Adjective + to ...
Using adjectives with to-infinitive: hard to understand, nice of you to help, glad to hear, bound to happen
Adjective + to … with a Shifted Subject
You can describe something using it + adjective + to …:
It’s hard to read his handwriting.
But you can also move the object to the front and make it the subject:
His handwriting is hard to read.
Both sentences mean the same thing. Notice that when the object becomes the subject, you drop the pronoun at the end:
| it + adjective + to … | subject + adjective + to … |
|---|---|
| It’s expensive to maintain a fleet of company cars. | Company cars are expensive to maintain. (not |
| It was impossible to meet the deadline. | The deadline was impossible to meet. (not |
| It’s easy to talk to the new manager. | The new manager is easy to talk to. (not |
This works with many adjectives: easy, difficult, hard, impossible, dangerous, safe, cheap, expensive, nice, interesting, exciting.
You can also use this pattern with adjective + noun:
- That was a difficult question to answer. (not
to answer it) - This is a great place to work. (not
to work in it)
nice of (someone) to …
To comment on someone’s behaviour, use it + adjective + of + person + to …:
- It was nice of the team lead to show me around on my first day.
- It was kind of Sarah to cover my shift last Friday.
- It was careless of him to send the email to the wrong client.
Adjectives that fit this pattern describe character or behaviour: kind, generous, careless, silly, stupid, inconsiderate, unfair, typical.
Notice the difference: nice of someone comments on their character, while nice to (from the section above) describes the thing itself.
Reaction Adjectives: sorry to …, surprised to …
When you react to something you hear or experience, use adjective + to …:
- I was glad to hear you got the promotion.
- We were relieved to learn that the project was still on track.
- She was surprised to find the office empty at 9 a.m.
- I’m sorry to say we won’t be renewing the contract.
Common adjectives here: glad, pleased, relieved, surprised, amazed, sad, disappointed, sorry.
the first / the last / the only + to …
After the first, the last, the only, the next, the second (etc.), you can use to + infinitive:
- She was the first to finish the quarterly report.
- He was the last to leave the office every night.
- I was the only one to notice the error in the spreadsheet.
- The next person to present will be Yuki from the marketing team.
sure / likely / bound + to …
Use sure, likely, and bound + to … to talk about how probable something is:
| Adjective | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| bound to | almost certain | The deal is bound to go through — both sides have agreed. |
| sure to | very probable (similar to bound to) | With her experience, she’s sure to get the job. |
| likely to | probable | Interest rates are likely to rise next quarter. |
| not likely to | probably won’t happen | He’s not likely to change his mind at this point. |
Quick Self-Check
The instructions were terrible. They were impossible _____.
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It was very _____ of Mark to lend us the meeting room at short notice.
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Everybody was late except Kenji. He was the only one _____ on time.
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I was _____ to discover that the entire team had already been informed.
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The merger is _____ to happen before the end of the year — both boards have approved it.
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