oxford_guide_to_english_grammar

PAGE 153 123 Adjective + to-infinitive
d
Verbs of wanting and liking
I want everyone to enjoy themselves.
I'd like you to hold the door open for me.
We can use want, wish, (would) like, (would) love, (would) prefer, (would) hate and
can't bear.
NOTE
a With most of these verbs we cannot use a finite clause.
NOT I want that everyone enjoys themselves.
b We can use there as the subject of the infinitive clause. This is rather formal.
We'd prefer there to be an adult in charge.
c After like, love, prefer and hate we can use it when/if + clause.
7 hate it when you ignore me. My aunt would love it if we took her out for a drive.
d The main clause cannot be passive.
NOT Everyone is wanted to enjoy themselves.
But the infinitive can be passive.
I'd like the door to be held open.
123 Adjective + to-infinitive
1 The pattern It was easy to write the letter
A common pattern is it + linking verb + adjective + to-infinitive clause.
It was marvellous to visit the Grand Canyon.
It is difficult to solve the problem.
It is rare to see a horse and cart nowadays.
It felt very strange to be watched by so many people.
For the use of it as empty subject, • 50(5).
Here are some examples of adjectives in this pattern.
'Good'/'Bad': marvellous, terrific, wonderful, perfect, great, good, nice, pleasant,
lovely; terrible, awful, dreadful, horrible
Adjectives in ing: interesting, exciting, depressing, confusing, embarrassing, amusing
Difficulty, danger and expense: easy, difficult, hard, convenient, possible,
impossible; safe, dangerous; cheap, expensive
Necessity: necessary, vital, essential, important, advisable, better/best
Frequency: usual, normal, common; rare
Comment: strange, odd, incredible; natural, understandable
Personal qualities: good, nice, kind, helpful; mean, generous; clever, intelligent,
sensible, right; silly, stupid, foolish; careless; wrong; polite, rude
2 The pattern The letter was easy to write
Here we understand the letter as the object of to write.
The Grand Canyon was marvellous to visit.
The problem is difficult to solve.
Would gas be any cheaper to cook with ?
In this pattern we can use some adjectives meaning 'good' or 'bad' and adjectives
of difficulty, danger and expense. For examples of these adjectives, • (1).
There is no object after the to-infinitive in this pattern.
NOT The problem is difficult to solve it.
NOTE
We can use impossible in this pattern, but we cannot use possible.
The problem is impossible to solve.