Oxford documents “pretend to do” and “pretend that …” for behaving as if something is true. A gerund can occur elsewhere in a sentence, but it should not be presented as an interchangeable direct complement after “pretend.”
ReviewedEvidence2 sourcesSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Use “pretend to do” or a “pretend that …” clause for the ordinary false-appearance meaning. Bare “pretend doing” is not the documented parallel complement.
Key details
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familyverb complement pattern
TermsPretend Doing, Pretend To Do
Further guidance
Clause Boundary
“Pretend that …” is a normal alternative when the content is best expressed as a full clause.
Decision
When “pretend” directly introduces the feigned action or state, use the to-infinitive rather than a bare gerund.
To Infinitive
Use pretend + to-infinitive for a feigned action or state, including negative forms such as pretend not to notice.
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.
