# FR: difficile à/de + infinitif



## Arianllyn

I can never remember which one to use, or if you can use either, depending on the circumstances. Could somebody help me out? Thanks.

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


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## Gil

> C'est difficile à dire. Il est difficile, il m'est difficile d'en parler.


Avec ces exemples du Petit Robert, il m'est difficile de me prononcer.


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## happyMe

il est difficile (à qqn) de + inf.
il m'est difficile d'accepter

C'est difficile à + inf. en emploi abs
C'est difficile à faire comprendre

You can have a look at difficile
It gives examples of usage. It is a very good ressource for this type of questions.


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## geostan

Il (or, informally c') est + adjective + de + infinitive phrase, which is the real subject.

Il est difficile de lire ce roman.

c"est + adjective + à + infinitive (referring to an idea previously mentioned)

Lire ce roman sans un peu de lumière, c'est difficile à faire.


Referring back to a specific antecedent that has gender, one says

est + adjective + à + infintiive

Voyez-vous ce roman?  Il est difficile à lire.


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## Pilsbury

Hi,

Could somebody please explain the difference between 'difficile de' and 'difficile à'? (as in "c'est difficile de/à")

I understand that both are used but I'm not sure when. I've looked in my grammar books but can't find any info. 

If anyone knows that would be very useful!!


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## DearPrudence

Euh, c'est difficile à dire comme ça, sans exemples !
Il est/C'est difficile pour des francophones de trouver une règle.
Peut-être qu'il faudrait attendre des anglophones qui auraient des règles précises ...

Hmm, but I think that "de" is much used.
Apart from the example I've given, I can't think of any other use with "à" for the moment ...

To be continued  Good luck

edit: I'm back

Hmm, we would really need an Anglophone.
I've thought of other examples:
*ma voiture est difficile à vendre
c'est un mensonge difficile à avaler

*But*
C'est / Il est difficile de vendre des voitures
Il est difficile de me faire avaler de tels mensonges
*
I have the feeling there is something to do with the implied subject or something ...
(in my first 2 examples, I have the impression it amounts to a property:
*ma voiture est presque invendable
c'est un mensonge difficilement avalable*
But I don't think it leads us anywhere ... )

Any other thoughts?


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## The Scrivener

Je crois que si la phrase commence avec un nom, on dit "difficile à".  Si elle commence avec un verbe on dit "difficile de".  Je ne suis pas certain.

The Scrivener


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## Paf le chien

DP> Si ça t'intéresse _vraiment_, va voir le TLFi « difficile » et en particulier les règles pour :

— « difficile à + infinitif »
— « difficile de + infinitif »

C'est assez « indigeste » (euphémisme) mais tout y est ... et je n'ai pas le courage, à cette heure tardive de faire une résumé. Surtout qu'il y a des exceptions  pour l'argent (fric) 

Pilsbury> I'm sure foreign French learners won't be told to use those rules, as they are quite hard to understand (even for French natives). As DP said, you'd better wait for an English natives with grammar rules for foreigners... If it doesn't come, maybe we'll try harder, fisrt to digest, then, if we understand (), to explain.


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## Suehil

In all your examples, it is 'difficile à' when 'difficile' is an adjective, and 'difficile de' when it is an adverb.  Does that hold true for other examples?


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## pieanne

Il me semble qu'on utilise "difficile à" quand le complément est un simple infinitif, et "difficile de" quand l'infinitif complément a lui-même un ou des complément(s).

"C'est difficile à /decomprendre"
"C'est difficile de /à le comprendre"


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## cams18

Hello all, bonjour tous & toutes,

The French grammar said we have to employ the two prépositions in front of 
non-conjugated verbs, as follow:
« difficile *à* + infinitif »
« difficile *de* + infinitif »
But these formulas need a little more clarity.
------------------------
I place "*à*" in front of the *short* contexts, for example:
_- C'est difficile *à* dire,_
_- C'est difficile *à* deviner,_
_- C'est pas facile *à* apprendre,_
_- Les premières synthèses sont difficiles *à* dater avec précision. _(avec précision = accurately, accepted as part of the body)
_- dont le nombre est difficile *à* évaluer (autour de 500 000 personnes), est un sujet de vives tensions entre Athènes et Tirana_

Do not be confused with the last example, it appears long but it's still a short context, its ending is at "," the () is the exclusion so you have to ignore it, and ignore everything after a comma ","
------------------------
I place "*de*" in front of the *long* contexts, like these:

_- il était difficile *de* communiquer avec ma femme quand il y a une tension entre nous,_
_- il est difficile *de* les placer dans un simple plan évolutionniste,_
_- Qu'il est difficile *de* préciser les frontières du sacré et du profane,_
_- Il est difficile *de* comprendre comment la décision de distinguer l’opération __de "de" et de "à"._
_- Il est difficile *de* situer chronologiquement la naissance de l’âge __contemporain._


Voilà, je crois que cela vous convient. I hope it helps you.


