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 phase
○ a participial phase
○ a prepositional phrase

Explanation:

1. Recall the definitions of each phrase type:

• A gerund phrase starts with a gerund (verb + -ing) and functions as a noun. The underlined phrase starts with "to", not a gerund, so it's not a gerund phrase.
• An infinitive phrase starts with "to" followed by a verb (the base form). The underlined phrase is "to add variety and interest to their writing", which starts with "to" + the verb "add", fitting the infinitive phrase structure.
• A participial phrase starts with a participle (present: verb + -ing; past: verb + -ed or irregular) and functions as an adjective. The underlined phrase doesn't start with a participle, so it's not a participial phrase.
• A prepositional phrase starts with a preposition (e.g., in, on, at, to - but "to" here is part of the infinitive, not a preposition in this context) and functions as an adjective or adverb. Since this phrase starts with "to" as part of an infinitive (to + verb), it's not a prepositional phrase.

Answer:

an infinitive phrase (Note: There was a typo in the option as "phase" instead of "phrase", but the correct option is the one labeled "an infinitive phase" with the intended meaning of "phrase".)