Spanish 1 Quiz: Using Infinitives After Verbs
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Using Infinitives After VerbsQuestion 1 of 10

A student claims: 'In Spanish, you can always use either a gerund or an infinitive after verbs like querer, necesitar, and preferir — both forms are interchangeable.' Which response best evaluates this claim?

The claim is true; gerunds and infinitives are fully interchangeable after any Spanish verb, including 'querer,' 'necesitar,' and 'preferir,' with no change in meaning.
The claim is false; 'querer,' 'necesitar,' and 'preferir' require an infinitive after them, not a gerund, which is used after 'estar' to form the present progressive.
The claim is partially true; 'querer' and 'preferir' accept both forms, but 'necesitar' only accepts the gerund in standard Spanish usage.
The claim is partially true; gerunds are preferred after 'querer' and 'preferir' in spoken Spanish, while infinitives are reserved for formal written contexts only.
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Spanish 1 Quiz

Spanish 1 Quiz: Using Infinitives After Verbs

Practice Using Infinitives After Verbs in Spanish 1 with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Using Infinitives After Verbs, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for Spanish 1.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

All questions

Question 1

A student claims: 'In Spanish, you can always use either a gerund or an infinitive after verbs like querer, necesitar, and preferir — both forms are interchangeable.' Which response best evaluates this claim?

  1. The claim is true; gerunds and infinitives are fully interchangeable after any Spanish verb, including 'querer,' 'necesitar,' and 'preferir,' with no change in meaning.
  2. The claim is false; 'querer,' 'necesitar,' and 'preferir' require an infinitive after them, not a gerund, which is used after 'estar' to form the present progressive. (correct answer)
  3. The claim is partially true; 'querer' and 'preferir' accept both forms, but 'necesitar' only accepts the gerund in standard Spanish usage.
  4. The claim is partially true; gerunds are preferred after 'querer' and 'preferir' in spoken Spanish, while infinitives are reserved for formal written contexts only.
Explanation: When you see a question about verb forms in Spanish, ask yourself: what grammatical role does each form play, and which verbs require which form? This question tests your understanding of infinitives versus gerunds — two forms that look similar in function but are not interchangeable. In Spanish, verbs like querer (to want), necesitar (to need), and preferir (to prefer) are followed by the infinitive — the base form of the verb (e.g., quiero comer, necesito estudiar, prefiero dormir). The gerund (-ando/-iendo form) has a different job: it pairs with estar to form the present progressive (estoy comiendo = I am eating). These are two distinct grammatical structures, and mixing them up produces ungrammatical Spanish. That makes B correct — these three verbs require the infinitive, and the gerund belongs to a different construction entirely. A is wrong because it claims the two forms are fully interchangeable after any Spanish verb, which is false. Spanish grammar assigns each form specific roles; using a gerund after querer (quiero comiendo) is simply incorrect. C is wrong because it invents a false distinction — it's not that necesitar uniquely requires the gerund. In fact, all three verbs require the infinitive. No credible standard Spanish usage supports gerunds after necesitar. D is wrong because it creates a fictitious spoken/formal divide. There is no register-based rule where gerunds replace infinitives after these verbs in casual speech. A helpful tip: memorize that estar + gerund = progressive tense, while querer/necesitar/preferir + infinitive = desire/need/preference. Keep those two patterns separate and you'll avoid this common trap.

Question 2

Read the following short exchange: Miguel: '¿Qué te gusta hacer los domingos?' Sofía: 'A mí me gusta   con mis amigos en el parque.'

Which verb form correctly completes Sofía's response, given that she wants to say she likes 'to walk' with her friends?

  1. caminar (correct answer)
  2. camino
  3. caminando
  4. caminé
Explanation: When you see a verb following gustar (or similar verbs like encantar or preferir), your job is to identify what grammatical form comes next. In Spanish, when you express liking to do something, the verb that follows gustar must be in the infinitive form — the base, unconjugated form ending in -ar, -er, or -ir. Sofía is saying she likes "to walk," so the infinitive caminar is exactly what belongs here, making A the correct answer. The full sentence reads: "A mí me gusta caminar con mis amigos en el parque" — perfectly natural and grammatically sound. Here's why the other options miss the mark: B) camino is the first-person present tense conjugation ("I walk"), which is already a fully conjugated verb. You can't place one conjugated verb directly after gustar this way — it breaks the structure entirely. C) caminando is the present participle ("walking"), used in progressive tenses like estoy caminando. While it ends in -ando, it doesn't function as an infinitive and isn't the correct form after gustar. D) caminé is the preterite (simple past) first-person form meaning "I walked." Not only is it conjugated, but it refers to a completed past action — completely mismatched with Sofía's present-tense preference. A reliable tip: whenever you see gustar, encantar, preferir, or querer followed by another action, that second verb is almost always an infinitive. Train yourself to spot the -ar/-er/-ir ending as your signal.

