Verb "delay" cannot be followed by a 'to infinitive'

[Oma Tutsi]

English Grammar Error, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #19 "Adverbs and Gerunds", question 8

I delayed to write my letter to her because I didn't know in all honesty what to say.

(a) to write
(b) in
(c) to say

English Grammar Error, Intermediate level

ESL/EFL Test #19 "Adverbs and Gerunds", answer 8

I delayed writing my letter to her because I didn't know in all honesty what to say.

Correct entry: writing
The error was: (a) to write
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Why anser A is correct?

Oma Tutsi

[Yankee]

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In this type of test you first have to find the part of the sentence that is wrong and then you have to type in the correct answer.

The verb delay cannot be followed by a 'to infinitive'. You need to use the '-ing form' instead.

So, 'to write' (a) is the part of the test sentence that is incorrect. And the correction that you need to type in is 'writing'.
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English