Parts of Speech: Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives

Which are true about participles? Check all that apply.

a. Participles modify nouns. b. Participles modify pronouns.

Which sentence has a gerund functioning as the object of a preposition?

a. They thanked us exuberantly for meeting with them to discuss the deal.

A verb form that functions as a noun is called a(n)

gerund

Choose the best phrase to complete the sentence. During the summer, she likes ____________ her soccer skills so that she is ready to play in the fall.

to practice

Read the sentence. The teenagers went to town to muse over whether going to college or to university was the better choice. Which part of the sentence is an infinitive?

b. to muse

Read the sentence. According to the latest reports sent to us, orangutans prefer to remain safely in their original habitats. Why can the infinitive phrase be classified as a noun?

b. It functions as the direct object.

Read the sentence. To the best of our knowledge, he decided that his major would be acting. Which does the sentence contain?

b. a gerund

Read the sentence. Hiking along merrily, we maintained a sedate pace because we liked to heartily enjoy the stream bubbling its way beside us. Which part of the sentence functions as an adjective?

b. the participial phrase "bubbling its way"

Read the sentence. To shine on the stage, a performer must create a dynamic connection with the audience. How does the infinitive in the sentence function?

a. as a noun

Read the sentence. Once the scientist completed to assemble the components, she tested her new device to see if it performed as expected. What is the best word to replace the infinitive in the sentence?

a. assembling

Read the sentence. To host a party of this magnitude requires to clean and to organize the house before you get to the part where you can add decorations to the rooms. How should the sentence be revised to replace the infinitives with gerunds? Check all that apply.

a. by changing "To host" to "Hosting" b. by changing "to clean" to "cleaning" c. by changing "to organize" to "organizing"

Read the sentence. Scheduled too hectically, the misbegotten tour zigzagging from state to state left the reporter weary from the road. Which part of the sentence is a participial phrase?

a. scheduled too hectically

When a sentence includes a participial phrase, the phrase functions as a(n) _____________

adjective

Read the sentence. Materializing from the mist, the alarm warned the ship to steer quickly to the right of the rocks. Why is the sentence grammatically incorrect?

c. It places the participial phrase in the wrong place.

Which sentence contains a gerund?

c. On the first torrid day of summer, we always enjoy swimming.

Read the sentence. Craving a more cosmopolitan lifestyle, the rural students were excited to travel to the city. The underlined phrase is a(n)

c. infinitive.

To avoid confusion from a misplaced modifier, a participial phrase should be placed

c. next to the noun it describes.

Read the sentence. The administrator of the company, the woman overseeing the department, added new personnel to better augment the existing sales force. Which part of the sentence functions as an adverb?

c. to better augment