Gerund (V-ing) vs. Infinitive (To V) – English Grammar Exercises for B1
A public Facebook post from a store owner apologizing for a delayed opening due to a sudden power outage and thanking customers for their patience. Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence. Read the context carefully. Keep in mind the strict grammatical rule: any verb immediately following a preposition MUST be in the gerund (V-ing) form.
1 Dear valued customers, we want to start by thanking you for ________ so patiently outside this morning.
(A) wait
(B) to wait
(C) waiting
(D) waited
2 We sincerely apologize for ________ the store an hour later than our usual schedule today.
(A) opening
(B) to open
(C) open
(D) opened
3 Instead of ________ our doors at 8:00 AM as promised, we had to wait for the electricity to return.
(A) opened
(B) to open
(C) opening
(D) open
4 Unfortunately, we could not operate our cash registers without ________ a stable power supply.
(A) have
(B) to have
(C) had
(D) having
5 We are now fully operational and look forward ________ you for the rest of the day!
(A) to serve
(B) to serving
(C) serving
(D) serve
6 We hope to clear up any confusion by ________ this quick update on our official Facebook page.
(A) to post
(B) post
(C) posting
(D) posted
7 The sudden neighborhood blackout prevented our staff from ________ the building safely early this morning.
(A) to enter
(B) entered
(C) enter
(D) entering
8 Despite ________ some major technical issues, our team worked incredibly hard to get everything ready.
(A) experiencing
(B) to experience
(C) experience
(D) experienced
9 We know you are used ________ our fresh pastries ready by dawn, and we are sorry to disappoint you today.
(A) to seeing
(B) seeing
(C) to see
(D) see
10 Our technicians have proven they are fully capable of ________ emergency situations like this smoothly.
(A) handle
(B) to handle
(C) handling
(D) handled
11 For those interested in ________ the exact cause, a main city cable was damaged nearby.
(A) know
(B) to know
(C) knowing
(D) known
12 The local city council finally succeeded in ________ the neighborhood’s electricity at 9:00 AM.
(A) restoring
(B) to restore
(C) restore
(D) restored
13 We deeply appreciate that none of the customers complained about ________ to stand in the cold.
(A) have
(B) having
(C) to have
(D) had
14 Right now, our entire team will focus on ________ the best possible shopping experience for you.
(A) to deliver
(B) delivered
(C) deliver
(D) delivering
15 We must apologize for ________ you sooner; our internet router was completely down during the blackout.
(A) not informing
(B) not to inform
(C) didn’t inform
(D) not inform
16 Thank you for your understanding regarding ________ out in the cold rain while our doors were locked.
(A) keeping
(B) being kept
(C) to keep
(D) to be kept
17 As a way of ________ you for this inconvenience, we are offering a 10% discount on all items today.
(A) compensate
(B) to compensate
(C) compensating
(D) compensated
18 In addition ________ you this discount, we will also extend our closing hours tonight.
(A) to giving
(B) to give
(C) giving
(D) give
19 We take full responsibility for ________ prepared with a backup generator this morning.
(A) not to be
(B) didn’t be
(C) not be
(D) not being
20 As your favorite local store, we remain deeply committed ________ our services every single day.
(A) to improve
(B) to improving
(C) improving
(D) improve
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C)
- Why it is correct (The Key): “For” is a preposition. Any verb following a preposition must take the gerund (V-ing) form. “Thank you for waiting” is the standard phrase.
- Error Analysis: (B) “To wait” is a Common Mistake (using an infinitive after a preposition). (A) Bare verb (Structural Error). (D) Past tense verb (Strong Distractor).
2 (A)
- Why it is correct (The Key): “For” is a preposition following the verb “apologize.” It strictly requires a gerund.
- Error Analysis: (B) “To open” is a Common Mistake. (C) Bare verb (Structural Error). (D) Past tense verb (Strong Distractor).
3 (C)
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Instead of” acts as a preposition. Therefore, “opening” is required.
- Error Analysis: (B) “To open” is a Common Mistake. (D) Bare verb (Structural Error). (A) Past tense verb (Strong Distractor).
4 (D)
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Without” is a preposition. It must be followed by the V-ing form to act as the noun object of the preposition.
- Error Analysis: (B) “To have” is a Common Mistake. (A) Bare verb (Structural Error). (C) Past tense verb (Strong Distractor).
5 (B)
- Why it is correct (The Key): In the phrase “look forward to,” the word “to” is a preposition, not an infinitive marker. Therefore, it must be followed by a gerund (“to serving”).
- Error Analysis: (A) “To serve” is the most frequent Common Mistake in business English! (C) “Serving” misses the required preposition “to” (Structural Error). (D) Bare verb (Structural Error).
6 (C)
- Why it is correct (The Key): The preposition “by” is used to explain how a goal is achieved. It must be followed by a gerund.
- Error Analysis: (A) “To post” is a Common Mistake. (B) Bare verb (Structural Error). (D) Past tense verb (Strong Distractor).
