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Taka Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Kind

Does this sentence really work?

To lend me the book is kind of you.
  

Top answer

Barely. Everybody would say this instead: It is kind of you to lend me the book.

— Mister Micawber

  • Barely.
  • Everybody would say this instead: It is kind of you to lend me the book.
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17 Answers
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Barely. Everybody would say this instead:

It is kind of you to lend me the book.
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Right.

So even if it's grammatically the same preparatory 'it', as this one:

It's difficult to work in a foreign country.

the same kind of replacement like this isn't always possible?

To work in a foreign country is difficult.
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It is certainly possible, but an infinite subject, if it does not sound awful, usually sounds stilted.
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So 'To lend me the book is kind of you' has the same kind of stiltedness as 'To work in a foreign country is difficult'?
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When the subject is the gerund 'lending me the book' instead of the infinitive, does it sound as stilted?
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TakaDoes this sentence really work?To lend me the book is kind of you.
See also and

CJ
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Jim, does this work?

It is kind of you lending me the book.

If it does, is there any difference in meaning between that one with the gerund and this?

It is kind of you to lend me the book.
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TakaJim, does this work?It is kind of you lending me the book.
No, it doesn't work at all for me!

CJ
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A related question. How do these sound?

It is important what makes you decide your own future.
It isn't important what makes you make your own future.
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