Grammar Exercises Bank

Forms of the Infinitive

	Active	Passive
Indefinite (Simple)	To solve	To be solved
Continuous	To be solving
Perfect	To have solved	To have been solved

The Complex Object

S +P +Noun/Objective pronoun+infinitive

e.g Scientists found materials to display special properties at the nanoscale.

The Complex Subject

e.g People are not likely to do any manual work at the highly automated factories of the future.

Write these sentences in another way, beginning as shown. Use the underlined word.

1. It is expected that the strike will end soon.

The strike is expected to end soon.

2. It is expected that the weather will be good tomorrow.

The weather is ….

3. It is reported that the building has been damaged by the fire.

The building ….

4. It is reported that many people are homeless after the floods.

Many people ….

5. It is said that the company is losing a lot of money.

The company ….

6. It is believed that the company lost a lot of money last year.

The company ….

7. It is thought that the prisoner escaped by climbing over a wall.

The prisoner ….

Some verbs that can be followed by a gerund:

Admit avoid consider deny enjoy finish start continue miss practice suggest (dis)like keep mind miss practice recommend resist understand

Gerund is also follows after prepositions (like a noun). (e.g. He’s interested in working with students.)

A gerund can be the subject of a sentence. (e.g. Working too long on a computer is bad for your eyes.)

A gerund can also be the object of certain verbs. (e.g. I enjoy surfing the Web).

Modal verbs

2. Put in must or can’t .

1. You’ve been travelling all day. You must be very tired.

2. That restaurant …………….. be very good. It’s always full of people.

3. That restaurant…………….. be very good. It’s always empty.

4. You’re going on holiday next week. You …………….. be looking

forward to it.

5. It rained every day during their holiday, so they …………….. have had a

very nice time.

6. Congratulations on passing your exam. You................ …………….. be very

pleased.

7. You got here very quickly. You …………….. have walked very fast.

8. Bill and Sue go away on holiday very often, so they …………….. be

short of money.