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## Agent Literary

I agree with cams18.
What I was taught is that there is a general rule applied to "de" and "à", no matter what the preceding adjective.
Basically, you use "il est (adjective) de (verb)" when the clause is followed by another one, ie. when the sentence is a long one.
You use "c'est (adjective) à (verb)" when that clause is the only thing you want to express.
As such, you would only rarely say "c'est (adjective) de (verb)".
That may not be clear, so here are some examples:

_C'est tres facile à faire._
_C'est difficile à comprendre._
_C'est compliqué à expliquer._

_Il est très facile de faire ce qu'on veut quand personne ne t'agace._
_Il est difficile de comprendre tout ce que mes professeurs veulent que je fasse._
_Il est compliqué d'expliquer les règles concernant le grammaire français sans qu'on connaisse un peu les règles qui concernent ta propre langue.
_ 
I hope that helps a bit - I'm not sure about the last example, but as a general rule it has served me well.


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## bmoney

I search on yahoo.fr to find out whether I should use *à* or *de* in the following sentence:

Est-ce que c'est difficile *à* _or_ *de* trouver un logement?

I found the following examples with *de*:
C'est difficile de trouver le sommeil
C'est difficile de trouver du travail
C'est difficile de trouver un sujet

but, I also found examples with *à*:
C'est difficile à trouver des gens
C'est difficile à trouver un logement

I ended up using *à* due to the example right above, but it leaves me confused.  Is there any rule to differentiate between *à* and *de* in such a case?  Are the meanings the same?

Merci mille fois!


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## DearPrudence

I won't repeat the great explanations already mentioned above but for me, the last examples are not really correct. It should be:

* C'est difficile de trouver des gens
C'est difficile de trouver un logement*

* C'est difficile à trouver, des gens*
= Des gens, c'est difficile à trouver

* C'est difficile à trouver, un logement*
= Un logement, c'est difficile à trouver

But it's quite colloquial, which is the most difficult to master ...


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## J.F. de TROYES

I am sorry to be so late coming across this point which clever insights were already given about. Cams 18 and Agent litterary give a lot of perfect examples, but I'd like to try to clear it up from another grammatical point of view. Let’s compare these two sentences :

 1- “ C’est difficile à apprendre ”  

The pronoun “ce” takes the place of a word, like “it”, which has just been used before, as it’s usual when replying : 
“ - Il est indispensable de connaître l’Anglais.  – Oui, mais c’est difficile à apprendre. ” Without anything before, I can’t understand what is about. Using the preposition “ à ” *only depends on the adjective “difficile*” the complement of which is necessary introduced by “à” : “a difficult piece to play” is transated “un morceau (de musique) difficile *à* jouer”.

 2- “ C’est difficile d’apprendre ”

This sentence makes sense too, but with another meaning : it’s the same as “apprendre est difficile” ( learning is difficult ), because the structure is different. *“il* “ or *“ce”* (possible and usual ) replaces or rather announces what comes after the adjective and *“de” doesn’t depend at all on “difficile”*, but on the emphasizing structure :

*Il* ( C’ ) + *est* + adjective + *de *+ infinitive ( + …theorically unlimited words ! )

 With any adjective making sense “ de “ is used. It’s right to say that real sentences of this sort are generally longer than this one ; no doubt that saying“ Il est difficile d’apprendre”  is not so common than “ Il est difficile d’apprendre le Chinois” ( or “Il n’est pas difficile…” , as you like ); it’s a question of sense, not of grammatical correctness.

Tu me compliques la tâche, Dear Prudence     ,    mais tes exemples sont intéressants et merci de m’avoir signalé la discussion dans ce forum. I’ll add some words about Dear Prudence’s examples which are also interesting. Fluently « Un logement, c’est difficile à trouver » is probably more used than «  C’est difficile de trouver un logement » so as to emphasize the subject and I think it is still more emphasized if it is put at the end of the sentence : while hearing the beginning “ C’est difficile à…”, we are wondering what is “ce”. In either case making a pause after or before “un logement” ( or writing a comma ) is quite necessary.


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## donques

Might I, without giving offence, comment on J F. de Troyes's post of 8.09?

Il est indispensable de connaître l'Anglais.-Oui mais il est difficile à
apprendre. ( It (_English)_ is difficult to learn) Personal sense.

Il est indespensable de connaître l'Anglais.-Oui mais c'est difficile à
apprendre. (It is difficult to learn (that _English is indispensable_)) Impersonal sense.

With the impersonal use:
                il (c') est + adjective + de + infinitive = Introducing a new idea or statement
Il est difficile d'_apprendre l'Anglais_

               c'est +adjective + à + infinitive = referring to a preceding idea or statement.
_Apprendre l'Anglais_, c'est difficile à faire

There are further rules for the personal use Pilsbury, but I think you were asking about impersonal usage. Perhaps someone will start another thread on that.


