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Anonymous Posted 5 years ago
Grammar

I found the question easy/to be easy.

Hello everyone! So, a friend of mine is learning English and had this question on a multiple choice test. As a native English speaker and an English teacher, I narrowed the answers down to these two options. I'm thinking that either one could be correct.

I found the question EASY. Here, "easy" is a predicative adjunct with "question" as predicand, no?

I found the question TO BE EASY. Here, "to be easy" is a infinitival complement. I'm not entirely sure if it's a catenative complement or not.

At any rate, wouldn't both of these constructions communicate the same idea? What are your thoughts? Huge thanks in advance!

  

Top answer

EDIT: I just realized "easy" in the first sentence would probably be considered a predicative complement, not a predicative adjunct. It's not optional. " But what about "I found the question TO BE EASY" ?

— Anonymous

  • EDIT: I just realized "easy" in the first sentence would probably be considered a predicative complement, not a predicative adjunct.
  • It's not optional.
  • " But what about "I found the question TO BE EASY" ?
  • Is that infinitival clause a catenative complement, and do both sentences communicate the same idea?
  • Thanks!
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3 Answers
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EDIT: I just realized "easy" in the first sentence would probably be considered a predicative complement, not a predicative adjunct. It's not optional. "I found the question" does not mean the same thing as "I found the question EASY." But what about "I found the question TO BE EASY" ? Is that infinitival clause a catenative complement, and do both sentences commun
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Both sentences are correct and have the same meaning. I don't have the vaguest idea what grammarians want to call 'easy' and 'to be easy'.

CB

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Yes, the idea is the same

.I think I found the question EASY is more commonly said.

But the most common wold be eg The question was easy.

I also think that 99% of native speakers have probably never heard the term a predicative adjunct. The different ways in which people approach the task of learning English never ceases to amaze me. But if it works for

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