Question

Fill in the blank with the correct form of infinitive verb to complete the sentence:
She would rather _____ than suffer so.

a. dead
b. die
c. dying
d. to die

Answer 1

Hint: The verb being used is in the conditional form - ‘would’. There is only one fitting verb in the given options.

Complete answer:
The conditional tenses are used to speculate about what could happen, what might have happened, and what we wish would happen. They are constructed as follows - ‘would + infinitive root’.
In the given sentence, the verb is in active voice. So, we will use the bare infinitive in this case. In grammar, the infinitive form of a verb without the word “to" is called a ‘bare infinitive’.

Now, let’s look at the given options:
> dead - This verb is in the past tense. It is not a bare infinitive, so it is not what we are looking for. So, this is an incorrect option.
> die - This verb is a bare infinitive, it does not change when used in any tense. So, this is the correct option.
> dying - This verb is in the continuous form. It is not a bare infinitive, and it is not what we are looking for. So, this is an incorrect option.
> to die - This is a full infinitive. It is not a bare infinitive as it contains the word ‘to’, and therefore,it is not what we are looking for. So, this is also an incorrect option.

So the correct answer is option B - Die

Note: The verb should be in the conditional form, so look for the verb that is grammatically correct with the construction of the given sentence.