Shock Someone Into Doing vs. Shock Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents “shock someone into doing something” for a shocking experience causing someone to act. The cited construction directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish shock + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent causative complement pattern.
Use “shock someone into doing” for the directly documented causative pattern; do not infer equal support for “shock someone to do.”
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| a shocking event or realization causes someone to take an action | shock + person + into + -ing | Use the directly documented causative pattern. |
| describe the shock itself without a caused action | shock + person / be shocked | Use the ordinary transitive or adjectival pattern instead. |
| treat “shock + person + to-infinitive” as an equivalent causative complement | not established by the reviewed source | Do not infer equal support from the documented “into + -ing” pattern. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Did the shock cause the person to take the following action?
If yes: Use “shock someone into” + -ing.
If no: If you only mean that the person felt shocked, state that directly rather than adding an unsupported causative complement.
Caveat: The guide is bounded to the construction directly documented by the reviewed Cambridge source.
Examples
The warning shocked them into checking the figures again.
The shock causes the follow-up action.
The incident shocked her into changing the schedule.
“Into changing” expresses the action caused by the shock.
The sudden loss shocked the team into reviewing its backup plan.
The documented causative pattern links the shock to the resulting action.
Further guidance
Boundary
The cited construction directly supports into + -ing; it does not establish shock + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent causative complement pattern.
Construction
Cambridge directly documents “shock someone into doing something” for a shocking experience causing someone to act.
Decision
Use “shock someone into doing” for the directly documented causative pattern; do not infer equal support for “shock someone to do.”
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.
- shock — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Cambridge learner-dictionary evidence directly documenting shock someone into doing something