To-infinitive – English Grammar Exercises for A2
Your family members or friends are asking you where you are going or why you are leaving the house. Read the conversations carefully and choose the best option (A, B, or C) to complete your answer.
1 Mom: “Where are you going?”
You: “I’m going to the supermarket ______ some milk.”
(A) to buy
(B) for buy
(C) buying
2 Brother: “Why are you putting on your coat?”
You: “I need to go outside ______ my bike.”
(A) fixing
(B) fix
(C) to fix
3 Dad: “Are you leaving now?”
You: “Yes, I’m going to the library ______ a book for my homework.”
(A) for borrowing
(B) to borrow
(C) for borrow
4 Friend: “Why did you go to the mall yesterday?”
You: “I went there ______ a new jacket for the winter.”
(A) to find
(B) find
(C) finding
5 Mom: “Where are you off to?”
You: “I am going to the pharmacy ______ some medicine for my headache.”
(A) for get
(B) to get
(C) getting
6 Sister: “Where is our brother?”
You: “He went to the park ______ football with his friends.”
(A) to play
(B) for play
(C) play
7 Friend: “Why are you running?”
You: “I am running ______ the 5 PM bus! I’m late.”
(A) catching
(B) for catching
(C) to catch
8 Mom: “Can you go to the bakery, please?”
You: “Sure, I will go there ______ some fresh bread for breakfast.”
(A) to buy
(B) for buy
(C) buy
9 Dad: “Why did she leave the house so early?”
You: “She left early ______ her friends at the coffee shop.”
(A) to meet
(B) for meet
(C) meeting
10 Friend: “I need to go to the bank ______ some money. Can you wait for me?”
(A) to take out
(B) for take out
(C) taking out
11 Sister: “Why are you going to the sports center?”
You: “I am going there ______ swimming.”
(A) go
(B) going
(C) to go
12 Friend: “Where are they going?”
You: “They are going to the stadium ______ the football match.”
(A) to watch
(B) for watch
(C) watching
13 Mom: “Please take this to the post office.”
You: “Okay, I will go there ______ this package to Grandma.”
(A) to send
(B) send
(C) for sending
14 Dad: “Why are you walking to the corner shop?”
You: “I am going there ______ a newspaper for you.”
(A) for get
(B) to get
(C) getting
15 Friend: “Did you go to the mechanic yesterday?”
You: “Yes, I went there ______ my car.”
(A) repairing
(B) for repair
(C) to repair
16 Sister: “Why did you go downstairs?”
You: “I went downstairs ______ the door for the delivery man.”
(A) to open
(B) open
(C) for opening
17 Mom: “Where are you going?”
You: “I am just going to the kitchen ______ a glass of water.”
(A) get
(B) to get
(C) for getting
18 Friend: “Why are we driving to the beach now?”
You: “We are going there ______ the beautiful sunset.”
(A) to see
(B) for see
(C) seeing
19 Dad: “Why did you stop at the gas station?”
You: “I stopped ______ some petrol for the car.”
(A) buying
(B) buy
(C) to buy
20 Friend: “I am going to the new electronics store ______ a phone charger.”
(A) to look for
(B) for look for
(C) looking for
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (A) to buy
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: We use “to + verb” (Infinitive of purpose) to answer the question “Why?”. You go to the supermarket in order to buy milk.
- Why others are wrong: (B) “for buy” is a very common translation mistake. In English, you cannot use “for” directly with a base verb to show purpose. (C) “buying” is a gerund, which does not show the purpose of a movement here.
2 (C) to fix
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: It shows the reason for going outside.
- Why others are wrong: (A) “fixing” is the -ing form. (B) “fix” is a base verb missing the required “to”.
3 (B) to borrow
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “To borrow” explains the purpose of the trip to the library.
- Why others are wrong: (A) “for borrowing” is generally incorrect for explaining the direct purpose of a person’s movement. (C) “for borrow” is grammatically invalid.
4 (A) to find
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “To + infinitive” works in the past tense too. You went there to find a jacket.
- Why others are wrong: (B) “find” lacks “to”. (C) “finding” is incorrect.
5 (B) to get
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Explains the purpose of going to the pharmacy.
- Why others are wrong: (A) “for get” is a direct translation error. (C) “getting” is the wrong verb form.
6 (A) to play
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Shows the reason he went to the park.
- Why others are wrong: (B) “for play” is a classic mistake. (C) “play” cannot be used alone after another verb of movement (went).
7 (C) to catch
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Explains the reason for running.
- Why others are wrong: (A) “catching” and (B) “for catching” do not correctly express purpose here.
8 (A) to buy
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “To buy” answers why you will go to the bakery.
- Why others are wrong: (B) “for buy” is invalid. (C) “buy” needs “to”.
9 (A) to meet
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Explains the purpose of leaving early.
- Why others are wrong: (B) “for meet” is invalid. (C) “meeting” is incorrect.
10 (A) to take out
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Explains why you need to go to the bank.
- Why others are wrong: (B) “for take out” is invalid. (C) “taking out” is a gerund.
11 (C) to go
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “To go” explains the purpose. (Note: “go swimming” is a set phrase, so “to go swimming” is perfectly correct).
- Why others are wrong: (A) “go” and (B) “going” break the rule of purpose.
12 (A) to watch
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Shows the reason they are traveling to the stadium.
- Why others are wrong: (B) “for watch” is invalid grammar. (C) “watching” is incorrect.
13 (A) to send
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Explains the purpose of the visit to the post office.
- Why others are wrong: (B) “send” lacks “to”. (C) “for sending” is incorrect.
14 (B) to get
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “To get” answers why you are walking to the shop.
- Why others are wrong: (A) “for get” is a common error. (C) “getting” is incorrect.
15 (C) to repair
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Past tense movements still use “to + base verb” for purpose.
- Why others are wrong: (A) “repairing” and (B) “for repair” are incorrect. (Note: “for a repair” with an article ‘a’ would be a noun phrase and therefore correct, but “for repair” as a verb phrase is wrong).
16 (A) to open
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Explains the purpose of going downstairs.
- Why others are wrong: (B) “open” lacks “to”. (C) “for opening” is incorrect.
17 (B) to get
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Shows the goal of the short trip to the kitchen.
- Why others are wrong: (A) “get” lacks “to”. (C) “for getting” is incorrect.
18 (A) to see
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Explains the reason for the drive to the beach.
- Why others are wrong: (B) “for see” is invalid. (C) “seeing” is incorrect.
19 (C) to buy
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: “Stop to do something” means you stop your current activity in order to do a new action (buying petrol).
- Why others are wrong: (A) “buying” would mean you quit the habit of buying petrol. (B) “buy” lacks “to”.
20 (A) to look for
Explanation: – Why it’s correct: Explains the purpose of visiting the store.
- Why others are wrong: (B) “for look for” is invalid. (C) “looking for” is incorrect.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- The Infinitive of Purpose: To explain why someone does something or goes somewhere, we always use “to + Verb” (the to-infinitive).
- Question: Why are you going to the supermarket?
- Answer: I am going to the supermarket to buy milk.
- The “For + Verb” Trap: – Never use “for + base verb” to explain why you are doing something. This is a very common translation error from Vietnamese (“để mua” -> “for buy”). “For buy” is always wrong in English.
- Incorrect: I went to the library for borrow a book.
- Correct: I went to the library to borrow a book.
- When CAN we use “For”?
- You can use “for” to explain a purpose ONLY if it is followed by a Noun.
- Example with Noun: I went to the cafe for a coffee. (Correct)
- Example with Verb: I went to the cafe to drink a coffee. (Correct)