Free Infinitives and Gerunds MCQs with Answers

1. Choose the correct form: He enjoys ____ novels in his free time.

• A. to read
• B. reading
• C. read
• D. to reading

Explanation: Enjoy always takes a gerund, never an infinitive, and the same is true of avoid, finish, mind, suggest and practise. Verbs such as want, hope and decide take the infinitive instead. A few, including begin and like, accept either with little change in meaning.

2. Choose the correct form: She agreed ____ us with the project.

• A. helping
• B. to help
• C. help
• D. helped

Explanation: Agree belongs to the group of verbs followed by the infinitive, along with promise, refuse, decide and manage. Using the gerund after these verbs is the standard error for learners whose first language does not make the distinction. Contrast with enjoy and avoid, which take the gerund.

3. Choose the correct form: The room needs ____.

• A. to clean
• B. cleaning
• C. cleaned
• D. clean

Explanation: After need, want and require, a gerund carries a passive meaning, so the room needs cleaning means it needs to be cleaned. The alternative correct form would be needs to be cleaned, which states the passive explicitly. Needs to clean would wrongly suggest the room is doing the cleaning.

4. Please, stop ________ so many mistakes.

• A. To making
• B. Making
• C. Makes to
• D. Make

Explanation: After stop, a gerund is used when the meaning is to cease an activity, so “making” is correct. “To make” would normally mean stopping one action in order to begin another.

5. He is looking forward to _______ his bro.

• A. see
• B. seeing
• C. saw
• D. None of These

Explanation: The expression look forward to is followed by a gerund, because to functions as a preposition here rather than as part of an infinitive. Therefore, the correct form is seeing.

6. They are enjoying swimming. What is " swimming " according to grammar?

• A. Verb
• B. Adjective
• C. Noun
• D. Adverb

Explanation: Swimming is a gerund here because it names an activity and functions as the object of enjoying. Although a gerund comes from a verb, its grammatical function in this sentence is noun-like.

7. There is no use ___going there at this time.

• A. at
• B. in
• C. on
• D. of

Explanation: The fixed construction is “there is no use in doing something,” so the preposition “in” is followed by the gerund “going.”

8. Creativity allows language __________ accommodate new meanings and messages:

• A. to
• B. on
• C. with
• D. in

Explanation: Allow is followed by an object and the infinitive with to: “allows language to accommodate.” The preposition options do not fit this verb pattern.

9. I enjoy __________ tennis.

• A. to play
• B. plays
• C. playing
• D. to playing

Explanation: Enjoy is followed by a gerund, or -ing form, rather than an infinitive. The correct construction is enjoy playing tennis.

10. Nearly everybody has trouble _______ at one time or another.

• A. sleep
• B. in sleeping
• C. during sleeing
• D. sleeping

Explanation: The verb “have trouble” is followed by a gerund: “have trouble sleeping.” “Sleep” would need a different construction, such as “trouble to sleep,” which is not natural here.