gerund vs infinitive and some queries

[nautica19]

1.I have found this question:
I don't understand__________ driving at
a. you are
b. where you are
c. what are you
d. what you are

It accepts as correct answer 'c'! Isn't it wrong?I think that 'b' fits better...I cannot understand why 'c' is the suggested answer

2. ____________coffee on the boss is not the best way to win his confidence.
a. To spill
b. Spilling
c. By spilling
d. If you spill

Can you please tell me why 'b' is the correct answer? I think that 'a' could fit as well. What about c?

OR

___________we will have completed the project by the end of the month is, in my opinion, a little over-optimistic.
a. Assuming
b. To assume
c. Having assumed
d. If we assume

In this case it accepts 'b' as the correct answer and I am wondering why. Does it have to do with specific verbs? With what criterion do we choose gerund instead of infinitive and vice versa???

3. ____ unanimous decision takes a or an?I found it with 'a'. Is this an exception to the rule?

[Alan]

Hi,

1.I have found this question:
I don't understand__________ driving at
a. you are
b. where you are
c. what are you
d. what you are

It accepts as correct answer 'c'! Isn't it wrong?I think that 'b' fits better...I cannot understand why 'c' is the suggested answer

I would suggest (d) meaning I don't understand what you are trying to say

2. ____________coffee on the boss is not the best way to win his confidence.
a. To spill
b. Spilling
c. By spilling
d. If you spill

Can you please tell me why 'b' is the correct answer? I think that 'a' could fit as well. What about c?

I would agree on (b) because this is a general statement and suggests it is an accident and the infinitive would indicate a specific action. Answer(c) doesn't work because you would then have to explain what the result would be as in: By driving slowly you can avoid accidents.

OR

___________we will have completed the project by the end of the month is, in my opinion, a little over-optimistic.
a. Assuming
b. To assume
c. Having assumed
d. If we assume

You need the infinitive because it is talking about a specific assumption and the sentence then continues with what the result of such an assumption would be: a little over-optimistic.

In this case it accepts 'b' as the correct answer and I am wondering why. Does it have to do with specific verbs? With what criterion do we choose gerund instead of infinitive and vice versa???

3. ____ unanimous decision takes a or an?I found it with 'a'. Is this an exception to the rule?

The rule is to use 'an' before a vowel sound and to disregard the spelling. This is to make the saying of it easier. You can say: 'a unanimous' but you would have to say 'an honour' because the 'h' is silent and then comes the vowel sound.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story A day in the life of a flat hunter

[nautica19]

Thanks for the answers about infinitive and gerund, now it makes sense to me.
What I can't understand in the above example is that I thought when you drive, it seems more sensible to me for someone to ask about the place (where)! It makes sense with 'I don't understand what you are trying to say' but
'I don't understand what you are driving at' doesn't make sense, or at least I cannot understand the meaning...Does it imply the same thing e.g where are you driving?

[Alan]

This has nothing to do with 'driving a car'. It is used in this sense of getting to the point.

Alan
_________________
English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story A day in the life of a policeman

[nautica19]

Thanks for your help, I can't believe that I got so confused and I thought that the other person asked him about the place he was driving at...

[Torsten]

Hi Nautica,

Please take a look at these sentences:

Where you are driving to? (asking for a destination)
What are you driving at? (asking for the direction of a discussion/asking for opinion)
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[nautica19]

thanks a lot for your precious help, that was really helpful