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Hanuman_2000 Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

ADJECTIVE+ TO INFINITIVE

Hello,

1. It is hard to break the brick.

Here "hard" is an adjective and "to break" is to-infinitive.

What is a technical term for such adjectives which take to-infinitive after it?
  

Top answer

I am not aware of any technical term for such adjectives. Like you, I will be waiting for an answer. In the meantime, note that the underlying sentence (the 'kernel' sentence) is *to break the brick is hard It is obligatory to replace the subject 'to break the brick' with the dummy subject 'it' and move the subject to the apparent position of adjective complement.

— CalifJim

  • I am not aware of any technical term for such adjectives.
  • Like you, I will be waiting for an answer.
  • In the meantime, note that the underlying sentence (the 'kernel' sentence) is *to break the brick is hard It is obligatory to replace the subject 'to break the brick' with the dummy subject 'it' and move the subject to the apparent position of adjective complement.
  • It is hard | to break the brick.
  • For this reason, I'm not convinced that 'to break the brick' is really an adjective complement.
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4 Answers
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I am not aware of any technical term for such adjectives. Like you, I will be waiting for an answer.

In the meantime, note that the underlying sentence (the 'kernel' sentence) is

*to break the brick is hard

It is obligatory to replace the subject 'to break the brick' with the dummy subject 'it' and move the subject to the apparent position of adjective compleme
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Infinitive as a subject.
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CalifJim *to break the brick is hard

It is obligatory to replace the subject 'to break the brick' with the dummy subject 'it' and move the subject to the apparent position of adjective complement.
Hi, CJ,
I haven't known about this rule. Would you mind stating it generically, or noting a reference, so I can try to get my brain around it?
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Hmm. As for kernel sentences, it gets more complicated with other adjectives. What about 'I was unable to break the brick'? Not so easy to come up with a kernel for this one:

*to break the brick was ....unable ... er...

Sorry to make this more complicated.

At any rate, as far as I know, the adjectives that do this don't have a special name, but the to-infin
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