Adjective + to…
hard to understand · nice of you to · glad to hear · the first to know · bound to happen — Complete Guide
Adjectif + to…
hard to understand · nice of you to · glad to hear · the first to know · bound to happen — Guide Complet
Five key structures using adjective + to + infinitive: difficulty/ease, character judgements (nice of you), reactions (glad to hear), ordinals (the first to know), and certainty (bound to happen).
Cinq structures clés utilisant adjectif + to + infinitif : facilité/difficulté, jugement de caractère (nice of you), réactions (glad to hear), ordinaux (the first to know) et certitude (bound to happen).
Adjective + to + infinitive is one of the most versatile structures in English. This unit covers five different uses: (A) describing how easy or hard something is to do, (B) evaluating someone's character or behaviour, (C) expressing emotional reactions, (D) using ordinal/limiting expressions, and (E) expressing certainty or probability.
Adjectif + to + infinitif est l'une des structures les plus polyvalentes de l'anglais. Cette unité couvre cinq usages différents : (A) décrire à quel point quelque chose est facile ou difficile à faire, (B) évaluer le caractère ou le comportement de quelqu'un, (C) exprimer des réactions émotionnelles, (D) utiliser des expressions ordinales/restrictives, et (E) exprimer la certitude ou la probabilité.
hard to understand · easy to read · impossible to answer
hard to understand · easy to read · impossible to answer
When an adjective describes how easy, difficult, or possible something is, we can use adjective + to + infinitive. The two sentence patterns below have the same meaning. Note: never repeat the object pronoun at the end.
Quand un adjectif décrit à quel point quelque chose est facile, difficile ou possible, on utilise adjectif + to + infinitif. Les deux structures ci-dessous ont le même sens. Attention : ne répétez jamais le pronom objet à la fin.
Pattern 1 — it + adj + to + verb + object
Modèle 1 — it + adj + to + verbe + objet
Pattern 2 — subject + adj + to + verb (no pronoun!)
Modèle 2 — sujet + adj + to + verbe (sans pronom !)
nice of (you) to… — judging someone's character
nice of (you) to… — juger le comportement de quelqu'un
We say it's + adjective + of + person + to + infinitive to evaluate how someone has behaved.
On dit it's + adjectif + of + personne + to + infinitif pour évaluer le comportement de quelqu'un.
- It was nice of you to take me to the airport. Thank you very much. (= C'était gentil de ta part de m'emmener à l'aéroport.)
- It's silly of Ruth to give up her job when she needs the money.
- I think it was unfair of him to criticise me.
- That was very generous of them to pay for everything.
sorry to… / surprised to… — expressing reactions
sorry to… / surprised to… — exprimer une réaction
We use adjective + to + infinitive to say how somebody reacts to something — what they feel when they learn or experience something.
On utilise adjectif + to + infinitif pour dire comment quelqu'un réagit à quelque chose — ce qu'il ressent quand il apprend ou vit quelque chose.
- I'm sorry to hear that your mother isn't well. (= Je suis désolé d'apprendre que ta mère n'est pas bien.)
- Was Julia surprised to see you?
- It was a long journey. We were glad to get home.
- I was amazed to discover he was only 25.
- She was disappointed not to be offered the job.
the next / last / only / first / second to…
the next / last / only / first / second to…
We use to + infinitive after the next, the last, the only, the first, the second etc.
On utilise to + infinitif après the next, the last, the only, the first, the second, etc.
- The next train to arrive at platform 4 will be the 10.50 to Liverpool. (= Le prochain train à arriver quai 4 sera le 10h50.)
- Everybody was late except me. I was the only one to arrive on time.
- If I have any more news, you will be the first to know.
- Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon.
sure / likely / bound to happen — certainty and probability
sure / likely / bound to happen — certitude et probabilité
We say that something is sure to, likely to, or bound to happen.
On dit que quelque chose est sure to, likely to ou bound to se produire.
It is sure / likely / bound to + [verb]
- Carla is a very good student. She's bound to pass the exam. (= she is sure to pass = Elle va forcément réussir.)
- It's possible I'll win the lottery, but it's not likely to happen. (= ce n'est pas près d'arriver.)
- There's sure to be a lot of traffic on the roads this weekend.
- He's likely to be late — he always is.
Rewrite each sentence beginning as shown.
Réécrivez chaque phrase en commençant comme indiqué.
Do not add a pronoun at the end.
N'ajoutez pas de pronom à la fin.
Make sentences from the words in brackets. (adjective + noun + to)
Formez des phrases à partir des mots entre parenthèses. (adjectif + nom + to)
Complete the sentences. Choose from the box.
Complétez les phrases. Choisissez dans l'encadré.
to hear · to help · to invite · to make · not · of you · silly · amazed · glad
to hear · to help · to invite · to make · not · of you · silly · amazed · glad
Complete using: the first · the second · the last · the only
Complétez avec : the first · the second · the last · the only
Complete using sure / likely / bound + to and a suitable verb.
Complétez avec sure / likely / bound + to et un verbe approprié.
Frequently Asked Questions — Adjective + to…
Questions fréquentes — Adjectif + to…
When the subject of the sentence is the object of the infinitive (i.e. the subject IS what you understand), the pronoun is not repeated: ✗ He is hard to understand him. → ✓ He is hard to understand. Compare: ✓ It is hard to understand him (here 'him' is needed because 'it' is the subject).
Quand le sujet de la phrase est aussi l'objet de l'infinitif, on ne répète pas le pronom : ✗ He is hard to understand him. → ✓ He is hard to understand. Comparez : ✓ It is hard to understand him (ici 'him' est nécessaire car 'it' est le sujet).
Nice of you to come = you behaved nicely by coming (evaluates your action). Nice to you = kind/pleasant towards you (describes treatment): She was nice to me. The Unit 65 structure always uses of.
Nice of you to come = tu as été gentil de venir (évalue ton action). Nice to you = gentil envers toi (décrit un traitement) : She was nice to me. La structure de l'Unité 65 utilise toujours of.
Bound to = almost certain, unavoidable: She's bound to fail — she never studies. Sure to = certain: She's sure to pass — she works hard. Likely to = probable but not certain: It's likely to rain. All three are followed by to + infinitive.
Bound to = quasi-certain, inévitable. Sure to = certain. Likely to = probable mais pas certain. Les trois sont suivis de to + infinitif.
After ordinal expressions (the first, the last, the only, the next, the second…), English uses to + infinitive, not the -ing form: ✓ She was the first to arrive. ✗ She was the first arriving.
Après les expressions ordinales (the first, the last, the only, the next, the second…), l'anglais utilise to + infinitif, pas le verbe en -ing : ✓ She was the first to arrive. ✗ She was the first arriving.
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