L3 English

Ling Liang Church M H Lau Secondary School
S2 Summer Foundation Course – English Grammar Exercise

Name: ____________________ Class: _____ ( ) Date: _____________________
Lesson 3: to infinitive
A We often use one verb after another verb. Often, when a verb follows another, it can take the to-infinitive
form.
 The to-infinitive does not change with the person and number of the subject.
We hope to see you again soon.
She hopes to see you again soon.
 It is not affected by the tense of the verb either.
He’s offered to help.
I have no doubt he’ll offer to help.
He offered to help when I told him we were busy.
He’s offering to help.
 Some common verbs that may be followed by a to-infinitive include:
 Some of the verbs listed above can be used in the structure: verb + object + to-infinitive.
She would like to draw a picture.
(verb + to-infinitive)
She would like me to draw a picture.
(verb + object + to-infinitive)
 There are other verbs that can be used in this structure. Some common ones include:
We advised him to work harder.

The policeman ordered the driver to stop the car.
 After some verbs we can use a question word (what, how, where, when, who, etc.) before the to-
infinitive.
**However, we do not use the question word why in this structure.
 We can also use the to-infinitive to show purpose.
Note:
1 The to-infinitive form of the verbs am, are, is, was and were is to be.
He seems to be busy today.
Compare: He is busy today.
2 The negative form is not + to-infinitive.

Mr Lee advised us not to spend too much time playing games.
He decided not to attend the meeting.
 We can also use to-infinitives after certain adjectives. We usually use the structure adjective + to-
infinitive to talk about what we think of something.
The hotel is easy to find.
The adjectives used in this structure usually describe feelings, opinions or reactions, such as:
We can form a sentence using this structure in several ways:

• adjective + to-infinitive
I am glad to hear that you won the competition.
The song was not easy to sing.
• It + verb to be + adjective + to-infinitive
It is impossible to memorise all of these words in one minute.
It was not easy to sing this song.
• It + verb to be + adjective + for/of + noun/pronoun +
to-infinitive
It will not be difficult for you to pass the examination.
It was kind of Tom to find the book for me.
Exercise 1
Complete the sentences by putting a tick (√) in the box next to the best answer. (10 marks)
1. Do you mind _______________ to me during break? I’m very busy right now.
□ to speak □ speaking
2. Stop _______________ me.
□ to bother □ bothering
3. Don’t _______________ drugs. They can ruin your life.
□ taking □ take
4. The runners are busy _______________ warm-up exercises.
□ doing □ to do
5. You should practise more if you want _______________ a singer.
□ to be □ being
6. The man said that he didn’t mean _______________ anyone.
□ hurting □ to hurt
7. What can we do _______________ poor people?
□ to help □ helping
8. Andy is Thai. He is very fond of _______________ spicy food.
□ to eat □ eating
9. Thomas regrets _______________ harder for the test.
□ studying not □ not studying
10. ‘Do you recommend _______________ to Disneyland?’ the tourist asked.
□ to go □ going
Exercise 2
Complete the sentences below using the correct form of the verbs in the box. (10 marks)
be tell come treat travel
1. The Smiths are very rich. They can afford ____________________ overseas once a month.
2. Don’t worry about him being late. He has promised ____________________.
3. Mr Chan has agreed ____________________ the teacher who advises our club.
4. Mary offered ____________________ us all to dinner because she has just been promoted.
5. I have decided ____________________ him the truth: I have forgotten his name.
Exercise 3
Use ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘how’, ‘which one’, ‘whether’, etc. and the verbs provided to complete
the following sentences. Use each verb once only. The first one has been done for you as an example. (10
marks)
choose accept say wear visit
do believe go use get
1. e.g. I’m at a loss. I don’t know what to do.

2. Have you decided __________________________________ his invitation? Decline it if you really
don’t want to go.
3. I need some help. Can you teach me __________________________________ this digital camera?
4. I was speechless when I heard the bad news. I didn’t know _______________ ___________________.
5. You have to pay attention to __________________________________ for the interview. Wear
something smart and tidy.
6. The story has two completely different versions. I don’t know ________________
__________________.
7. Do you know __________________________________ the application form for a passport? Can I get
it online?
8. Look at those dresses. Both of them look good on me. I really can’t decide
__________________________________.
9. I am not sure __________________________________ Toby in the hospital.
10. I have lost my keys and my family is out. I don’t know _____________________ _____________
now.
Exercise 4
Complete the sentences by using the words in brackets. The first one has been done for you as an example.
(10 marks)
e.g. The can is easy to open.
(can / easy / open)
2. ________________________________________________________________
(match / exciting / watch)
3. ________________________________________________________________
(doctor’s handwriting / impossible / read)
4. ________________________________________________________________
(water from the old well / not / safe / drink)
5. ________________________________________________________________
(weather / too / bad / go / for a picnic)
6. ________________________________________________________________
(his poems / difficult / understand)
Answers
Exercise 1 Exercise 3
1. speaking 2. whether to accept
2. bothering 3. how to use
3. take 4. what to say
4. doing 5. what to wear
5. to be 6. which one to believe
6. to hurt 7. how/where to get
7. to help 8. which one to choose
8. eating 9. when to visit
9. not studying 10. where to go
10. going
Exercise 4
Exercise 2 2. The match is exciting to watch.
1. to travel 3. The doctor’s handwriting is impossible to read.
2. to come 4. The water from the old well is not safe to
3. to be drink.
4. to treat 5. The weather is too bad to go for a picnic.
5. to tell 6. His poems are difficult to understand.

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Ling Liang Church M H Lau Secondary School

S2 Summer Foundation Course – English Grammar Exercise

We advised him to work harder.

**However, we do not use the question word why in this structure.

 We can also use the to-infinitive to show purpose.

2 The negative form is not + to-infinitive.

We can form a sentence using this structure in several ways:

be tell come treat travel

2. Don’t worry about him being late. He has promised ____________________.

1. e.g. I’m at a loss. I don’t know what to do.

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