WREN & MARTIN's English grammar-10 MCQs on the Infinitive and Its Uses

 

10 MCQs on the Infinitive and Its Uses

1. "She went to the market to buy some fresh vegetables and fruits for the evening meal." — Identify the use of the infinitive "to buy" in this sentence.

  • A) The infinitive is used as the subject of the sentence
  • B) The infinitive is used as an adverb expressing the purpose of her going to the market
  • C) The infinitive is used as the object of the verb "went"
  • D) The infinitive is used as an adjective modifying the noun "market"

Answer: B) The infinitive is used as an adverb expressing the purpose of her going to the market (The infinitive "to buy" is used here as an adverb of purpose — it answers the question "why did she go to the market" and expresses the reason or intention behind the action — when an infinitive answers the question "why" it functions as an adverb modifying the verb of the main clause.)

2. "To err is human and to forgive is divine as the famous proverb rightly says." — Identify the use of the infinitives in this sentence.

  • A) Both infinitives are used as adverbs modifying the adjectives "human" and "divine"
  • B) Both infinitives are used as adjectives modifying the subjects of the sentence
  • C) Both infinitives are used as nouns functioning as the subjects of the sentence
  • D) Both infinitives are used as objects of the linking verbs "is"

Answer: C) Both infinitives are used as nouns functioning as the subjects of the sentence ("To err" and "to forgive" are both infinitives used as nouns — they function as the subjects of the linking verb "is" in each clause — when an infinitive functions as the subject object or complement of a sentence it is said to be used as a noun — the infinitive used as a noun is one of its most important grammatical functions.)

3. "She has a great desire to succeed in her chosen field of scientific research and innovation." — Identify the use of the infinitive "to succeed."

  • A) The infinitive is used as a noun functioning as the subject of the sentence
  • B) The infinitive is used as an adverb expressing the purpose of her desire
  • C) The infinitive is used as an adjective modifying the noun "desire"
  • D) The infinitive is used as a noun functioning as the object of the verb "has"

Answer: C) The infinitive is used as an adjective modifying the noun "desire" (The infinitive "to succeed" is used here as an adjective because it modifies the noun "desire" — it tells us what kind of desire she has — when an infinitive comes after a noun and modifies or describes it the infinitive is functioning as an adjective — this is one of the common adjectival uses of the infinitive.)

4. "He seemed to have forgotten all about the important meeting that was scheduled for that morning." — Identify the use of the perfect infinitive "to have forgotten."

  • A) The perfect infinitive expresses an action happening at the same time as the main verb
  • B) The perfect infinitive expresses an action that will happen after the main verb
  • C) The perfect infinitive expresses an action that happened before the time of the main verb
  • D) The perfect infinitive expresses a habitual action in the past

Answer: C) The perfect infinitive expresses an action that happened before the time of the main verb (The perfect infinitive "to have forgotten" is formed with "to have" followed by the past participle — it is used here to indicate that the forgetting happened before the time expressed by the main verb "seemed" — the perfect infinitive always refers to an action that was completed prior to the time of the main verb in the sentence.)

5. "She was the first student to submit the completed assignment well before the given deadline." — Identify the use of the infinitive "to submit."

  • A) The infinitive is used as a noun functioning as the subject of the sentence
  • B) The infinitive is used as an adjective modifying the noun "student"
  • C) The infinitive is used as an adverb modifying the verb "was"
  • D) The infinitive is used as the object of the linking verb "was"

Answer: B) The infinitive is used as an adjective modifying the noun "student" (The infinitive "to submit" is used here as an adjective because it modifies the noun "student" — it specifies the nature or achievement of being the first student — infinitives frequently follow ordinal adjectives such as "first" "second" "last" and "only" to describe the noun and in such cases they function as adjectives.)

6. "The manager asked all the employees to attend the important emergency meeting without any further delay." — Identify the use of the infinitive "to attend."

  • A) The infinitive is used as the subject of the sentence
  • B) The infinitive is used as an adverb modifying the adjective "important"
  • C) The infinitive is used as the object complement after the verb "asked"
  • D) The infinitive is used as an adjective modifying the noun "employees"

Answer: C) The infinitive is used as the object complement after the verb "asked" (The infinitive "to attend" is used here as the object complement following the verb "asked" — it completes the meaning of the verb by specifying what action the employees were requested to perform — verbs such as "ask" "tell" "want" "allow" "advise" "request" and "expect" are commonly followed by an object and an infinitive.)

7. "He works extremely hard only to be ignored by the management at every appraisal cycle." — Identify the use of the passive infinitive "to be ignored."

  • A) The passive infinitive is used as the subject of the sentence
  • B) The passive infinitive is used as an adverb expressing an unexpected or disappointing result
  • C) The passive infinitive is used as an adjective modifying the noun "management"
  • D) The passive infinitive is used as a noun functioning as the object of the sentence

Answer: B) The passive infinitive is used as an adverb expressing an unexpected or disappointing result (The passive infinitive "to be ignored" is used here as an adverb expressing an unexpected outcome — the structure "only to + infinitive" is used to describe a disappointing or ironic result that follows a great effort — it conveys the idea that despite working hard the unfortunate outcome is that he is ignored.)

8. "She was fortunate enough to secure a place at one of the most prestigious universities in the country." — Identify the use of the infinitive "to secure."

  • A) The infinitive is used as a noun functioning as the subject of the sentence
  • B) The infinitive is used as an adjective modifying the noun "place"
  • C) The infinitive is used as an adverb modifying the adjective "fortunate"
  • D) The infinitive is used as the object of the verb "was"

Answer: C) The infinitive is used as an adverb modifying the adjective "fortunate" (The infinitive "to secure" is used here as an adverb because it modifies the adjective "fortunate" — it explains in what respect she was fortunate — when an infinitive follows an adjective and modifies or qualifies it the infinitive is functioning as an adverb — this is a very common adverbial use of the infinitive in English.)

9. "His greatest ambition in life is to become a celebrated and widely respected author." — Identify the use of the infinitive "to become."

  • A) The infinitive is used as an adverb modifying the verb "is"
  • B) The infinitive is used as an adjective modifying the noun "ambition"
  • C) The infinitive is used as a noun functioning as the predicative complement of the subject
  • D) The infinitive is used as the subject of the sentence

Answer: C) The infinitive is used as a noun functioning as the predicative complement of the subject (The infinitive "to become" is used here as a noun functioning as the predicative complement or subject complement after the linking verb "is" — it completes the meaning of the subject "his greatest ambition" by identifying what the ambition actually is — when an infinitive follows a linking verb and completes the subject it functions as a noun.)

10. "Which of the following sentences correctly illustrates the use of the bare infinitive after a modal verb?"

  • A) She wants to complete the assignment before the deadline.
  • B) He needs to practise regularly to improve his performance.
  • C) They must submit all the required documents by tomorrow morning.
  • D) She decided to pursue a career in medicine after her graduation.

Answer: C) They must submit all the required documents by tomorrow morning. (This sentence correctly uses the bare infinitive "submit" after the modal verb "must" — modal verbs such as "can" "could" "may" "might" "must" "shall" "should" "will" and "would" are always followed by the bare infinitive without "to" — options A B and D all use the full infinitive "to complete" "to practise" and "to pursue" which follow non-modal verbs.)

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