Unit 4: Infinitives, Gerunds and Quantifiers - Practice Quiz

A gerund is the '-ing' form of a verb that functions as a noun. Here, 'Swimming' is the subject of the sentence.

A simple infinitive is the base form of a verb preceded by the word 'to'. 'To learn' fits this definition.

'Many' is a quantifier used with plural countable nouns like 'apples'.

'Much' is a quantifier used with uncountable nouns like 'money'.

The verb 'enjoy' is always followed by a gerund (-ing form).

The verb 'decide' is typically followed by an infinitive ('to' + verb).

A multiplier is a word that specifies how many times something is done or increased. 'Twice' means 'two times'.

The gerund 'managing' comes after the verb 'is' and renames or describes the subject 'job'. This makes it a subject complement.

Uncountable nouns, like 'advice', 'water', and 'information', cannot be counted individually and do not have a plural form.

The expression 'good at' is followed by a gerund ('solving').

'A few' is used with countable nouns (e.g., 'a few chairs'), while 'a little' is used with uncountable nouns (e.g., 'a little sugar').

The multiplier 'double' means 'twice as large' or 'two times the size'.

Here, the infinitive phrase 'To forgive' is the subject of the verb 'is'.

The verb 'avoid' is one of the verbs that is always followed by a gerund. For example: "You should avoid eating junk food."

'Any' is typically used in questions (e.g., "Do you have any questions?") and negative sentences (e.g., "I don't have any money.").

This complex infinitive form is called a perfect infinitive. It is used to show that an action occurred before the action of the main verb.

The phrasal verb 'look forward to' is followed by a gerund ('seeing'). The 'to' in this case is a preposition, not part of an infinitive.

By definition, a gerund is a verb form that ends in '-ing' and functions as a noun in a sentence.

A countable noun is something you can count individually. You can say 'one car, two cars', but you cannot do the same for 'water', 'music', or 'rice'.

The structure 'It is + adjective' (like 'important') is typically followed by an infinitive.

The infinitive phrase acts as an appositive. An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that sits next to another noun to rename it or describe it in another way. Here, "to climb Mount Everest" renames the noun "ambition".

The structure 'stop + to-infinitive' means to cease an activity in order to do something else. The structure 'stop + gerund' means to quit or cease an activity. In the correct option, he stopped his journey (the first activity) to check his messages (the second activity).

'Little' is used with uncountable nouns (like 'interest') to mean 'hardly any' or 'not much,' conveying a negative or insufficient amount that explains the project's cancellation. 'A little' implies a small but possibly adequate amount. 'Few' and 'a few' are used with countable nouns.

The perfect infinitive, 'to have + past participle' (to have left), is used to show that the action of leaving happened before the time of the main verb 'is believed'. The belief is in the present, but the leaving happened in the past.

The verb 'advise' follows the grammatical pattern advise + object + to-infinitive. Therefore, 'advised us to install' is the correct structure. Using a gerund here would be incorrect.

'Any' is typically used in negative sentences and questions with both countable and uncountable nouns ('information' is uncountable). 'Some' is generally used in affirmative sentences, while 'many' is used for countable nouns.

The perfect gerund, having + past participle (having completed), is used as the object of the preposition 'of'. It emphasizes that the action it describes (completing the marathon) happened before the action or state of the main clause ('was proud').

The correct structure for making a comparison with a multiplier like 'twice' is multiplier + as + adjective/adverb + as. The structure 'twice faster than' is a common grammatical error.

In this sentence, the entire gerund phrase "Learning a new language" acts as the subject of the verb "requires". In the other options, the gerund is a direct object (A), a subject complement (B), or the object of a preposition (D).

'Try + to-infinitive' means to attempt something difficult, to make an effort. 'Try + gerund' means to do something as an experiment to see if it solves a problem. Option C correctly demonstrates this distinction.

'Few' is used with countable nouns ('people') and has a strong negative connotation, meaning 'hardly any' or 'not enough'. This aligns perfectly with the context that the project failed due to a lack of support. 'A few' would imply a small but potentially adequate number, which contradicts the negative outcome.

A passive infinitive has the structure to be + past participle. In sentence A, "to be announced" is a passive infinitive because its subject ('the new policies') is the receiver of the action ('announce').

When 'double' is used as a pre-determiner before a noun phrase (like 'what it was'), it is used directly without 'of'. The correct structures are double + the + noun (double the amount) or double + pronoun/determiner (double my salary, double what it was).

The structure It + be + adjective + of + person + to-infinitive is used when the adjective (e.g., considerate, kind, rude, clever) describes the character or quality of the person performing the action. The structure with 'for' is used when the adjective describes the action itself (e.g., "It was difficult for me to solve").

The infinitive phrase "to improve her French" explains the reason or purpose why she traveled to Paris. It modifies the verb "traveled" and therefore functions as an adverb. In A and B, the infinitive is an adjective modifying a noun. In D, it's the subject of the sentence.

'Some' is used for uncountable nouns ('tea') in offers and requests. 'A few' is used for a small number of countable nouns ('scones'). This combination fits the context of a polite offer perfectly. 'Any' is for questions expecting a no, 'few' is negative, and 'much' is less common in offers.

The verb 'deny' must be followed by a gerund. Since the action of receiving donations happened before the act of denying, the perfect gerund having received is the most grammatically precise choice to emphasize this past-before-past time sequence.

