# FR: facile à/de + infinitif



## adara

Bonjour!

Pourqoui est-ce qu'on dit:
_"Il est facile à comprendre"_
           mais
_"Il est facile de se perdre"_
 (par exemple)?

Basically when should you use à and when should you use de when linking an adjective to a noun?

Merci d'avance

*Moderator note:* Multiple threads merged to create this one. See also FR: difficile à/de + infinitif.


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## zaby

Hello,

"de" is used in an impersonal form :
_*il est facile de + infinitif *
Il est facile de se perdre = Se perdre est facile
Il est facile de comprendre l'anglais = Comprendre l'anglais est facile_
("il" doesn't represent anything)

"à" is used when it introduces a complement to facile
_*qqchose/qqun est facile à + infinitif *
L'anglais est facile à comprendre -> c'est facile à comprendre.
John est facile à comprendre -> Il est facile à comprendre._


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## coconutpalm

On est demandé de choisir le mot ou l'expression convenable.

Je crois que c'est facile _______ accepter.
A son âge, c'est facile ______ apprendre une langue étrangère.
A. de   B. à

J'ai choisi "à" pour les deux, mais les corrigés sont "à" et "de".
Je ne peut pas le comprendre.


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## Fred_C

Hi. It is all about where the actual subject is:
"Ce livre est facile à lire" the subject of the sentence is "ce livre", and this book is easily read. In that case, you use à.

"C'est facile de lire un livre" the subject of the sentence is just "ce" (it), but is does not mean anything, and the sentence says that "reading a book" is easy. (it is as if you had another subject, namely the whole "lire un livre". in that case, you use "de" to introduce your true subject.

Now your sentences :
"c'est facile à accepter" : subject is "c apostrophe", possibly referring to a situation. the situation is easily accepted. first case, use à

"c'est facile d'apprendre une langue étrangère", the subject "c apostrophe" does not mean anything, your other subject is "apprendre une langue étrangère", your sentence means "learning a foreign language is easy". here you have the second case, so you use "de" to introduce you true subject.

I hope i explained it clearly to you.


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## geostan

The following three examples should clarify the issue.

Il est (or, informally c'est) facile de lire ce roman. [The infinitive phrase is the real subject, and it follows "it is easy."]

J'aime les romans de Jules Verne.  - C'est facile à comprendre. [What is easy to understand is a preceding idea, picked up by "Ce."]

J'aimerais lire ce roman. - Allez-y. Il est facile à lire. [What is easy to read is a specific noun that has already been mentioned, picked up by "Il.".]

Another similar example is:

Ce roman est facile à lire. [ Again the key is: what is easy to read is something preceding, in this case "Ce roman."]


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## johnL

Hello, everyone.
I think I have a grasp on the two ways of saying, "easy to." I'd appreciate it if someone would tell me if these two sentences are correct:

Ce prenom est facile à prononcer. Oui, c'est facile de prononcer ce prenom.

Merci beaucoup.

John


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## Dsimson

Perfect, both are correct ! Just, it's *prénom.*


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## budnorbrier

Bonjour,

""de" is used in an impersonal form :
*il est facile de + infinitif *
_Il est facile de se perdre = Se perdre est facile_
_Il est facile de comprendre l'anglais = Comprendre l'anglais est facile_
("il" doesn't represent anything)

"à" is used when it introduces a complement to facile
*qqchose/qqun est facile à + infinitif *
_L'anglais est facile à comprendre -> c'est facile à comprendre._
_John est facile à comprendre -> Il est facile à comprendre."
_
Does this rule apply for other adjectives/ expressions than "facile"? 
Merci beaucoup!


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## Chimel

Hello Budnorbier and welcome here ! 

The rule surely applies to synonyms or antonyms of _facile_: C'est simple (aisé, difficile, compliqué...) à comprendre.

But I cannot think of other adjectives where it also could apply (perhaps other members of the forum will do) : "Il est possible, permis, interdit, préférable, souhaitable, stupide... de faire" but not "C'est une chose possible etc. à faire".


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## geostan

budnorbrier said:


> _L'anglais est facile à comprendre -> c'est facile à comprendre.
> John est facile à comprendre -> Il est facile à comprendre."_



Since there is a specific antecedent, you should say _*Il* est facile à comprendre._


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## CapnPrep

Chimel said:


> But I cannot think of other adjectives where it also could apply (perhaps other members of the forum will do)


_beau à voir_, _bon à marier_, _prêt à porter_, _long à expliquer_, _désagréable à entendre_, …


			
				Chimel said:
			
		

> not "C'est une chose possible etc. à faire"


The TLF has e.g. _Une telle interprétation ne nous paraît pas *possible à adopter*_; _Il ne savait pas, le malheur est *impossible à prévoir*_. It is true that not all adjectives allow this construction, and not always to the same extent. The reasons behind this are not very clear (to me), so I would not be surprised to see variation (between speakers, over time, etc.).


