Neglect Doing vs. Neglect To Do
Oxford documents “neglect to do” for failing or forgetting an expected action and separately uses “neglect” transitively with noun objects. That supports one-sided complement guidance rather than a manufactured gerund contrast.
Use “neglect to do” for failing or forgetting to perform an action. “Neglect doing” can be ambiguous with the ordinary transitive sense of neglect and should not be presented as an equivalent complement.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| fail or forget to perform an action that should be done | neglect + to-infinitive | Use the documented omitted-action pattern. |
| fail to care for or give enough attention to a person/thing | neglect + noun object | This is the ordinary transitive sense. |
| bare neglect + -ing treated as an equivalent action complement | not established here | Do not present it as interchangeable with the documented to-infinitive pattern. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Do you mean “fail or forget to perform this required action”?
If yes: Use “neglect to do something.”
If no: If “neglect” takes a person or thing as its object, that is the separate transitive meaning.
Caveat: The evidence supports “neglect to do” for the omitted-action meaning; this page does not treat every sequence of “neglect” followed later by an -ing word as the same complement question.
Examples
She neglected to attach the final page.
The to-infinitive names the action that was omitted.
He neglected to update the contact details.
The construction expresses failure to perform the action.
The owner neglected the garden for years.
“The garden” is a noun object in the separate transitive sense.
Further guidance
Decision
For the omitted-action meaning, prefer “neglect to do” rather than treating bare “neglect doing” as a parallel choice.
To Infinitive
Use neglect + to-infinitive when someone fails or forgets to do something they ought to do.
Transitive Boundary
Neglect also takes noun objects meaning fail to care for or give enough attention to them; that is a different 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.
- neglect — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries · Neglect to do and transitive neglect patterns
- 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