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Does “miss” directly introduce an action that is regretted or narrowly not achieved?
If yes: Use “miss + -ing.”
If no: If “miss” takes a noun object, use that ordinary construction; do not force a to-infinitive complement.
Caveat: Different senses of “miss” take different complements; the page does not claim that every sentence with “miss” must contain an -ing form.
Examples
I miss working with that team.
The -ing complement names an activity the speaker regrets no longer having.
She narrowly missed hitting the barrier.
The -ing form names the action that almost happened.
We missed the last train.
This is the separate “miss + noun” construction.
Further guidance
Boundary
Do not confuse this complement pattern with miss + noun (“miss the bus”) or with an infinitive elsewhere expressing purpose or result.
Construction
Cambridge documents miss + -ing in senses such as regretting an absent activity and narrowly avoiding something happening.
Decision
Use “miss doing” when you regret no longer doing something or narrowly avoid an event/action; a direct “miss to do” is not the reviewed complement pattern.
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.
- miss — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Miss + -ing for narrowly avoiding an action/event or regretting the absence of an activity
- Verb patterns: verb + infinitive or verb + -ing? (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Verb-complement patterns, including verbs taking -ing, to-infinitive, or both with meaning differences