Question

Select the letter of the choice that correctly identifies the phrase in quotes in the following sentence: The seventeenth-century Pilgrims were the first Europeans "to arrive" on Cape Cod. a. prepositional phrase e. infinitive phrase b. appositive phrase f. absolute phrase c. participial phrase d. gerund phrase

Answer 1

The phrase "to arrive" uses a verb with the word "arrive" rather than a noun. A prepositional phrase can use the preposition "to," but it would then be followed by a noun such as "to the car" rather than a verb. An appositive phrase uses a noun to rename another noun, as in the sentence "My teacher, Ms. Smith, is nice." In this example, "Ms. Smith" is an appositive phrase renaming "my teacher." An absolute phrase is another type of modifier that modifies a whole independent clause. A gerund phrase consists of an -ing verb plus modifiers and complements that acts as a noun, which also does not apply in this case. An infinitive verb phrase uses the word "to" followed by a verb, as with "to swim." Thus, in this example, "to arrive" is an infinitive verb phrase.