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.
ReviewedEvidence2 sourcesSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
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
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familyverb complement pattern
TermsNeglect Doing, Neglect To Do
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.
Cambridge documents both admit + -ing and admit to + -ing for acknowledging something. Other passive patterns such as “be admitted to be” are separate constructions.
Both patterns are standard. “Advise waiting” recommends an action generally or in context, while “advise him to wait” names the person who is advised to perform it. A that-clause is another standard option.
When “afford” is followed directly by another verb, standard learner references use a to-infinitive: “afford to do.” An -ing form can appear elsewhere in a sentence, but it is not a like-for-like direct complement after “afford.”
“Agree to do” expresses consent to take an action. An -ing form normally follows a preposition in patterns such as “agree with doing,” which expresses approval rather than the direct promise-to-act construction.
Cambridge documents aim + to-infinitive for intention and aim at for directing effort toward an objective. Do not omit the preposition and present bare “aim doing” as equivalent to “aim to do.”
“Allow” can take an activity as its object, as in “allow smoking,” or a person/thing followed by a to-infinitive, as in “allow visitors to enter.” The patterns answer different structural questions: what is allowed versus who is allowed to do what.
