I must be a difficult man to find a flatmate for

Question

I'm watching Sherlock and found this sentence confusing.

"I must be a difficult man to find a flatmate for"

I know how to use To-verb forms but this one seems different from

a similar sentence like "I have a house to live in"

I don't exactly know why he put "for" next to the word "flatmate"

Thank you!

Doctor D · Accepted Answer

The difference is that in "I have a house to live in" the phrase "to live in" modifies the noun "house."
In the first sentence, the phrase "to find a flatmate for" modifies the adjective "difficult." It describes in what way it is "difficult."
Perhaps it would be clearer if the sentence was slightly re-arranged and some omitted words added:
I must be a man [who is] difficult to find a flatmate for.

As to "for," that goes with "find."
For example: I need to find a flatmate for Jill.
I need to find a stopper for this bottle.

Does that help?

CalifJim · Answer

sung min Leewhy he put "for"

I need to find a flatmate for this man.

It's difficult to find a flatmate for this man.

He is a difficult man to find a flatmate for. (He is a difficult man for whom to find a flatmate.)

sung min LeeI know how to use To-verb forms but this one seems different from a similar sentence like "I have a house to live in"

You may find it different because of the use of 'difficult', which is moved next to 'man' although the man is not difficult; it's the task of finding a flatmate for him that is difficult. It's an oddity of English that we sometimes move words into strange places.

'difficult', 'hard', and 'easy' are frequently moved this way, though if I were you, I wouldn't try making up sentences like this because they can be somewhat awkward.

It's easy to bake a cake for this girl. > She's an easy girl to bake a cake for.
It's hard to buy a gift for this guy. > He's a hard guy to buy a gift for.
It's hard to say "no" to this man. > He's a hard man to say "no" to.

Let me know if this doesn't cover the cases you were asking about.

CJ

Fiercepotatohot · Answer

It's so kind of you to write this long answer for me!

Thank you so much, and now I can use this expression freely thanks to your examples!

Have a nice day!

Fiercepotatohot · Answer

You exaclty pointed out that I didn't know that phrase modifies the adjective "difficult."

Thank you so much for your explanation! Have a nice day!

I must be a difficult man to find a flatmate for

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