7 (D)
- Why it is correct (The Key): The verb “prevent” pairs with the preposition “from,” which requires the gerund “entering.”
- Error Analysis: (A) “To enter” is a Common Mistake. (C) Bare verb (Structural Error). (B) Past tense verb (Strong Distractor).
8 (A)
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Despite” is a preposition meaning “even though.” It must be followed by a noun or a gerund.
- Error Analysis: (B) “To experience” is a Common Mistake. (C) Bare verb (Structural Error). (D) Past tense verb (Strong Distractor).
9 (A)
- Why it is correct (The Key): In the phrase “be used to” (meaning to be accustomed to a habit), the “to” is a preposition. It must take a gerund.
- Error Analysis: (C) “To see” is a massive Common Mistake; learners confuse this with the past habit “used to + Base Verb.” (B) Missing the preposition “to” (Structural Error). (D) Bare verb (Structural Error).
10 (C)
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Capable of” ends in the preposition “of,” requiring the gerund form.
- Error Analysis: (B) “To handle” is a Common Mistake. (A) Bare verb (Structural Error). (D) Past tense verb (Strong Distractor).
11 (C)
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Interested in” is an adjective phrase ending in a preposition. It takes a gerund.
- Error Analysis: (B) “To know” is a Common Mistake. (A) Bare verb (Structural Error). (D) Past participle (Strong Distractor).
12 (A)
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Succeed in” is a fixed verb + preposition pair that demands a gerund.
- Error Analysis: (B) “To restore” is a Common Mistake. (C) Bare verb (Structural Error). (D) Past tense verb (Strong Distractor).
13 (B)
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Complain about” ends in a preposition, meaning it must be followed by V-ing.
- Error Analysis: (C) “To have” is a Common Mistake. (A) Bare verb (Structural Error). (D) Past tense verb (Strong Distractor).
14 (D)
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Focus on” requires a gerund because of the preposition “on.”
- Error Analysis: (A) “To deliver” is a Common Mistake. (C) Bare verb (Structural Error). (B) Past tense verb (Strong Distractor).
15 (A)
- Why it is correct (The Key): To make a gerund negative after a preposition (“for”), simply place the word “not” directly in front of the V-ing (“not informing”).
- Error Analysis: (B) “Not to inform” is a negative infinitive, which breaks the preposition rule (Common Mistake). (C) “Didn’t inform” is a conjugated verb, structurally invalid after a preposition (Structural Error). (D) Missing “-ing” (Structural Error).
16 (B)
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Regarding” acts as a preposition here. Because the customers received the action of being left outside, a Passive Gerund (“being kept”) is required.
- Error Analysis: (A) “Keeping” is an active gerund. This would mean the customers were keeping someone else outside, which is illogical (Meaning Trap). (C) “To keep” is an active infinitive (Common Mistake). (D) “To be kept” is a passive infinitive, breaking the preposition rule (Structural Error).
17 (C)
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Of” is a preposition, so “compensating” is the only correct choice.
- Error Analysis: (B) “To compensate” is a Common Mistake. (A) Bare verb (Structural Error). (D) Past tense verb (Strong Distractor).
18 (A)
- Why it is correct (The Key): The phrase is “in addition to.” The “to” here is a preposition linking two ideas, not an infinitive marker. It requires a gerund.
- Error Analysis: (B) “To give” is a huge Common Mistake. (C) Missing the preposition “to” (Structural Error). (D) Bare verb (Structural Error).
19 (D)
- Why it is correct (The Key): “For” is a preposition. We use the negative gerund “not being” to express taking responsibility for a failure.
- Error Analysis: (A) “Not to be” is a Common Mistake. (B) “Didn’t be” is a severely broken grammatical structure (Structural Error). (C) “Not be” is a bare verb with a negative, invalid after a preposition (Structural Error).
20 (B)
- Why it is correct (The Key): In the corporate phrase “committed to,” the word “to” is a preposition. It must be followed by a gerund.
- Error Analysis: (A) “To improve” is a frequent Common Mistake in business writing. (C) Missing the preposition “to” (Structural Error). (D) Bare verb (Structural Error).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- The Golden Preposition Rule:
If a verb is placed immediately after a preposition (such as for, in, about, of, by, without, instead of, despite), that verb MUST take the Gerund (V-ing) form. - Example: “Thank you for waiting.”
- Example: “We apologize for opening late.”
- Negative Gerunds:
If you want to apologize for a mistake or something you didn’t do, put the word not immediately before the V-ing. - Example: “I apologize for not replying sooner.”
- The Tricky “To” in Business English:
In English, “to” is usually part of an infinitive (e.g., I want to go). However, in several very common business phrases, “to” acts as a preposition. When it is a preposition, it must be followed by V-ing. Memorize these three vital phrases from the test: - Look forward to V-ing (e.g., look forward to serving you)
- Be used to V-ing (e.g., are used to seeing)
- Be committed to V-ing (e.g., committed to improving)
- In addition to V-ing (e.g., in addition to giving you a discount)