Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
The doctor advised her ______ in bed for a week.
a) stay
b) to staying
c) staying
d) to stay

Answer 1

Hint: The given sentence indicates instructions. This means that a very specific kind of non-finite verb will be used to fill the given blank. This verb should be invariable.

Complete answer:
When we speak about a specific preference, ‘would rather’ and ‘would prefer’ have the same meaning and are interchangeable. ‘Would prefer’ is followed by ‘to + infinitive’ or a noun.

An infinitive is formed from a verb but doesn’t act as a verb. It acts as either a noun, adjective, or adverb. It is constructed in the following way: to + verb. These two words
together act as an infinitive. Infinitives are a form of a non-finite verb, meaning they are not
subject to change.

The infinitive of a verb has two forms: the to-infinitive and the infinitive without to. The to-
the form consists of to plus the base form of the verb-
-I want to speak to you.
-We came here to work, not to play.

The form without consists of the base form of the verb:
-She made us wait for half an hour.
-John lets the dog sleep on the sofa.

Now we know what we are looking for. Let’s look at the given options-
a) stay - This is a bare infinitive. It is not invariable, so it is not an infinitive. It does not fit into the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b) to staying - This is a grammatically incorrect phrase. It is not invariable, so it is not an infinitive. It does not fit into the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c) staying - This is a continuous form of the verb ‘stay’. It is not invariable, so it is not an infinitive. It does not fit into the given sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d) to stay - This option is an infinitive, as it is invariable, and it contains the word ‘to’, which means it is a full infinitive, and it fits into the given sentence. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.

Note:
 Understand the meaning of the given sentence, and then go through the given options. Make sure it is grammatically correct. Then, choose the correct option.