After see + object, both the bare infinitive and the -ing form are standard. The bare infinitive usually presents the perceived event as a whole or completed, while -ing usually presents it as in progress, incomplete, or repeated.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Both “see someone do” and “see someone doing” are standard; use the bare infinitive for the event viewed as a whole and -ing for an action viewed in progress or repeated.
Key details
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familyverb-complement and object pattern
TermsSee Someone Do, See Someone Doing
Further guidance
Boundary
In the active perception pattern, do not insert “to” before the infinitive. Modal combinations such as can/could hear or see have additional usage constraints, so context matters.
Construction
Cambridge includes see among perception verbs that can take object + bare infinitive or object + -ing.
Decision
Use the bare infinitive when the whole event is salient; use -ing when you are foregrounding the activity as it unfolds or repeats.
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.
Oxford directly documents “argue somebody into doing something” for persuading somebody by giving reasons. The cited construction evidence directly supports into + -ing; it does not license “argue someone to do” as an equivalent complement pattern.
When ask means request an action from a person, Cambridge documents ask + person + to-infinitive. Bare “ask doing” is not the ordinary request complement for that meaning.
Cambridge directly documents both badger + object + into + -ing and badger + object + to-infinitive for repeated pressure or requests that push someone toward an action. The verb also covers repeated questioning, so context must show whether the sentence is about persistent persuasion or interrogation rather than assuming every use names a requested action.
Cambridge directly illustrates bamboozle + object + into + -ing for deceiving someone so that the person takes an action. The cited entry does not establish bamboozle + object + to-infinitive as an equally documented alternative, so this guide does not manufacture a two-way rule.
Cambridge explicitly documents beg + object + to-infinitive for an urgent request and also records beg for + noun and other request patterns. A following -ing form may appear elsewhere in a sentence, but it is not the ordinary replacement for the documented object + to-infinitive request construction.
Cambridge gives direct evidence for beguile someone into doing something in the literary persuade/attract/deceive sense. The cited entry supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish beguile + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this meaning.
