eng7-6.3· Unit 2· ~13 min

Adjectives + Infinitives

Express reactions and opinions with adjective + to + base verb

Use a form of be, an adjective, and a to-infinitive to express a feeling, reaction, opinion, or evaluation: 'We are happy to see our teachers,' 'It was useless to use that website,' and 'It will be hard to go there on foot.' The infinitive is to + the base form of the verb. The subject may be a person or a noun, or the sentence may begin with general 'it'. Choose the form of be from the time reference, put not after be and before the adjective for a negative evaluation, and use to + base verb when the task asks for this lesson pattern. An -ing phrase can be grammatical in other constructions, so the lesson does not claim that an adjective can never appear near a gerund.

Key terms

to-infinitive — to followed by the base form of a verb, such as 'to use', 'to carry', or 'to invent'.
base verb — the unchanged verb form used after to: use, carry, invent.
personal reaction pattern — subject + be + adjective + to-infinitive, as in 'We are happy to see our teachers.'
general evaluation pattern — It + be + adjective + to-infinitive, as in 'It is difficult to carry it.'
polarity — whether the evaluation is positive or negative, marked here by forms such as 'is easy' and 'is not easy'.
Two source patterns
UseStructureExample
Personal feeling or reactionsubject + be + adjective + to + base verbNigar was glad to meet new friends.
General evaluationIt + be + adjective + to + base verbIt is possible to invent new devices.
Negative evaluationIt + be + not + adjective + to + base verbIt is not easy to ride it.

The adjective is followed by to and the base form in the target pattern.

The pattern across time
TimeForm of beExample
presentam / is / areWe are happy to see our teachers.
pastwas / wereIt was useless to use that website.
futurewill beIt will be hard to go there on foot.

Choose the form of be from the subject and time reference.

Common source adjectives
Meaning areaAdjectives
difficulty or possibilitydifficult, easy, hard, impossible, possible
evaluationgreat, nice, right, wrong, strange, important, interesting, useless
feeling or reactionhappy, glad, sad

The pattern is productive; a task may use another familiar adjective when its meaning is clear.

✎Rewrite an activity as a general evaluation
  1. 1Step 1: Start with 'Inventing a new device is difficult.'
  2. 2Step 2: Begin the new sentence with general 'it' and the same evaluation: 'It is difficult'.
  3. 3Step 3: Change the activity to to + base verb: 'It is difficult to invent a new device.'
✎Match be to the time
  1. 1Step 1: Find the time clue: 'tomorrow' points to the future.
  2. 2Step 2: Use future be: 'will be'.
  3. 3Step 3: Add adjective + to-infinitive: 'It will be hard to walk there tomorrow.'
💡Note

Check four parts: subject, the correct form of be, adjective, and to + base verb.

⚠️Caution

Do not turn this lesson pattern into a universal ban on -ing. A gerund may be grammatical in another structure; choose the to-infinitive when the prompt requests the adjective + infinitive pattern.

🚫Common mistake

After to, use the base form: 'to invent', not 'to invented', 'to invents', or 'to inventing'.

Rules

  1. 1Build the lesson pattern as subject + a form of be + adjective + to + base verb: 'Nigar was glad to meet new friends.'
  2. 2Use It + a form of be + adjective + to + base verb for a general evaluation: 'It is possible to invent new devices.'
  3. 3Choose am, is, are, was, were, or will be to match the subject and time: 'It was useless to use it'; 'It will be hard to walk there.'
  4. 4Keep polarity: 'It is not easy to ride' has a different meaning from 'It is easy to ride.'
  5. 5When this target pattern is requested, place to before the base verb: to use, to carry, to invent.

Practice

10 easy · 10 medium · 10 hard

Up to 10 random questions per test

EasyMediumHardMixed