✏️ TOEIC Focus: When to Use “Doing” and When to Use “To Do”

Some TOEIC Part 5 and 6 questions give you four answers that all look possible — until you spot that one small detail that decides the winner. “Doing” and “to do” is one of those high-frequency traps.

The test isn’t asking for your opinion. It’s checking whether you’ve trained your eye to see the trigger words that decide which one fits.

🔹 The “Doing” Triggers

Some words in TOEIC almost always pull in “doing” after them.

✅ enjoy doing → She enjoys working with clients.
✅ avoid doing → We avoided taking unnecessary risks.
✅ suggest doing → She suggested meeting next week.

If you see one of these triggers in the sentence, “to do” will almost always be wrong.

🔹 The “To Do” Triggers

Other words almost always need “to do” after them.

✅ decide to do → He decided to cancel the trip.
✅ hope to do → I hope to join the team soon.
✅ plan to do → They plan to expand next year.

If you see one of these triggers, “doing” will almost always be wrong.

🔹 The Object + To Do Pattern

Some sentences need a person or thing in between, then “to do.”

✅ They encouraged him to apply.
✅ The manager asked me to submit the report.

If the “someone” is missing, it’s wrong.

🔹 The Meaning Switch Traps

A few words can take both forms — but they mean different things. TOEIC loves these.

  • stop doing → quit an action
    ✅ She stopped smoking.

  • stop to do → pause one action to do another
    ✅ She stopped to smoke.

  • remember doing → recall something that happened before
    ✅ I remember meeting her.

  • remember to do → don’t forget
    ✅ Remember to lock the door.

🔹 How to Beat These Questions

  • Spot the trigger word fast.

  • Decide if it’s a “doing” trigger, “to do” trigger, or meaning-switch trap.

  • Eliminate the wrong form instantly.

  • Trust the pattern — TOEIC repeats the same ones over and over.

Final Word
“Doing” vs “to do” questions aren’t about guessing — they’re about spotting the trigger and knowing the pattern. Once you train for this, you’ll answer in seconds and move on with confidence.

For more strategies and resources to master TOEIC answer-choice precision, visit the English Library Collection and start locking in pattern confidence today.

🔍 EN FAQ: Doing vs To Do What’s the difference between “doing” and “to do”? “Doing” is usually a gerund (-ing noun), “to do” is an infinitive. The verb before determines which one is correct. Should I say “I enjoy working” or “I enjoy to work”? Say “I enjoy working.” “Enjoy” is always followed by the -ing form. Is it correct to say “I decided doing it”? No. Use “I decided to do it.” “Decide” is always followed by “to + verb.” Which is correct: “They suggested meeting” or “They suggested to meet”? “Suggested meeting” is correct. “Suggest” takes the -ing form, not “to do.” Why is “want doing” incorrect? “Want” is always followed by “to + verb.” The correct form is “want to do.” What comes after “plan” — to do or doing? Use “to do.” Example: “They plan to launch the service.” Can I say “He stopped to smoke” and “He stopped smoking”? Yes, both are correct but have different meanings. One means to pause, the other means to quit. What does “remember doing” mean? It means you have a memory of the past action. Example: “I remember meeting her.” When do I use “remember to do” instead? Use “remember to do” when you need to remind yourself to do something. Example: “Remember to call him.” Does “try doing” mean the same as “try to do”? No. “Try doing” means experiment with something. “Try to do” means make an effort. What follows a preposition — doing or to do? Always use the -ing form after a preposition. Example: “She’s interested in working here.” Is “She’s good at to speak English” correct? No. It should be “She’s good at speaking English.” Can both “to do” and “doing” be correct after a verb? Yes, but it depends on the verb. Example: “start doing” and “start to do” are often both OK. What’s the pattern after “ask”? Use “ask + person + to do.” Example: “They asked me to help.” What’s wrong with “They asked to help”? It’s missing the object. Correct version: “They asked me to help.” What does “stop doing” mean? It means to quit a habit or activity. Example: “He stopped drinking coffee.” How can I tell which verbs take “doing”? Some verbs just always take -ing: enjoy, avoid, consider, finish, suggest. How can I tell which verbs take “to do”? Memorize common ones: want, hope, plan, offer, expect, decide. What’s the structure for “encourage”? Use “encourage + person + to do.” Example: “She encouraged me to try again.” How can I learn which pattern to use in TOEIC? Focus on high-frequency verb patterns. Learn which verbs take doing, which take to do, and which need an object.