Question

replace the infinitive in the sentence with the gerund form of the same verb.
the laughing boy in the boat likes to sail.

Explanation:

Identify the infinitive in the sentence

The given sentence is: "The laughing boy in the boat likes to sail."
The infinitive phrase is "to sail", which is formed by "to" followed by the base form of the verb "sail".

Determine the gerund form of the verb

The base verb is "sail".
The gerund form of a verb is created by adding the suffix "-ing" to its base form, which yields "sailing".

Replace the infinitive with the gerund

Replacing "to sail" with "sailing" in the original sentence gives: "The laughing boy in the boat likes sailing."

Answer:

Replace the infinitive in the sentence with the gerund form of the same verb.
The laughing boy in the boat likes <blank>sailing</blank>.