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## Maître Capello

Whenever the infinitive is followed by an object, only _de_ is possible. We use _à_ when the object is omitted because it is the same as the subject:

_Il est facile *de* comprendre l'anglais.
L'anglais est facile *à* comprendre.
L'anglais, c'est facile *à* comprendre._

See also FR: difficile de / difficile à.


Chimel said:


> but not "C'est  une chose possible etc. à faire".


Really?! As far as I'm concerned, I don't have any problems with that sentence…


geostan said:


> Since there is a specific antecedent, you should say _*Il* est facile à comprendre._


Not necessarily. Both _C'est_ and _Il est_ are actually fine in the given context.


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## Chimel

In the meantime, I had thought of _beau à_ and _agréable à_ as being other examples of this construction - but I see CapnPrep has found some more... 

As far as _possible à faire _is concerned: for some reason, I would certainly say _impossible à (prévoir)_, but I would object to _possible à_. Perhaps I'm just wrong, perhaps it's an example of those individual (and highly subjective) variations CapnPrep mentions.


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## maicart

What about the impersonal sentence "It's easier said than done"? Would both these sentences be correct?

a) C'est plus facile de dire que de faire.
b) C'est plus facile à dire qu'à faire.

What about a sentence with two present participles like "Studying is easier than working" Would this sentence be correct?

c) Il est / c'est plus facile d'étudier que de travailler.

Thanks.


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## Nacodaco

1/ b) C'est plus facile à dire qu'à faire.

2/ "Il est" ("c'est" à l'oral uniquement).


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## maicart

Thanks Nacodaco. I guess the rule "*de+infinitif* is used in an impersonal form" (see *zaby*'s post above) does not apply in the expression "C'est plus facile *à* dire qu'*à *faire".


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## Oddmania

Hi,

When _it _refers to something specific, you usually need _à. _The sentence _It's easier said than done_ isn't that impersonal at all. The word _it _does stand for something specific : "*what you said* (whatever it was) is easier said than done".

— Why don't you try *to fit in*?
— *It*'s easier said than done.

On the other hand, the second sentence should read_ Il est_ or _C'est plus facile *d'*étudier que *de *travailler_, because _il _or _ce_ are actually impersonal. Thus, you need _de_.

*1.* _L'anglais est facile *à *apprendre_ (specific → _l'anglais_).
*2.*_ C'est difficile *d'*apprendre l'anglais_ (impersonal → _c'est_)
*3.*_ C'est facile *de *travailler_ (impersonal → _c'est_).

This subtlety does exist in English too, but it doesn't require a word-order change. When you say _It's hard to do_, the word _it _definitely stands for something specific, that has been mentioned earlier : _an exercise, a task_, etc... On the other hand, in_ It's hard to kill someone_, the word _it _is impersonal. You could rephrase the sentence as _Killing someone is hard to do_ (just like sentence *2.* is a rephrased version of sentence *1.*) The syntax/structure is the same for both sentences, but the subtlety exists anyway.


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## maicart

@Oddmania. Thanks so much. I finally got it!

Would adding the direct object make a difference? In other words, if I said "C'est plus facile de *le* dire que de *le* faire", would that make "*C'est*" impersonal? In other words. Is this correct?

a) C'est plus facile à dire qu'à faire. 
b) C'est plus facile à *le* dire qu'à *le* faire. 
c) C'est plus facile de dire que de faire. 
d) C'est plus facile de *le* dire que de *le* faire.

On a similar thread somebody asked how you could say "That's easy to say". Would this be correct?

e) C'est facile à dire.
f) C'est facile à *le* dire.
g) C'est facile de dire.
h) C'est facile de *le* dire.

Thanks again.


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## zaby

Hello Maicart,

As Maître Capello said in post #12 :



Maître Capello said:


> Whenever the infinitive is followed by an object, only _de_ is possible. We use _à_ when the object is omitted because it is the same as the subject:



So b and f are not correct :

a) C'est plus facile à dire qu'à faire. 
b) C'est plus facile à *le* dire qu'à *le* faire.
c) C'est plus facile de dire que de faire. 
d) C'est plus facile de *le* dire que de *le* faire.

e) C'est facile à dire.
f) C'est facile à *le* dire.
g) C'est facile de dire.
h) C'est facile de *le* dire.


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