The structure it + be + adjective + for + object + to-infinitive is used here. The adjective 'mandatory' describes the situation or the action itself, not the character of the visitors. Therefore, 'for' is the correct preposition to introduce the noun phrase 'all visitors,' which is the subject of the infinitive 'to sign in'.

'Advice', 'luggage', and 'furniture' are all uncountable nouns. They cannot be pluralized (advices, luggages, furnitures) and should not be used with quantifiers for countable nouns like 'many'. 'Research' is also uncountable, so the phrase "a large amount of research" followed by the singular verb 'is' is correct.

The verb 'consider' is followed by a gerund (-ing form). When two or more actions are listed after such a verb, they should maintain a parallel structure. Therefore, both verbs should be in the gerund form: 'leaving' and 'studying'.

The perfect infinitive to have left is required here. The main verb is is alleged (present tense), but the action of leaving happened in the past, before the time of the allegation. The perfect infinitive correctly establishes this sequence of events.

The verb recall is followed by a gerund (reading) to refer to a memory of a past event. The verb remember, when followed by a gerund (seeing), also refers to a past memory. Using an infinitive (to see) with remember would change the meaning to 'remember to perform an action', which is incorrect in this context.

little (without 'a') has a negative connotation, meaning 'almost no,' which fits the pessimistic tone for 'hope' (uncountable). In contrast, a few has a neutral or slightly positive connotation, meaning 'a small number of.' The sentence implies that despite the presence of some rescue teams ('a few'), the hope is minimal ('little').

The standard structure for multipliers in comparisons is multiplier + as + adjective/adverb + as. While one hundred times faster than is also common, one hundred times as fast as is a complete and unambiguous comparative construction. The other options have incorrect word order.

In formal English, a possessive pronoun (his, my, their) is used before a gerund (being given) that functions as the object of a verb or preposition (about). The gerund phrase being given is passive because the CEO is the recipient of the action. him being given is common in informal speech but is considered less grammatically formal.

The regret is about a past event. The perfect gerund having advocated correctly places the action of advocating (or in this case, not advocating) in the past, prior to the present feeling of regret. A simple gerund (advocating) doesn't emphasize the past nature of the completed action as strongly.

A great deal of is used with an uncountable noun (evidence) and takes a singular verb (was). A large number of is used with a plural countable noun (witnesses) and takes a plural verb (were). This question tests both quantifier usage and the corresponding complex subject-verb agreement.

Stop + gerund means to cease an activity. The activity he stopped was 'trying to fix'. try + infinitive (to fix) means to make an effort. So, he stopped the activity of making an effort to fix it. The verb decided is followed by a to-infinitive (to call). This question combines two different verb patterns in one sentence.

An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that renames or provides more information about another noun right beside it. Here, the infinitive phrase to secure a majority stake in the company acts as a noun phrase that renames and clarifies the noun objective.

The first blank requires a perfect passive infinitive (to have been destroyed) because the action of destruction would have happened long before the present time of 'thinking'. The second part of the sentence describes the result of the discovery; a present participle phrase (forcing...) is used to modify the main clause and show a direct, simultaneous consequence.

When using double, triple, etc. as multipliers, the structure more than double/triple is idiomatic and correct for indicating a value has increased to over two times its original amount. The phrase can also be more than double what it was. The other options are grammatically incorrect or awkward.

The verb appreciate is followed by a gerund (forwarding). In formal writing, the noun or pronoun preceding the gerund should be in the possessive case (your) to modify the gerund. appreciate you forwarding is common in speech but is stylistically inferior in formal writing.

Resistance is an uncountable noun, so a great deal of is an appropriate quantifier. Students is a countable plural noun, and a number of (meaning 'some' or 'several') fits correctly. The other options incorrectly pair quantifiers with noun types (e.g., a large number of resistance or much students).

The adjective adept is followed by the preposition at and a gerund (steering). The preposition without is also followed by a gerund (noticing). This question tests knowledge of specific preposition-gerund collocations.

In this sentence, the infinitive to compromise functions as part of a noun phrase. It specifies what kind of 'refusal' it was. It is adjectival, modifying 'refusal'. In the other options, the infinitive phrase (e.g., to find inner peace) explains the reason or purpose for the action in the main clause.

The structure would have preferred refers to a past, unrealized preference. It is followed by a perfect infinitive to indicate an action that would have happened even further in the past. Since the subject would be the recipient of the information, the passive voice is needed: to have been told. The phrase rather than is followed by a gerund (discovering) that is parallel in meaning to the action of being told.

One correct structure for using a multiplier with a noun is multiplier + the + noun + of. Here, twice the funding of correctly compares the amount of funding in the new legislation to that of the previous bill. twice as much funding as would also be correct, but ...than is not. The other options are grammatically incorrect.

Go on + to-infinitive means to move to the next, different action. Go on + gerund means to continue the same action. Here, the lawyer is introducing a new point, so to argue is correct. Neglect is a verb that is followed by a to-infinitive (to mention). This question tests the subtle meaning change of 'go on'.

Equipment is uncountable, so most or much can be used; most is more natural here. Technicians is countable. The sentence implies a negative situation (obsolete equipment, lack of training), making the negative quantifier few (meaning 'hardly any') the most logical choice over the more neutral a few or most.

The event of failing the exam is in the past. The action of not following advice happened before the exam was failed. Therefore, the perfect gerund (having followed) is the most precise form to use after the preposition of to indicate this prior action. The negative not is placed before the gerund phrase.