'Insist to Do', 'Insist Doing', or 'Insist on Doing'? Which One Is Correct? | Mastering Grammar

(Last Updated: 26 July 2026)

Insist to Do, Insist Doing, or Insist on Doing: Which One Is Correct?

The verb insist is not followed by an infinitive (to + base verb) or a gerund (a noun formed by adding -ing to a verb). Instead, we use the pattern insist on doing something. This pattern is often used to convey the idea that someone keeps doing something, even if other people think that it is annoying or a bad idea: 

✅ Anna insisted on eating seafood at the party even though there was none.
❌ Anna insisted to eat seafood at the party even though there was none.
❌ Anna insisted eating seafood at the party even though there was none.

✅ Chris insisted on finishing all his homework before going to the hospital with us.
❌ Chris insisted to finish all his homework before going to the hospital with us.
❌ Chris insisted finishing all his homework before going to the hospital with us.

✅ Dad insisted on driving even though he was tired.
❌ Dad insisted to drive even though he was tired.
❌ Dad insisted driving even though he was tired.

✅ My neighbours insist on listening to loud music every night.
❌ My neighbours insist to listen to loud music every night.
❌ My neighbours insist listening to loud music every night.

The entry for the verb insist in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

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Examples from the Media

Veigas was diagnosed with terminal cancer halfway through her studies, but despite her illness, insisted on pursuing her lifelong dream of finishing her doctorate. —Toronto Star (2017)

However, if you listen to the NSW Productivity Commission, the Property Council and Business Sydney, we risk becoming a nation of dullards, devoid of innovation because we insist on working from home in preference to commuting for hours into central business districts every day. —The Sydney Morning Herald (2022)

When she gets into Downing Street and finally opens up the books, maybe Truss will simply recalibrate. But she's certainly stubborn enough to consider charging head-on at the Treasury, the Bank of England, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility and the mainstream economists she scornfully accuses of practising stale "abacus economics", or insisting on making everything actually add up. —The Guardian (2022) 

It [independence] insists on sharing what we learn — fully and fairly — regardless of whom it may upset or what the political consequences might be. —The New York Times (2023)

Real-World Examples of Misuse

1. The original sentence begins with Compared with, which sets up a contrast or comparison between two activities (reading novels vs doodling/drawing). Using preferred is more logical in a comparative structure, as it directly indicates a choice between the two options. Using loved feels disconnected from the comparative opening. The other problem is that the sentence contains a dangling modifier. The introductory phrase Compared with reading novels should modify an activity, but instead it is incorrectly used to modify Rebecca. This illogically suggests that Rebecca herself is being compared with reading novels, which makes no sense. One way to address these problems is to completely restructure the sentence by using the verb prefer with its standard pattern: prefer X to Y. This clearly and correctly compares the two activities without any risk of a misrelated participle.
2. This sentence contains two independent clauses joined by the coordinating conjunction and. Adding a comma before and correctly punctuates the compound sentence.
3. That is a demonstrative pronoun that can refer back to a whole clause, idea, or situation just described. This is what is needed here: the dampening is caused by the fact that they did not get the message, not by the picture or the message itself. It is a personal pronoun that strongly prefers a single, specific noun antecedent. The nearest singular nouns are picture and message. Saying it dampened her enthusiasm sounds like the picture or message itself did the dampening, which is not the case.
4. Switching to the pronoun her maintains a connection with the earlier reference to Rebecca without needing to restate her name, which streamlines the text.
5. The correct preposition after enthusiasm is for (e.g. enthusiasm for piano music, enthusiasm for learning). In is ungrammatical in this collocation.
6. A dialogue requires an exchange of words between two or more people. Since Rebecca was talking to herself, it cannot be classified as a dialogue. It is technically a monologue, but a monologue is usually longer than a single sentence. In this case, direct speech is a more accurate label.
7. The revised version is much clearer and more natural-sounding than the original. The original phrasing is ambiguous as it could suggest that some people do understand the meaning behind her work, or conversely, that no one does. From the context, it is clear that the latter is true. To learn more about this topic, click here.
8. Since the story is narrated in the past tense, changing may to might improves tense harmony (backshifting). While may is not strictly wrong, might sounds more natural in a past-tense narrative.
9. Changing insisted to read to insisted on reading corrects a major grammatical error, as the verb insist cannot be followed by a to-infinitive.
(Source: M.T. Education)
(Also by the Same Tutor: 1/2/3)