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Mr genuine Posted 7 years ago
Grammar

Harmful to

Isn't "to" in "harmful to" a preposition? I came across this odd sentence today:


Addressing Friday prayers in Tehran, Ayatollah Movahedi Kermani warned that any deal in Geneva would hurt Iran. " It's harmful to underestimate the enemy because they do nothing other than playing tricks, " says Mr. Kermani, according to a translation by The Guardian. "


source: NEWS: Christian Science Monitor

  

Top answer

Mr genuine to underestimate "to underestimate" is the to-infinitive form of the verb. Infinitives can be the complement of an adjective. Here are some examples.

  • Mr genuine to underestimate "to underestimate" is the to-infinitive form of the verb.
  • Infinitives can be the complement of an adjective.
  • Here are some examples.
  • It is dangerous to drive too fast around a curve.
  • It is helpful to memorize vocabulary words.
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2 Answers
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Mr genuineto underestimate

"to underestimate" is the to-infinitive form of the verb.

Infinitives can be the complement of an adjective. Here are some examples.

It is dangerous to drive too fast around a curve.
It is helpful to memorize vocabulary words.
He was wrong to throw trash in the playground.
Lester is happy to serve his c
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It's harmful [to underestimate the enemy] because they do nothing other than playing tricks , says Mr. Kermani, according to a translation by The Guardian.


No, it's not a preposition, though it derives historically from the preposition "to". It's actually a subordinator introducing the bracketed to-infinitival cla

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