Start Someone Doing vs. Start Someone To Do
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.
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
Choose the right form
| Structure | Pattern | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| cause a person to begin an activity | start + object + -ing | Use the documented causative object pattern. |
| no object between start and the complement | start doing / start to do | This is the separate ordinary complement alternation. |
| object followed directly by to-infinitive as the causative parallel | start + object + to do | Do not infer this from the object-free alternation. |
Quick tests
Object-pattern test
Is there a person or other object immediately after “start” that is being caused to begin the activity?
If yes: Use “start + object + -ing.”
If no: Without that causative object, ordinary “start doing” and “start to do” are a separate pattern.
Caveat: Do not transfer the object-free doing/to-do alternation automatically into the causative object construction.
Examples
The joke started everyone laughing.
“Everyone” is the object being caused to begin the activity, so the -ing pattern fits.
The announcement started people talking.
The causative object construction uses “start + object + -ing.”
She started to laugh when the music changed.
With no intervening object, “start + to-infinitive” belongs to the separate ordinary complement pattern.
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.
- start — Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries · Start with to-infinitive and -ing complement patterns