In the causative object pattern, start + person + -ing can mean cause that person to begin an activity. Object + to-infinitive is not the ordinary parallel causative construction.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Use “start someone doing something” when you cause the person to begin the activity. Do not treat “start someone to do something” as the parallel standard pattern.
Key details
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familyverb-complement and object pattern
TermsStart Someone Doing, Start Someone To Do
Further guidance
Boundary
Start doing and start to do without an intervening object are a separate alternation; do not transfer that alternation automatically into the object construction.
Construction
Oxford records start with an object followed by -ing in causative uses, alongside ordinary intransitive start doing/start to do patterns.
Decision
With a person object in the causative sense, use doing; without that object, choose start doing or start to do according to the ordinary verb pattern.
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.