Question 3

A student wants to say 'We have to speak Spanish in class' in Spanish. Which sentence correctly expresses this idea using a verb + infinitive pattern?

  1. Tenemos hablar español en clase.
  2. Tenemos que hablamos español en clase.
  3. Tenemos que hablando español en clase.
  4. Tenemos que hablar español en clase. (correct answer)
Explanation: When you want to express obligation or necessity in Spanish — "have to do something" — you need the construction tener que + infinitive. This pattern is one of the most common verb + infinitive structures in Spanish, and getting it right means understanding each piece: the conjugated verb, the connector word que, and the infinitive. The correct choice is D, Tenemos que hablar español en clase. Here, tenemos is the correctly conjugated form of tener for "we," que serves as the required connector, and hablar stays in its pure infinitive form. Together they mean "We have to speak Spanish in class" — exactly what was asked. Looking at the wrong answers helps you see exactly where students go astray. Choice A (Tenemos hablar) drops the word que entirely — but tener requires que before any infinitive. You can't skip it the way English skips extra words. Choice B (Tenemos que hablamos) uses hablamos, which is a conjugated verb ("we speak"), not an infinitive. After tener que, you must use the base infinitive form, never a conjugated verb. Choice C (Tenemos que hablando) swaps in hablando, the present participle (gerund). While hablando means "speaking," gerunds don't follow tener que — infinitives do. A quick tip to lock this in: whenever you see tener que, think of it as a three-part lock — conjugated tener + que + infinitive. If any piece is missing or replaced with a conjugated verb or gerund, the sentence breaks. Practice spotting this pattern across different subjects and pronouns.

Question 4

Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct in Spanish?

  1. Ella prefiere comer en casa todos los días. (correct answer)
  2. Ella prefiere come en casa todos los días.
  3. Ella prefiere comiendo en casa todos los días.
  4. Ella prefiere comido en casa todos los días.
Explanation: When two verbs appear back-to-back in Spanish, the second verb must follow specific rules depending on the first. With verbs like preferir (to prefer), querer (to want), poder (to be able to), and necesitar (to need), the second verb must stay in its infinitive form — the base form ending in -ar, -er, or -ir. That makes A the correct answer. Ella prefiere comer en casa todos los días follows this rule perfectly: prefiere is the conjugated verb (third-person singular present tense of preferir), and comer remains in the infinitive. The sentence translates naturally as "She prefers to eat at home every day." Here's where the other options go wrong. B uses come, which is the conjugated form of comer (she eats). Spanish doesn't chain two conjugated verbs together the way this option attempts — only one verb in a verb phrase gets conjugated. C uses comiendo, the present participle (-iendo form), which is used for progressive tenses like está comiendo (she is eating). It cannot follow preferir directly. D uses comido, the past participle, which is reserved for compound tenses like ha comido (she has eaten) — again, not compatible after preferir. A great study tip: when you see verbs like preferir, querer, poder, or deber in a sentence, the verb that follows should always end in -ar, -er, or -ir (infinitive). If you see a conjugated, -ando/-iendo, or -ado/-ido ending after them, that's your red flag.

Question 5

Elena está hablando con su amiga sobre los planes para el fin de semana.

Elena says: 'Yo   ir al cine el sábado.' Which option correctly completes her sentence using the verb 'querer' followed by an infinitive?

  1. quiero ir (correct answer)
  2. quiero voy
  3. quiero yendo
  4. quiero ido
Explanation: When you see a verb like querer (to want) followed by another action in Spanish, you're being tested on verb + infinitive constructions — one of the most fundamental patterns in the language. The rule is simple: when two verbs appear back-to-back, the second verb stays in its base infinitive form (the -ar, -er, or -ir form). In Elena's sentence, querer is the main verb expressing desire, and ir (to go) is the action she wants to do. You first conjugate querer to match the subject — yo quiero — and then attach the infinitive ir directly after. This gives you A) quiero ir, meaning "I want to go," which is grammatically correct and natural in Spanish. Choice B, quiero voy, is the most common trap. Voy is the conjugated first-person form of ir ("I go"), but you cannot chain two conjugated verbs together in Spanish the way English sometimes links clauses. Choice C, quiero yendo, swaps in the present participle (yendo = "going"), which is used for progressive tenses (estoy yendo), not after querer. Choice D, quiero ido, uses the past participle (ido = "gone"), which belongs in perfect tenses (he ido), not here. A reliable study tip: in Spanish, after verbs of wanting, needing, or preference (querer, necesitar, preferir, desear), always use the infinitive for the second verb — never conjugate it or change its form. Memorize this as the "conjugate one, leave one" rule.

