Oxford documents postpone + -ing for delaying an action until a later time. Use the -ing form for the postponed action; a direct “postpone to do” construction is not supported as the equivalent complement pattern.
ReviewedEvidence2 sourcesSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Use “postpone doing,” not a direct “postpone to do,” when the postponed item is an action expressed by another verb.
Key details
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familyverb complement pattern
TermsPostpone Doing, Postpone To Do
Further guidance
Boundary
A later to-infinitive may express purpose or belong to another structure, but it is not a direct alternative complement after postpone.
Construction
Oxford lists “postpone doing something” as the complement pattern for an action.
Decision
Choose “postpone doing” when another verb directly follows postpone as its complement.
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.
