Question

Fill in the blank with the most suitable non-finite verb to complete the sentence:
The freshly ____________ cookies are delicious.
a. baking
b. baked
c. to bake
d. bake

Answer 1

Hint: Non-finite verbs are the verbs that do not show tense and thus, you cannot tell if the sentence is in past, present or future tense. They do not perform an action in the sentence.

Complete answer:
From the hint given to us, we understand what non-finite verbs are. They are usually infinitives, gerunds and participles. Let us analyse the given options one by one:
a. Baking is the present participle form of the verb, bake. However, we observe that it does not fit the context of the given sentence. The context of the given sentence indicates that the activity of baking the cookies is already over. Hence, we can say that option ‘a’ is not the correct answer.
b. Baked is the past participle form of the verb, bake. We observe that it correctly fits the context of the given sentence as it indicates the activity is over. It also does not change the sentence to the past tense. Hence, we can say that option ‘b’ is the correct answer.
c. To bake is the infinitive form of the verb, bake. We observe that it does not correctly fit the context of the given sentence. The given sentence does not require an infinitive because it acts as a modifier in the sentence. Hence, we can say that option ‘c’ is not the correct answer.
d. Bake indicates simple present tense and hence, is not a non-finite verb. For example, I bake cakes. Since it indicates a tense and acts as the main verb of the sentence, we can say that option ‘d’ is not the correct answer.
Thus, option ‘b’ - baked is the correct answer.

Note: An infinitive is the base form of the verb as written in the dictionaries. A participle is the non-finite form of the verb which acts as an adjective or an adverb. Gerunds are the verbs that are often used as a noun. However, even when they act as a noun, they still have some properties of a verb. We should know that a non-finite verb does not necessarily form an agreement with the subject and hence, it does not act as the main verb of the sentence.