Question 6

A student writes: 'Nosotros necesitamos estudiando más para el examen.' A classmate says this sentence is incorrect. What is the error, and what is the corrected version?

  1. The gerund 'estudiando' is wrong after 'necesitamos'; it should be 'estudiar' — giving 'Nosotros necesitamos estudiar más.' (correct answer)
  2. The verb 'necesitamos' is conjugated incorrectly; it should be 'necesitan' — giving 'Nosotros necesitan estudiar más.'
  3. The word 'más' is misplaced; it should come before 'necesitamos' — giving 'Nosotros más necesitamos estudiando.'
  4. The gerund 'estudiando' is acceptable here because 'necesitar' can take either a gerund or an infinitive in standard Spanish grammar.
Explanation: When you see a Spanish sentence that combines a conjugated verb with a second verb, ask yourself: what form does the second verb need to take? This question tests your understanding of verb + infinitive constructions, one of the most common patterns in Spanish. In Spanish, certain verbs — like necesitar (to need), querer (to want), and poder (to be able) — must be followed by an infinitive, not a gerund. The infinitive is the base form ending in -ar, -er, or -ir (e.g., estudiar). The gerund (estudiando) is used for ongoing actions, typically with estar (e.g., Estoy estudiando — "I am studying"). Mixing these up is a classic Spanish 1 error. So the corrected sentence is Nosotros necesitamos estudiar más para el examen — making A the correct answer. As for the distractors: B is wrong because necesitamos is actually conjugated correctly for nosotros — changing it to necesitan would match ellos/ellas, which contradicts the subject nosotros. C is wrong because más is correctly placed after the verb it modifies; moving it before necesitamos produces a grammatically nonsensical sentence. D is tempting if you're unsure, but it's incorrect — necesitar does not accept a gerund in standard Spanish grammar. Saying necesitan estudiando would sound unnatural and incorrect to any native speaker. A handy tip: memorize that modal-like verbs (necesitar, querer, deber, poder) always pair with infinitives. If you see a gerund after them, that's your red flag.

Question 7

Which sentence uses the verb + infinitive pattern INCORRECTLY?

  1. Yo prefiero beber agua en lugar de refresco.
  2. Ellas desean viajar a México el próximo año.
  3. Tú necesitas dormir más horas cada noche.
  4. Él quiere comer comiendo pizza esta noche. (correct answer)
Explanation: When Spanish verbs like querer, necesitar, desear, and preferir are followed by a second verb, that second verb must stay in its infinitive form (the unchanged -ar, -er, or -ir form). Think of the infinitive as the "base" verb — it never conjugates when it follows these modal-style verbs. Option D breaks this rule. "Él quiere comer comiendo pizza esta noche" pairs quiere with comiendo, which is the present participle (gerund), not the infinitive. You'd never say "he wants eating pizza" in English either — you'd say "he wants to eat pizza." The correct sentence should be "Él quiere comer pizza esta noche." That double verb (comiendo after quiere) is the error the question is testing. Options A, B, and C all follow the pattern correctly. In A, prefiero + beber gives you "I prefer to drink water" — clean infinitive. In B, desean + viajar means "they want to travel" — again, a proper infinitive following a conjugated verb. In C, necesitas + dormir means "you need to sleep" — same correct structure. These three are there to confirm you recognize what the pattern should look like. A quick tip to lock this in: whenever you see two verbs back-to-back in Spanish, ask yourself whether the second verb is still in its dictionary form (infinitive). If it's been conjugated or turned into a gerund (-ando/-iendo), that's your red flag. The rule is simple — conjugated verb + infinitive, never conjugated verb + gerund.

Question 8

A student is asked to translate: 'I like to listen to music, but my brother prefers to watch television.' Which translation is correct?

