Prevent Someone From Doing vs. Prevent Someone To Do
Cambridge grammar states that prevent is not followed by a to-infinitive in this pattern; the action is expressed with from + -ing, and Cambridge also records object + -ing without from in some usage. This guide is about the complement after prevent. It does not rule out a to-infinitive elsewhere in a larger sentence when that infinitive has a different grammatical role.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Use “prevent someone from doing” when you mean stop someone from carrying out an action. “Prevent someone to do” is not the parallel direct-complement construction.
Key details
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familypreposition and verb-complement pattern
TermsPrevent Someone From Doing, Prevent Someone To Do
Further guidance
Boundary
This guide is about the complement after prevent. It does not rule out a to-infinitive elsewhere in a larger sentence when that infinitive has a different grammatical role.
Construction
Cambridge grammar states that prevent is not followed by a to-infinitive in this pattern; the action is expressed with from + -ing, and Cambridge also records object + -ing without from in some usage.
Decision
Use “prevent someone from doing” when you mean stop someone from carrying out an action. “Prevent someone to do” is not the parallel direct-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.
Word patterns: prevent↗ (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Grammar guidance for prevent + object + from + -ing and the warning against prevent + to-infinitive in this pattern
Cambridge records “accuse someone of something” and specifically “accuse someone of doing something.” That supports of + -ing when the action is the alleged wrongdoing.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
