In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage…
2023
In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. Can we see (1)________ the earth is a globe? Yes, we can, when we watch a ship that sails out to sea, if we watch closely, we see that the ship begins to (2)________. The bottom of the ship disappears first, and then the ship seems to sink lower and lower, (3)________ we can only see the top of the ship, and then we see nothing at all. What is hiding the ship from us? It is the earth. Stick a pin most of the way into an orange, and (4)________ turn the orange away from you. You will see the pin disappear, (5)________ a ship does on the earth.
Select the most appropriate option to fill blank number (2).
- A.
being disappeared
- B.
disappear
- C.
have disappeared
- D.
having disappeared
Attempted by 5 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept
After semi-modal phrases like 'begins to', 'wants to', 'starts to', or 'needs to', a to-infinitive typically takes its plain form: 'to' followed directly by the bare (base) verb, with no ending, auxiliary, or participle added. (A to-infinitive can also take a perfect shape — 'to have done' — or a passive shape — 'to be done' — but those require an explicit 'have' or 'be' right after 'to'; without one, the plain bare-verb form is what fits.)
Application
In the sentence 'we see that the ship begins to ________', the blank sits directly after 'begins to' with no 'have' or 'be' inserted, so it must be filled by the plain bare base-verb form. Among the four candidate forms offered, only the plain base form completes this infinitive slot correctly.
Contrast with the other forms
'being disappeared' — a passive gerund construction; this verb has no object and so has no passive voice in any tense.
'have disappeared' — paired with 'to', this would form a perfect infinitive ('to have disappeared'), describing an action already completed by a reference point rather than one just beginning — a different sense from what 'begins to' calls for.
'having disappeared' — a perfect participle marking prior completion, which does not match the plain infinitive slot required after 'begins to'.
Replacing the blank with any other bare-form verb, e.g. 'begins to sink' or 'begins to fade', reads naturally in the same slot, confirming that the plain bare base form is what the grammar of 'begins to' requires here.