Forum newsfeeds
Forum Newsfeeds


Sites for Teachers

Sites for Teachers




Go Back   UsingEnglish.com ESL Forum > Learning English > Ask a Teacher

Notices

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 29-Jul-2004, 03:38
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 85
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
bread
Default too+adj+ to +?

The book is too hard to carry.
The book is too hard to be carried.
Which one is correct? If the first sentence is correct butt not the second one, why so?

Thanks! :o
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 29-Jul-2004, 03:47
Casiopea's Avatar
VIP Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Country: Canada
Posts: 12,997
Current Location: China
First Language: English
Member Type: Other
Thanks: 0
Thanked 60 Times in 57 Posts
Casiopea will become famous soon enough
Default Re: too+adj+ to +?

Quote:
Originally Posted by bread
The book is too hard to carry.
The book is too hard to be carried.
Which one is correct? If the first sentence is correct butt not the second one, why so?

Thanks! :o
The phrase for us is often omitted,

The book is too heavy to carry.
The book is too heavy for us to carry.
The book is too heavy to be carried for us. (Not OK)

Note, hard describes a surface, whereas heavy describes weight.

All the best, :D
Reply With Quote
  #3 (permalink)  
Old 29-Jul-2004, 04:28
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 85
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
bread
Default Re: too+adj+ to +?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Casiopea
Quote:
Originally Posted by bread
The book is too hard to carry.
The book is too hard to be carried.
Which one is correct? If the first sentence is correct butt not the second one, why so?

Thanks! :o
The phrase for us is often omitted,

The book is too heavy to carry.
The book is too heavy for us to carry.
The book is too heavy to be carried for us. (Not OK)

Note, hard describes a surface, whereas heavy describes weight.

All the best, :D
Can "hard" mean "very difficult?"
I meant the bk is very difficult too carry
Reply With Quote
  #4 (permalink)  
Old 29-Jul-2004, 19:13
Editor, UsingEnglish.com
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Country: UK
Posts: 25,755
Current Location: Phnom Penh
First Language: English
Member Type: English Teacher
Thanks: 6
Thanked 592 Times in 518 Posts
Tdol has disabled reputation
Default

In that sense, it would make sense to say 'the book is too hard to read'. I can't see it working with 'carry'.
Reply With Quote
  #5 (permalink)  
Old 29-Jul-2004, 22:32
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,370
Thanks: 0
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
Francois is an unknown quantity at this point
Default

The books are too heavy to be carried <= this sounds fine to me. No native speaker likes it?

FRC
Reply With Quote
  #6 (permalink)  
Old 30-Jul-2004, 00:38
Casiopea's Avatar
VIP Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Country: Canada
Posts: 12,997
Current Location: China
First Language: English
Member Type: Other
Thanks: 0
Thanked 60 Times in 57 Posts
Casiopea will become famous soon enough
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Francois
The books are too heavy to be carried <= this sounds fine to me. No native speaker likes it?

FRC
You're right; my comment, though, was on the semantic structure of the passive structure:

1. The books are too heavy (for us) to carry. (Active) :D
2. The books are too heavy to be carried for us. (Passive) :(
=> 'by us' would have been the correct form. :wink:
3. The books are too heavy to be carried by us. :D

Of course, 2 is grammatical given a situation wherein someone asks to carry our books: "The books are too heavy to be carried for us (i.e. You shouldn't carry them for us; they're too heavy).

In short, 1. refers to "us" as the carriers (the ones doing the action), not the carriees (the ones having the action done for them).

Is carriees even a word? Hehe

All the best, FRC. :D
Reply With Quote
  #7 (permalink)  
Old 30-Jul-2004, 09:47
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,370
Thanks: 0
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
Francois is an unknown quantity at this point
Default

OK, sry for the misunderstanding.

FRC
Reply With Quote
  #8 (permalink)  
Old 30-Jul-2004, 10:02
Casiopea's Avatar
VIP Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Country: Canada
Posts: 12,997
Current Location: China
First Language: English
Member Type: Other
Thanks: 0
Thanked 60 Times in 57 Posts
Casiopea will become famous soon enough
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Francois
OK, sry for the misunderstanding.

FRC
No apologies necessary. :D Questions are good! 8)
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
tooadj

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


New To Site? Need Help?

All times are GMT. The time now is 05:14.


vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2009, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.2.0
Copyright © 2002 - 2008 UsingEnglish.com