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 add", not a gerund, so it's not a gerund phrase.
• An infinitive phrase starts with "to" + a verb (the base form of the verb). 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 participle: verb + -ing; past participle: verb + -ed or irregular form) 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. The underlined phrase is not a prepositional phrase as it's an infinitive phrase.

Answer:

an infinitive phase (Note: There is a typo, it should be "an infinitive phrase", but among the given options, this is the correct one based on the structure of the underlined phrase.)