Praise Someone For Doing vs. Praise Someone To Do

Key details

Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction

Rule Familypreposition and verb-complement pattern

TermsPraise Someone For Doing, Praise Someone To Do

Choose the right form

Decision table for Praise Someone For Doing vs. Praise Someone To Do
Meaning / situation	Form / construction	Decision
name the action that earned praise	praise + person + for + -ing	Use “for” plus the action.
name a noun/reason that earned praise	praise + person + for + noun	The same “for” pattern applies.
to-infinitive appears elsewhere in a sentence	not the parallel reason complement	Do not treat “praise someone to do” as the equivalent construction.

Quick tests

Meaning / construction test

Are you naming the action or reason for which the person receives praise?

If yes: Use “praise someone for doing something” (or “for” + noun).

If no: A to-infinitive can belong to another structure, but it is not the ordinary parallel complement for the reason for praise.

Examples

Example

The coach praised Maya for helping the team.

“For” plus -ing names the action that earned praise.

Example

They praised him for his patience.

“For” plus a noun phrase names the reason for praise.

Example

The editor praised the writer for revising the ending.

The action receiving approval is expressed with “for” plus -ing.

Further guidance

Boundary

A separate to-infinitive can express purpose in a larger sentence, but it is not the ordinary complement that identifies what the person is being praised for.

Construction

The conventional complement is praise + person + for + noun/-ing clause when the following action is the reason, conduct, or circumstance being referred to.

Decision

Use “praise someone for doing something” when naming what earned the praise. “Praise someone to do” is not the parallel complement 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.

praise for someone/something — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Current dictionary construction showing praise someone for something / doing something.

Related guides

English Usage

Accuse Someone Of Doing vs. Accuse Someone To Do

Cambridge records “accuse someone of something” and specifically “accuse someone of doing something.” That supports of + -ing when the action is the alleged wrongdoing.

English Usage

Accustomed To Doing vs. Accustomed To Do

Cambridge records accustomed to something and gives -ing examples such as being accustomed to working or being treated in a particular way. Do not interpret the “to” after accustomed as an infinitive marker in this construction.

English Usage

Adapt To Doing vs. Adapt To Do

Cambridge distinguishes adapt to a situation or activity from transitive patterns such as adapting plans to fit new circumstances. The surface sequence “adapt … to + verb” therefore needs its grammatical structure identified before choosing an -ing form or infinitive.

English Usage

Apologize For Doing vs. Apologize To Do

Cambridge distinguishes “apologize to someone” from “apologize for something/doing something.” You can combine the two roles, as in “apologize to someone for doing something”; “to” marks the recipient while “for” marks the reason.

English Usage

Approve Of Doing vs. Approve To Do

Cambridge distinguishes intransitive “approve of” for a favorable opinion from transitive “approve something” for official acceptance or authorization. The official-authorization sense uses transitive “approve” with an object; do not collapse that separate sense into the “approve of doing” judgment pattern.

English Usage

Ban Someone From Doing vs. Ban Someone To Do

Oxford documents the person-action pattern as be banned + from + -ing and separately documents direct-object uses of ban. The cited evidence does not support person + to-infinitive as the equivalent prohibition construction.

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