Mastering gerunds and infinitives is essential for building fluency in English. Gerunds, formed by adding -ing to verbs, act as nouns, while infinitives, the base form of a verb with “to,” often show purpose or intention. You’ll get here quiz for Gerund and an Infinitive practice test with you will receive the score. Understanding when to use each can be tricky, as their usage depends on context and specific verbs.
This practice test is designed to help you recognize patterns, reinforce your knowledge, and boost your confidence in using gerunds and infinitives correctly in everyday communication. Let’s dive in and enhance your English skills.
Gerund and Infinitive Practice test
Read and practice another test: Gerund And Participle Practice Quiz
Conditionals Quiz with Answers
Examples and exercises of the grammar quiz gerunds and infinitives
1. We talked about —– Correct together next summer
a) Travel
b) Travelling
c) To travel
d) traveled
2. I remember —– Correct here when I was a child
a) To be
b) be
c) being
d) been
3. If she doesn’t answer, try —- Wrong her mobile.
a) calling
b) called
c) to call
d) for calling
4. Your hair needs — . It’s too long.
a) to cut
b) cutting
c) cut
d) by cutting
5. I enjoy ___ books in my free time.
a) to read
b) reading
c) read
d) to reading
6. She decided ___ a new language during the summer.
a) learning
b) to learning
c) to learn
d) learn
7. Choose the correct option: He keeps ___ the same mistakes in his reports.
a) to make
b) making
c) make
d) to making
8. Choose the correct option: We plan ___ a surprise party for her birthday.
a) organizing
b) to organize
c) organize
d) to organizing
9. They promised ___ on time for the meeting.
a) being
b) to being
c) to be
d) be
10. Choose the correct option: I can’t help ___ when I hear that joke.
a) to laugh
b) laughing
c) to laughing
d) laugh
11. He stopped ___ coffee to focus on his health.
a) drinking
b) to drink
c) drink
d) to drinking
12. She suggested ___ to the park instead of the mall.
a) going
b) to go
c) go
d) to going
13. Choose the correct option: I hope ___ you at the event tomorrow.
a) to see
b) seeing
c) see
d) to seeing
14. Choose the correct option: They avoid ___ too much sugar in their diet.
a) to eat
b) eating
c) eat
d) to eating
15. They had trouble —- Wrong our house.
a) finding
b) find
c) to find
d) by finding
Explain: We use the gerund after certain expressions such as have trouble, have difficulty (in), have a hard/difficult time, etc.
Answer Key with Explanations of gerund infinitive practice
1.b) traveling
Explain: The gerund is utilized when a verb follows a preposition or a phrasal verb.
2.c) being
Explain: After remembering, use the gerund when you remember something from the past (memory), and use to infinitive when there’s something you must remember to do.
3.c) to call
Explain: We say try doing something (gerund) when we do something as an experiment to see if it helps to solve a problem that we want to solve. ➪ In this sentence, someone wants to contact a person, and to achieve that, they can do something (call) to see if it works
4. a) to cut
Explain: We use the form that needs doing when the meaning is passive. Something needs doing.= ‘Something needs to be done.’. Your hair needs cutting.= ‘Your hair needs to be cut.
5. b) reading
Explanation: Enjoy is always followed by a gerund.
6.c) to learn
Explanation: Decide is followed by the infinitive form of the verb.
7. b) making
Explanation: Keep is always followed by a gerund. So, making is the correct answer
8. b) to organize
Explanation: Plan is followed by the infinitive form of the verb.
9. c) to be
Explanation: Promise is followed by the infinitive form of the verb.
10. b) laughing
Explanation: Can’t help is always followed by a gerund.
11. b) to drink
Explanation: Stop + to indicates stopping one action to start another.
12. a) going
Explanation: Suggest is followed by a gerund.
13. a) to see
Explanation: Hope is followed by the infinitive form of the verb.
14. b) eating
Explanation: Avoid is always followed by a gerund.
These MCQs and explanations will help you solidify your understanding of gerund and infinitive usage in various contexts.
15.c) to find
Explain: We use the gerund after certain expressions such as have trouble, have difficulty (in), have a hard/difficult time, etc.