you were nice to do . . .

[ademoglu]

Hello,

http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/nice / http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/kind_2 / http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/good_1

it is nice of somebody (to do something) / it is kind of somebody (to do something) / it is good of somebody (to do something)

- It was nice of you to help.
- It was good of him to offer you a lift.
- It's kind of you to say that.

I would like to ask if we can say like this:

- You were nice to help.
- He was good to offer you a lift.
- You are kind to say that.

Thank you.

 

[teechar]

No, stick with the original structure.

 

[MikeNewYork]

The first of your alternatives is correct.

 

[tzfujimino]

I thought the second three sentences were all acceptable:

You were nice to help.
He was good to offer you a lift.
You are kind to say that.

How about "You're stupid to do that"?
Is it incorrect?

 

[Matthew Wai]

How about 'You were so kind to say that'?
What's wrong with the construction 'someone is (so) adjective to do something'?

Not a teacher.

 

[tzfujimino]

How about 'You were so kind to say that'?

If you wish to use 'so' in your sentence, it would have to be "You were so kind as to say that."
(I'm not sure if it's natural or not.)

 

[ademoglu]

I thought the second three sentences were all acceptable:

You were nice to help.
He was good to offer you a lift.
You are kind to say that.

How about "You're stupid to do that"?
Is it incorrect?

What is the final answer? Are these OK or not? I am confused.

 

[Raymott]

Yes, they are acceptable, but the first lot are more natural and normal, and usable in most circumstances.
Once you get into the second lot, there are more nuances of meaning, none of which is easy to explain without a context. And "You were nice to help" doesn't sound right.
I would stick to the above native speakers' suggestions for now.

 

[Skrej]

"You were nice to help" sounds fine to me, although I agree it would require some prior context.

You'd have to have heard the story about what they did first.

 

[tedmc]

You were nice to help.
It was nice of you to help.

I agree both are grammatical. They are different ways of expressing a compliment. The second sounds much better and much more natural as a compliment.

You were so kind as to say that.
It was very kind of you to say that.

I find the lst sentence not as natural as the second.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I am confused.

I am confused too each time a grammatical but unnatural sentence is labelled as incorrect, but I am not a teacher.

 

[MikeNewYork]

It would not be right for us to a support an unnatural sentence just because it is grammatical. Are you familiar with Chomsky's famous example? “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously”.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think Chomsky's grammatical but unfathomable sentence is not comparable to the OP's grammatically understandable sentences, but I am not a teacher.

 

[tzfujimino]

I understand, but I wholeheartedly agree with his idea that "it would not be right for us to support an unnatural sentence just because it is grammatical."