He finds it difficult [ living / to live ] alone in a foreign country

Question

Hi teachers!

Can you please check the sentences below and tell me which are grammatical and which are not?

1. He finds it difficult to live alone in a foreign country (0)

2. He finds it difficult living alone in a foreign country (?)

3. William found walking difficult. (?)

4. William found it difficult walking. (?)

5. I found it hard to marry. (o)

6. I found it hard marrying. (?)

7. I found it hard marrying her. (?)

Especially for #2, some grammar books say it is grammatical while others not.

Many thanks in advance native speakers.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Here are the recommendations you should follow:

[find / finds / found] ---ING [difficult / hard / easy]

BUT

[find / finds / found] IT [difficult / hard / easy] TO {VERB}

You will also find the pattern below, but only rarely in comparison to those above:

[find / finds / found] IT [difficult / hard / easy] ---ING

Because this pattern is rare, I do not recommend it.

Based on the recommendations above, only three of these are possible:

Michelle Cha
1. He finds it difficult to live alone in a foreign country (+)
2. He finds it difficult living alone in a foreign country (-)
3. William found walking difficult. (+)
4. William found it difficult walking. (-)
5. I found it hard to marry. (+)
6. I found it hard marrying. (-)
7. I found it hard marrying her. (-)

CJ

He finds it difficult [ living / to live ] alone in a foreign country

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