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Infinitives after adjectives: pleased to see you

Reactions and feelings: pleased to see you​

Infinitives are often used after adjectives describing reactions and feelings.

  • I’m pleased to see you.
  • We’re happy to be here.
  • She’s anxious to go home.
  • Jack was surprised to get Anna’s message.
  • I was shocked to see how ill he was.
  • Most people are afraid to hear the truth about themselves.

Not all adjectives of this kind are followed by infinitives. Some are followed by preposition + -ing form (see here), or by that-clauses (see here). Some adjectives (e.g. afraid, sure) can be followed by either an infinitive or an -ing form, often with a difference of meaning: for details, (see here).

note

For structures with for (e.g. She’s anxious for the children to go home), (see here).

Other adjectives: certain to win​

Besides adjectives referring to reactions and feelings, many other adjectives can be followed by infinitives. Examples: right, wrong, stupid, certain (see here), welcome, careful, due, fit, able (see here), likely (see here), lucky.

  • We were right to start early.
  • I was stupid to believe him.
  • She’s certain to win.
  • Be careful not to wake the children.
  • It’s very likely to rain.
  • You were lucky not to be killed.
  • You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.
note

For structures with preparatory it (e.g. It is important to get enough sleep), (see here).

Superlatives, etc: the oldest athlete to win …​

Superlatives can be followed by an infinitive structure. The meaning is similar to an identifying relative clause (see here).

  • He’s the oldest athlete ever to win an Olympic gold medal. (= … who has ever won …)

This structure is also common with first, second, third, etc, next, last and only.

  • Who was the first person to climb Everest without oxygen?
  • The next to arrive was Mrs Patterson.
  • She’s the only scientist to have won three Nobel prizes.

This structure is only possible when the superlative has a subject relationship with the infinitive.

  • Is this the first time that you have stayed here? (not … the first time for you to stay here. Time is not the subject of stay.)

easy to please​

Some adjectives can be used with infinitives in a special structure, in which the subject of the clause is really the object of the infinitive. Examples are easy, hard, difficult, impossible, good, ready, and adjectives after enough and too.

  • He’s easy to please. (= To please him is easy. OR It is easy to please him.)
  • Japanese is difficult for Europeans to learn. (= It is difficult for Europeans to learn Japanese.)
  • His theory is impossible to understand. (= It is impossible to understand his theory.)
  • Are these berries good to eat?
  • The apples were ripe enough to pick.
  • The report is ready for you to check.
  • The box was too heavy to lift.

The structure often ends with a preposition (see here).

  • She’s nice to talk to.
  • He’s very easy to get on with.
  • It’s not a bad place to live in.

There is no object pronoun after the infinitive or preposition in these cases.

  • Cricket is not very interesting to watch. (not Cricket is not very interesting to watch it.)
  • She’s nice to talk to. (not She’s nice to talk to her.)

When the adjective is before a noun, the infinitive is usually after the noun.

  • It’s a good wine to keep. (not It’s a good to keep wine.)

Easy, difficult and impossible cannot be used in this structure when the subject of the clause is the subject of the following verb.

  • She has difficulty learning maths. (not She is difficult to learn maths.)
  • Iron rusts easily. (not Iron is easy to rust.)
  • This material can’t possibly catch fire. (not This material is impossible to catch fire.)
note

For more about enough/too + adjective + infinitive, (see here), (see here).

For so + adjective + infinitive (e.g. Would you be so kind as to help me?), (see here).

For information about the structures that are possible with a particular adjective, see a good dictionary.