The Complete Guide To The TOEFL Test

224 Section 2 • Guide to Structure and Written Expression

reach. ______

226 Section 2 • Guide to Structure and Written Expression

___ 9. About 8,000 years ago, people began using animals to carry themselves and their

ABC 0

belongings.

10. Storks constantly rearrange their nests to keep their eggs safety, dry, and warm.

ABC D

11. In its purely state, hydrochloric acid is a gas, but!! is almost always used as a solution

in water.

___ 12. Animals that hibernate usually eat large numbers of food in the autumn.

ABC 0

___ 13. Many folk songs have been written about railroads and railroads workers.

- A - - B - C 0

Project.

___ 19. Crocodiles are sometimes confused with alligators, but are different from they in

ABC

a number of ways. o

___ 20. As a concert violinist, conductor, and he composed both serious and popular music,

Leonard Bernstein achieved a series of remarkable successes. o

important part of the education of every child.

-n-

24. The black walnut tree is grown principally for its lumber, which is used for cabinets and

ABC

furnitures. n

___ 25. Plymouth was the soonest of the five colonies established by the Pilgrims in

ABC D

Massachusetts.

228 Section 2 • Guide to Structure and Written Expression

LESSON 38

ERRORS WITH VERBALS

Verbals are participles, gerunds, infinitives, and-for the purpose of this lesson-simple forms of the verb.

Participles are verbal adjectives. In this part of the test, participles are often seen before nouns as one-word adjectives. Present participles end with -ing. When used before a noun, present

participles have an active meaning. Past participles of regular verbs end in oed; the past participles of many common verbs are irregular. Before nouns, past participles have a passive meaning.

It was an exhausting ten-kilometer race. (present participle)

The exhausted runners were too tired to move after the race. (past participle)

In the first sentence, the race exhausts the runners. The race "performs" the action. In the second sentence, the runners are exhausted by the race. They receive the action.

Participles are also used in phrases after nouns as reduced (shortened) relative clauses. Again, present participles imply an active idea, past participles a passive one.

The man stealing the money was arrested. (present participle; means "who stole")

The money stolen from the bank was recovered. (past participle; means "which was stolen")

Gerunds are verbal nouns. Like present participles, gerunds end in -ing. They can be the subjects of verbs, the objects of prepositions, and the objects of certain verbs. (See the chart on the following page.)

Dancing is good exercise. (gerund as subject)

You can solve this problem by using a calculator. (gerund as object of a preposition) He enjoys going to good restaurants. (gerund as object of a verb)

All twoand three-word verb phrases that can be followed by verbals are used with gerunds, not infinitives. This is true even when the verb phrase ends with the word to. (This can be tricky because infinitives always begin with the word to.)

I'm looking forward to going to New Orleans.

John is opposed to our participating.

Infinitives consist of the word to and the simple form of the verb. Like gerunds, infinitives can be the subjects of verbs and the objects of certain verbs (see chart). Unlike gerunds, infinitives can never be the objects of prepositions.

To help others is rewarding. (infinitive as subject)

He attempted to swim across the river. (infinitive as object of a verb)

Infinitives are used in several other ways:

It's important to change the oil in your car frequently. (infinitive after an adjective)

The first man to land on the moon was Neil Armstrong. (infinitive used as an adjective after a noun)

She must take this class to graduate. (infinitive used to show purpose)

Section 2 • Guide to Structure and Written Expression 229

Simple forms are the base forms of verbs; they consist of the infinitive without the word to. Simple forms are used after the causative verbs have, make, and let;

He had the carpenter repair the door.

His father makes him study hard.

She let her son go on the trip.

Verblr8ed with

.·Gerunds

Watch for the following errors involving verbals:

A) Incorrect Choice of Verbal

Any of these verbals-participle, gerund, infinitive, or simple form-may be incorrectly used when another one of them is required.

Section 2 • Guide to Structure and Written Expression 229

Simple forms are the base forms of verbs; they consist of the infinitive without the word to. Simple forms are used after the causative verbs have, make, and let:

He had the carpenter repair the door.

His father makes him study hard.

She let her son go on the trip.

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Watch for the following errors involving verbals:

A) Incorrect Choice of Verbal

Any of these verbals-participle, gerund, infinitive, or simple form-may be incorrectly used when another one of them is required.