Cambridge’s verb-pattern guidance uses “suggest + -ing” rather than direct “suggest + to-infinitive.” A clause such as “suggest (that) we go” is another standard option.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Use “suggest doing” when a verb follows “suggest” directly. Standard guidance does not use direct “suggest to do”; use an -ing form or a clause instead.
Key details
Confusion Familygrammar-and-usage distinction
Rule Familyverb complement pattern
Termssuggest doing, suggest to do
Further guidance
Clause Alternative
A finite clause is also available, such as “suggest (that) someone does/do something,” depending on the variety and construction.
Direct Pattern
When another verb follows suggest directly, use the -ing form: “suggest doing,” not “suggest to do.”
To Boundary
“Suggest to someone that …” can contain “to,” but there “to” introduces the recipient; it is not the infinitive pattern “suggest 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.
Word patterns: suggest↗ (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Direct suggest + verb pattern: use -ing rather than a to-infinitive; also documents a finite-clause alternative
Cambridge documents both admit + -ing and admit to + -ing for acknowledging something. Other passive patterns such as “be admitted to be” are separate constructions.
Both patterns are standard. “Advise waiting” recommends an action generally or in context, while “advise him to wait” names the person who is advised to perform it. A that-clause is another standard option.
When “afford” is followed directly by another verb, standard learner references use a to-infinitive: “afford to do.” An -ing form can appear elsewhere in a sentence, but it is not a like-for-like direct complement after “afford.”
“Agree to do” expresses consent to take an action. An -ing form normally follows a preposition in patterns such as “agree with doing,” which expresses approval rather than the direct promise-to-act construction.
Cambridge documents aim + to-infinitive for intention and aim at for directing effort toward an objective. Do not omit the preposition and present bare “aim doing” as equivalent to “aim to do.”
“Allow” can take an activity as its object, as in “allow smoking,” or a person/thing followed by a to-infinitive, as in “allow visitors to enter.” The patterns answer different structural questions: what is allowed versus who is allowed to do what.