  1. Me gusta escucho música, pero mi hermano prefiere ve la televisión.
  2. Me gusta escuchando música, pero mi hermano prefiere viendo la televisión.
  3. Me gusta escuchar música, pero mi hermano prefiere ver la televisión. (correct answer)
  4. Me gusta escuchar música, pero mi hermano prefiere viendo la televisión.
Explanation: When a verb follows another verb in Spanish, the second verb stays in its infinitive form (the unconjugated form ending in -ar, -er, or -ir). This rule applies to common constructions like gustar + verb and preferir + verb, which show up constantly in Spanish 1. In the sentence "I like to listen to music, but my brother prefers to watch television," you have two verb pairs: gusta + escuchar and prefiere + ver. Both "to listen" and "to watch" are the second verbs in their pairs, so both must remain as infinitives — escuchar and ver. That makes C the correct translation: Me gusta escuchar música, pero mi hermano prefiere ver la televisión. Looking at the wrong choices, A is incorrect because escucho and ve are conjugated forms (first and third person singular), not infinitives — you can't chain two conjugated verbs together like that in Spanish. B uses escuchando and viendo, which are present participles (the -ando/-iendo forms used for ongoing action, like "is listening"). While these exist in Spanish, they don't follow gustar or preferir. D is a mixed error — it correctly uses escuchar (infinitive) but then incorrectly switches to viendo (present participle), making it inconsistent and grammatically wrong. A quick tip to remember: in Spanish, when you see me gusta, prefiero, quiero, necesito, or similar verbs followed by another action, always reach for the infinitive (-ar, -er, -ir ending). If it's not a clean infinitive, it's likely a trap.

Question 9

Ana writes in her journal: 'Los fines de semana, me gusta descansar. También (1)  practicar deportes con mis amigos. Nosotros siempre (2)  jugar al fútbol en el parque.'

Which pair of options correctly fills in blanks (1) and (2) in Ana's journal entry, using appropriate verb + infinitive patterns?

  1. (1) me gusta / (2) queremos jugando
  2. (1) me gustando / (2) queremos
  3. (1) me gusta / (2) queremos (correct answer)
  4. (1) me gusto / (2) queremos jugando
Explanation: When you see a question about verb + infinitive patterns in Spanish, ask yourself: what form must follow a conjugated verb like gustar or querer? The rule is straightforward — when two verbs appear together, the first is conjugated and the second stays in the infinitive (the base form ending in -ar, -er, or -ir). In Ana's journal, blank (1) needs a form of gustar paired with the infinitive practicar. Since the subject is practicar deportes (a singular activity), the correct form is me gusta — third-person singular, meaning "I like to practice sports." Blank (2) completes the phrase with Nosotros, so querer must be conjugated in first-person plural: queremos. The infinitive jugar follows naturally, giving queremos jugar — "we want to play." That makes C the correct answer. Looking at the wrong options: A pairs me gusta correctly in blank (1), but blank (2) uses queremos jugando, which is the error — jugando is the gerund (present participle), not the infinitive. Spanish verb + verb constructions require an infinitive after verbs like querer, not a gerund. B uses me gustando in blank (1), which treats gustar incorrectly as if it were a progressive construction — gustar doesn't work that way in Spanish. D uses me gusto, which conjugates gustar in first-person singular as a reflexive-looking form, but this completely misrepresents how gustar functions grammatically. A solid tip: whenever you see querer, poder, deber, or gustar followed by another verb, that second verb must be an infinitive. If you spot a gerund (-ando/-iendo) after these verbs, that's your red flag.

Question 10

Which of the following is the most accurate Spanish translation of the English sentence: 'Do you (tú) want to eat at the new restaurant tonight?'

  1. ¿Quieres comes en el restaurante nuevo esta noche?
  2. ¿Quieres comer en el restaurante nuevo esta noche? (correct answer)
  3. ¿Quieres comiendo en el restaurante nuevo esta noche?
  4. ¿Quieres a comer en el restaurante nuevo esta noche?
Explanation: When Spanish uses two verbs together where the first expresses desire, preference, or intention (like querer, poder, or necesitar), the second verb must appear in its infinitive form — the unconjugated base form ending in -ar, -er, or -ir. This is the core concept being tested here. The correct translation is B because quieres properly conjugates querer for tú ("you want"), and comer is the infinitive of "to eat." Together, quieres comer means "you want to eat" — exactly what the English sentence requires. The rest of the phrase (en el restaurante nuevo esta noche) correctly places the adjective nuevo after the noun, as Spanish adjective order typically works. A is wrong because comes is the conjugated tú form of comer ("you eat"), not the infinitive. You can't chain two fully conjugated verbs this way in Spanish — it's like saying "you want you eat" in English. C fails because comiendo is the present participle (the -iendo/-ando gerund form), used for progressive tenses like está comiendo ("is eating"). After querer, you need an infinitive, not a gerund. D looks tempting because English sometimes uses "to" before infinitives, but in Spanish, querer connects directly to the infinitive without the preposition a. Adding a here is a false cognate trap pulled from English structure. Your study tip: memorize that querer, poder, deber, and necesitar are always followed by a bare infinitive — no preposition, no conjugation, no gerund.