Question

Choose the best replacement for the underlined phrase: "He denied to have stolen the money." 
 

• A. denied having stole
• B. denied having stolen
• C. denied to stealing
• D. denied he has stolen

Hint:

For verb usage questions, check the verb's required form (e.g., "deny" takes a gerund like "stealing" or "having stolen"). Use the perfect gerund (having + past participle) for past actions. Test each option in the sentence for grammatical fit, and eliminate incorrect verb forms (e.g., infinitive after "deny"). Practice identifying verbs that take gerunds vs. infinitives.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

The underlined phrase in the sentence "He denied to have stolen the money." is grammatically incorrect. Let's examine the options given to replace it and determine the correct choice.

• denied having stole: This option is grammatically incorrect because the past participle form of "steal" should be used, not the simple past.
• denied having stolen: This is correct. The phrase "denied having stolen" uses the perfect gerund form, which is appropriate after "denied." This structure, "denied having + past participle," expresses denial of an action completed in the past.
• denied to stealing: This option is incorrect because "deny" is not followed by "to" when expressing actions; we use either the gerund or perfect gerund.
• denied he has stolen: While this form might seem logical, it alters the original sentence's structure and meaning. It's not the most succinct way to express the denial of past actions in this context.

Therefore, the best replacement is "denied having stolen."