Question

read the sentence:
writers use verbal phrases containing gerunds, infinitives, and participles to add variety and interest to their writing.
what type of phrase is the underlined phrase in the sentence?
○ a gerund phrase
○ an infinitive phrase
○ a participial phrase
○ a prepositional phrase

Explanation:

First, we analyze the underlined phrase (assuming the underlined phrase is "containing gerunds, infinitives, and participles"). A participial phrase is a group of words consisting of a participle (here "containing" is a present participle) and its modifiers/objects. A gerund phrase would function as a noun, an infinitive phrase has "to + verb", and a prepositional phrase starts with a preposition. Since "containing" is a present participle and the phrase acts as an adjective - like modifier for "verbal phrases", it's a participial phrase. Wait, but looking at the options, if the underlined phrase is "to add variety and interest to their writing", that's an infinitive phrase (starts with "to" + verb "add"). Wait, maybe the underlined phrase is "to add variety and interest to their writing". Let's re - evaluate: An infinitive phrase is made up of "to" plus a verb (and its objects/modifiers). "To add variety and interest to their writing" has "to" + "add" (verb) plus the objects "variety and interest" and the prepositional phrase "to their writing" as modifiers. A gerund phrase would be a gerund (verb - ing) acting as a noun, a participial phrase is a participle (verb - ing or verb - ed) acting as an adjective, and a prepositional phrase starts with a preposition. So if the underlined phrase is "to add variety and interest to their writing", it's an infinitive phrase. But if the underlined is "containing...", it's participial. Wait, the original sentence: "Writers use verbal phrases containing gerunds, infinitives, and participles to add variety and interest to their writing." Let's assume the underlined is "to add variety and interest to their writing". So an infinitive phrase is "to" + base form of the verb. So the correct option would be "an infinitive phrase" (the second option).

Answer:

an infinitive phrase (assuming the underlined phrase is "to add variety and interest to their writing"; if the underlined was "containing...", it would be a participial phrase, but based on the options and common sentence analysis, likely the infinitive phrase option)