"too hard to catch" or "too hard to catch it"?

[yamyam]

Hello, teachers!

Would you take a look at the following?

1. Tom hit the ball too hard to catch.

2. Tom hit the ball too hard for anyone to catch.

3. Tom hit the ball too hard for anyone to catch it.


Which of the sentences above is correct?
If all of them are correct, which of them is more common?


yam:-|

 

[Rover_KE]

They are all correct. I've no idea which is most common, but I prefer #2.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I also prefer #2, but I wouldn't accept #1. It makes it sound as if it were a property of the ball. What would a ball too hard to catch be?

 

[Tdol]

I think that #1 would be OK in informal usage- I could imagine using it in speech. I too prefer #2.

 

[Raymott]

How does 1 differ from these?

"Tom made the coffee too hot to drink."
"Tom found the pig too greasy to catch."

 

[tzfujimino]

How does 1 differ from these?

"Tom made the coffee too hot to drink."
"Tom found the pig too greasy to catch."

In #1, the 'hard' is an adverb.
In your sentences, 'hot' and 'greasy' are adjectives.
Who drinks the coffee, and who catches the pig?

(As for the OP's sentences, I do not like the 'it' in #3. It sounds wrong to me. I'd use #2 as well.)

 

[Raymott]

Yes, that's the right answer. ;-)