Verbals

In the sentence, 'Her dream is to travel the world,' which part is the complete infinitive phrase?

• Her dream is

• to travel the world

• is to travel

• the world

Answer explanation

An infinitive phrase includes the infinitive (to + verb) and any objects or modifiers. 'to travel the world' is the complete phrase. 'the world' is only the object of the infinitive, and 'is to travel' incorrectly includes the main verb 'is'.

The athlete trained for months _____ for the Olympics. Complete the sentence with the infinitive that correctly functions as an adverb of purpose.

• to qualify

• qualifying

• qualified

• to be qualified

Answer explanation

The infinitive 'to qualify' correctly acts as an adverb explaining *why* the athlete trained. 'Qualifying' is a participle or gerund, and 'qualified' is a past-tense verb or participle; neither shows purpose in this context.

Before the big test, the students knew they needed _____ the material one last time. Complete the sentence with the most logical infinitive.

• to celebrate

• to revise

• to be forgetting

• to have argued

Answer explanation

The infinitive 'to revise' logically completes the thought, as students would need to review material before a test. 'To celebrate' is premature, while 'to be forgetting' and 'to have argued' are illogical in this context.

Which sentence uses an infinitive as an adverb to show the purpose for an action?

• He saved his money to buy a new bike.

• His plan is to save his money.

• He needs a reason to save his money.

• To save money is a good habit.

Answer explanation

The phrase 'to buy a new bike' explains the purpose *why* he saved his money, modifying the verb 'saved'. In the other options, the infinitive acts as a subject complement (B), an adjective modifying 'reason' (C), and a subject (D).

True or False: In the sentence 'The winning team enjoyed celebrating their victory,' the word 'winning' is a gerund.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The statement is false. 'Winning' is a present participle acting as an adjective to describe the noun 'team'. The gerund in the sentence is 'celebrating,' which is the direct object of the verb 'enjoyed'.

One difficult part of the project was finding the right materials. In this sentence, the gerund phrase 'finding the right materials' functions as a _____.

• subject complement

• direct object

• subject

• object of a preposition

Answer explanation

The gerund phrase follows the linking verb 'was' and renames the subject, 'part'. It explains what the difficult part was, making it a subject complement.

Consider these sentences: (1) The crying baby could not be soothed. (2) The baby's crying woke the entire house. True or False: In sentence (1), the word 'crying' is a gerund.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The statement is false. In sentence (1), 'crying' is a present participle acting as an adjective to describe 'baby'. In sentence (2), 'crying' is a gerund acting as the noun subject of the sentence.

The coach recommended _____ more drills to improve our skills. Complete the sentence with the correct verbal form.

• practicing

• to practice

• practiced

• practice

Answer explanation

Certain verbs, like 'recommended,' are followed by a gerund ('-ing' form) as the object. The infinitive 'to practice' is incorrect after 'recommended.'

In the sentence 'The student, waving from the stage, accepted the award,' which word does the participial phrase 'waving from the stage' modify?

• student

• stage

• award

• accepted

Answer explanation

A participial phrase acts as an adjective. Here, 'waving from the stage' describes the 'student,' telling us which student accepted the award. It does not describe the stage, the award, or the action of accepting.

True or False: In the sentence 'The dog, wagging its tail excitedly, waited for a treat,' the complete participial phrase is 'wagging its tail excitedly'.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The statement is true. The participial phrase includes the participle ('wagging') and all its modifiers (the object 'tail' and the adverb 'excitedly'). The entire phrase acts as an adjective describing 'dog'.