Choose the correct form of the verb in brackets: the gerund (-ing form) or the to-infinitive.
Need help? See the gerunds and to-infinitives guide.
The time traveller’s mistake
Professor Brown had been testing his time machine when his laboratory suddenly disappeared. A moment later, he found himself standing in the same street nearly a century earlier. He expected (return) home immediately, but the machine’s display showed that one of its power cells had been damaged. Luckily, he remembered (put) a spare one in his bag before the experiment. While he worked out what to do next, he avoided (draw) attention to himself by covering the machine with an old sheet he found nearby.
(walk) through a city from another century felt far stranger than Professor Brown had imagined. He decided (leave) the time machine hidden for a few hours and explore. A shopkeeper noticed his unusual clothes and invited him (come) inside, where Professor Brown discovered newspapers, sweets and household objects he had only ever seen in museums. He stopped (buy) a newspaper and stared at the date on the front page. Later, he checked the machine and discovered that the new battery had enough power (take) him home. At sunset, he went back to the alley (check) that everything was ready. Then he looked at the busy street behind him and hesitated. The machine could wait. He chose (stay) until morning and see a little more of the past first.
