To V or Ving

[neiht_nart]

I have a sentence and 4 choices:
The president has a team of bodyguards..................him.
A. Protecting B.Having protected C. To protect D. Will protect
The right answer given in my book is C.To protect
But I wonder why the answer is not A.protecting?
I was known that present participle can replace a relative pronoun + verb. So, why is To V not Ving the answer?
Can you explain for me?
Thanks in advance!

[J&K Tutoring]

A case could be made for either one, but to pretect is more generally correct. The President has a team whose job it is to protect him. They are not always protecting him nor are all of them protecting him at any given time.

[SoothingDave]

They are indeed always protecting him. I see no problem with "protecting" being a valid answer to this question.

[Barb_D]

I agree that either can be correct. "Protecting" is what they are doing. "To protect" is their purpose. And I agree that the team is doing it all the time.

I have a bunch of cats sleeping on either side of me. It's what they are doing.
I have a bunch of cats to keep me company. It's their purpose. (Okay, I know. I exist to see to their needs, not the other way around, but we'll pretend.)

Another example of a bad question.

[billmcd]

I have a sentence and 4 choices:
The president has a team of bodyguards..................him.
A. Protecting B.Having protected C. To protect D. Will protect
The right answer given in my book is C.To protect
But I wonder why the answer is not A.protecting?
I was known that present participle can replace a relative pronoun + verb. So, why is To V not Ving the answer?
Can you explain for me?
Thanks in advance!

"Protecting" is fine in appropriate context. Announcer:"The president is entering the stadium and he has the usual team of bodyguards protecting him."

Who is the author of your book?