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Vincent Teo Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

had / met much difficulty

IS there a natural way to say:

When the sea was rough, they had / met much difficulty to control the fishing boat. They returned home later without (catching) any fish. They felt disappointed.
  

Top answer

When the sea was rough, they had a lot of difficulty controlling the boat . They returned home without (catching) any fish. They felt disappointed.

— Mister Micawber

  • When the sea was rough, they had a lot of difficulty controlling the boat .
  • They returned home without (catching) any fish.
  • They felt disappointed.
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7 Answers
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When the sea was rough, they had a lot of difficulty controlling the boat. They returned home without (catching) any fish. They felt disappointed.
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Vincent TeoIS there a natural way to say:

When the sea was rough, they had / met much a great deal of difficulty to control controlling the fishing boat. They returned home later without (catching) any fish. They felt disappointed.

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How about this?

(iv) The sea was rough and it was much difficulty to control the fishing boat.
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(iv) The sea was rough, and it was very difficult to control the fishing boat.
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Mister Micawber.
(iv) The sea was rough, and it was very difficult to control the fishing boat.
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Exactly. Difficulty is a noun, so "they had difficulty" is fine. "It was..." needs an adjective, so it was difficult.
Also, it is unusual to use much/many with positive statements. "A lot of" is usually preferred.
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Thanks. If I say,

(i) When the sea was rough, they had a lot of difficulty trying to control the boat.
(ii) They were a lot of difficult to control the boat.
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(i) When the sea was rough, they had a lot of difficulty trying to control the boat.
(ii) They had a lot of difficulty controlling the boat.
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