|
|
|
|
|
THE INFINITIVE AFTER ADJECTIVES. This interesting grammar article will help you use the infinitive structures. Let's see how to do it... |
|
INFINITIVO DESPUÉS DE UN ADJETIVO. Este interesante artículo gramatical te ayudará a utilizar las estructuras del infinitivo. Aquí te explicamos cómo hacerlo... |
|
COMPARING SENTENCES WITH INFINITIVES
Jim doesn't speak very clearly.
A. It is difficult to understand him.
B. He is difficult to understand.
Sentences A and B have the same meaning. But note that we say He is difficult to understand, not He is difficult to understand him.
You can use the structure in sentence B after difficult, easy, impossible, hard and after a few other adjectives. Let's see some examples:
- Your writing is almost impossible to read, not ...to read it.
(= It is almost impossible to read your writing)
- Do you think this water is safe to drink?, not ...to drink it?
- Adolfo is very interesting to talk to, not ...to talk to him.
You can also use this structure with an adjective + noun:
- This is a very difficult question to answer, not ...to answer it.
- Adolfo is an interesting person to talk to.
- I enjoyed the soccer game. It was an exciting game to watch on TV. |
|
THE FIRST, THE SECOND, THE THIRD...
We use the infinitive after the first, the second, the third, etc., and also after the next and the last:
- Who was the first person to reach the South Pole?
- If I have any more news, you'll be the first to know.
- The next plane to arrive at gate 15 will be Flight 566 from Bariloche.
- Who was the last person to leave OM Personal building last night? |
|
"FEELING" ADJECTIVES
You can use the infinitive after a number of adjectives to say how someone feels about something. Let's see these examples:
- I was sorry to hear that your father is ill.
- Was Tom surprised to see you when you visited him?
- I was delighted to get your letter last week. |
|
There are some other adjectives you can use in this way. Why don't you try and complete these sentences? Use the words in blue to complete them.
|
|
STRUCTURE "IT IS NICE OF SOMEONE TO DO SOMETHING"
This structure is possible after a number of adjectives, including: nice, kind, mean, stupid, silly, clever, polite, careless, generous, foolish.
- It was nice of you to take me to the airport.
- It was careless of Luciana to leave the door unlocked when he went out.
- It's stupid of him to give up his job when he needs the money.
- It was very clever of Sebastian to start the OM COMPANY business course. |
| | |
