too costly a move

Question

Hi,what is grammatical pattern of 'too costly a move' in the excerpt below, and when do we use it?To some, Mc Mullin's circumscription of mechanics may be too costly a move to make on behalf of scientific realism.couldn't we say ' may be a very costly move' or 'may be so costly move'?sorry if my questions are simple-minded!cheers, ALi

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

You can also say may be a very costly move here if you like, but you have changed the meaning somewhat and will have to restructure the rest of the sentence. There are usually several ways to go about making a statement.

Too (+ adj) a (+ noun)...to (+ infinitive) is a reasonably common structure.

It is too high a mountain to climb without pitons.
She was too difficult a student to teach, so I cancelled her lessons.

Ali234 · Answer

Mister MicawberYou can also say may be a very costly move here if you like, but you have changed the meaning somewhat and will have to restructure the rest of the sentence.

what do I have to do to restructure? do you mean I am not allowed to use infinitive after it?

Mister Micawber · Answer

To some, Mc Mullin's circumscription of mechanics may be too costly a move to make on behalf of scientific realism.
To some, Mc Mullin's circumscription of mechanics may be a very costly move to make on behalf of scientific realism.

No, I was mistaken, Ali-- the sentence need not be restructured; the meaning, however, changes. The first is potentially 'costlier'.

too costly a move

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions