5 exercises — verbs that take gerunds, verbs that take infinitives, dual-use verbs, purpose clauses, and prepositional contexts.
0 / 9 completed
1 / 9
Choose the correct form: "The team decided _____ the monolith into microservices."
"Decide" takes an infinitive: "decided to break." Verbs expressing decisions, intentions, or plans (decide, plan, want, need, choose) are followed by "to + verb".
2 / 9
Which is correct? "We recommend _____ the cache before running migrations."
"Recommend" takes a gerund: "recommend clearing." Other verbs in this group: suggest, avoid, consider, practise, risk, enjoy. Note: "recommend that you clear" is also correct but uses a that-clause, not an infinitive directly.
3 / 9
Complete: "The service is responsible _____ all incoming webhook events."
After a preposition, use a gerund. "Responsible for" is a fixed prepositional phrase, so it must be followed by "-ing": "responsible for handling." Other examples: "benefit from caching", "in charge of deploying".
4 / 9
Choose the correct purpose clause: "We use a CDN _____ latency for global users."
Infinitives of purpose ("to reduce") answer "why" or "in order to." They express the purpose or goal of an action. "For + gerund" is possible but less common in formal technical writing for purpose clauses.
5 / 9
Which sentence is grammatically correct?
"Consider" takes a gerund: "consider splitting." "Avoid" also takes a gerund ("avoid deploying"), not an infinitive. "Stop + gerund" means cease the action; "stop + infinitive" means pause to do something else — both are valid but with different meanings.
6 / 9
Reviewer: 'I'm not entirely convinced this approach is robust. Could you elaborate on why you chose to use async/await here instead of a simpler callback?'
The question tests understanding of using gerunds to explain *why* a decision was made. Option 1 is the most appropriate use of a gerund in this context – it explains the reasoning behind the choice. Options 2, 3 and 4 are all potential reasons for using `async/await`, but they don't provide an explanation of the reviewer's concern.
7 / 9
Slack message from @john.doe: 'Hey team, could we potentially optimize this endpoint to reduce response times? I've seen some spikes in latency.' Which phrasing best reflects John's suggestion?
The question assesses understanding of gerunds as suggestions for improvement. Option 2 – 'to improve the performance of the API calls' – is the most precise and direct use of a gerund in this scenario, aligning with John's observation about latency. The other options describe potential consequences or broader improvements, not the immediate action being proposed.
8 / 9
Reviewer: 'I'm not entirely convinced this approach is robust. Could you elaborate on why you chose to use async/await here instead of a simpler callback?'
The question tests understanding of using gerunds to explain *why* a decision was made. Option 1 is the most appropriate use of a gerund in this context – it explains the reasoning behind the choice. Options 2, 3 and 4 are all potential reasons for using `async/await`, but they don't provide an explanation of the reviewer's concern.
9 / 9
Slack message from @john.doe: 'Hey team, could we potentially optimize this endpoint to reduce response times? I've seen some spikes in latency.' Which phrasing best reflects John's suggestion?
The question assesses understanding of gerunds as suggestions for improvement. Option 2 – 'to improve the performance of the API calls' – is the most precise and direct use of a gerund in this scenario, aligning with John's observation about latency. The other options describe potential consequences or broader improvements, not the immediate action being proposed.
What will I practise in "Gerunds vs Infinitives in Technical Writing — Grammar Exercise"?
Master when to use gerunds (-ing) vs infinitives (to + verb) after common verbs and prepositions in technical contexts.
How many exercises are in this module?
This module has 9 multiple-choice exercises, each with instant feedback and a full explanation of the correct answer.
Is this exercise free to use?
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You'll immediately see which answer was correct, plus a full explanation covering the grammar rule and reasoning behind it — mistakes are where most of the learning happens.
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Where can I find more Grammar exercises?
Browse the full Grammar hub for related drills, or check the "Next up" link below to continue with a connected topic.
How is this different from reading an article on the same topic?
Articles explain grammar rules in prose; this exercise tests and reinforces those rules through active recall with immediate feedback — the two work best together.
Who writes these exercises?
Every exercise is written by the CoderSlingo team, drawing on real workplace English used in IT roles, then reviewed for accuracy and clarity.