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## zonbette

En relisant tous les exemples cités, il me semble que lorsque le verbe qui suit difficile n'a pas de complément on utilise "à", et lorsque le verbe est suivi d'un complément, on utilise "de".


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## tilt

donques said:


> Il est indispensable de connaître l'Anglais.-Oui mais il est difficile à
> apprendre. ( It (_English)_ is difficult to learn) *Personal sense*.
> 
> Il est indespensable de connaître l'Anglais.-Oui mais c'est difficile à
> apprendre. (It is difficult to learn (that _English is indispensable_)) *Impersonal sense*.


I'm sorry to disagree on this point, but _Il _and _C' _both refer to _l'anglais_. The latter sentence isn't more impersonal than the former.
The impersonal sentence for this is _Il/C'est difficile de l'apprendre_, which uses _de_ because of the following rule.



> With the impersonal use:
> il (c') est + adjective + de + infinitive = Introducing a new idea or statement
> Il est difficile d'_apprendre l'Anglais_
> 
> c'est +adjective + à + infinitive = referring to a preceding idea or statement.
> _Apprendre l'Anglais_, c'est difficile à faire
> 
> There are further rules for the personal use Pilsbury, but I think you were asking about impersonal usage. Perhaps someone will start another thread on that.


I wouldn't say there is any further rule for personal use. You gave the rule, it works in any case, and is not that difficult.

When the object of the infinitive stands *after* _difficile_ (or another adjective like _long_ or _dangereux_), the preposition *de* is to be used:
_- C'est difficile *d'*appendre l'anglais
- C'est difficile *de *l'apprendre
 - Je trouve difficile *d'*apprendre l'anglais

_When if it's *before*, *à* is required:
_- L'anglais est difficile *à *apprendre.
_- _C'est difficile *à* apprendre._
_- Je trouve l'anglais difficile *à* apprendre

_As DP rightly said, in the confusing examples Bmoney gave, necessary commas were missing for the sentences to be correct.
Thus, in _C'est difficile à trouver, un logement, _the object is not _un logement_ but _C'_, which stands before _difficile_, making the preposition to respect the rule by being _à_.


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## J.F. de TROYES

I agree with this convenient approach, Tilt , and your point of view is efficient, but sentences without any "object" have to be considered as well. They are undoubtedly unusual, but possible without a personal pronoun, and more common with one :

" Il (Ce ) n'est pas difficile de mentir ".
" Il (C') est parfois difficile de vivre" .

" ll lui est difficile de marcher ".
" Il (ça) m'est toujours agréable de venir ".

I think such cases could be added to your first rule: " or if the verb is used absolutely " or something like that.


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## tilt

J.F. de TROYES said:


> or if the verb is used absolutely


Let's say _intransitively _rather than _absolutely_, and I'm with it.


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## upenn frenchie

Is the following usage of [de/à] correct?

(1) Il est difficile *À* faire.
(2) Il est difficile *DE *faire des recherches.

Basically, is [à] used when there is no direct object, and [de] when there is a direct object? Are there any exceptions to this rule?


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## Maître Capello

upenn frenchie said:


> Is the following usage of [de/à] correct?
> (1) Il est difficile *À* faire.
> (2) Il est difficile *DE *faire des recherches.


 Yes, this is correct. 



> Basically, is [à] used when there is no direct object, and [de] when there is a direct object? Are there any exceptions to this rule?


The rule is slightly different: when _il_ (or _ce/c'_) refers to something or somebody, you must use _à_; when _il_ is impersonal, you must use _de_.


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## tilt

Maître Capello said:


> The rule is slightly different: when _il_ (or _ce/c'_) refers to something or somebody, you must use _à_; when _il_ is impersonal, you must use _de_.


Perfectly right, as far as I can say.

Preferring one or the other may lead to subtle differences. E.g., asking if a puzzle is hard to do:
_- Est-il difficile *à faire*_ ? = is *it* difficult to do?
_- Est-il difficile *de le faire*_ ? = is *doing it* difficult?


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## brassdragon

I don't understand something in french
I was talking to my friend friend:
He said you can say:
Je trouve cela difficile a comprendre
but you can't say
Je trouve cela difficile de comprendre >>
you have to say instead
je trouve difficile de comprendre + (something)

and
Il est possible de m'installer
but you can't say
Il est possible a m'installer

After looking at the first example I'd have thought that 'a' is used when there's nothing else after the infinitive the the second example disproves it.

The first example is soooo similar but it changes the de and a.

Is the any way possible to know which one to use?


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## jann

Hello Brassdragon 

The choice between the prepositions _à _and _de_ is often difficult for English speakers learning French.  This is because more or less, you must simply memorize which preposition is part of which expression/structure.

There are two separate structures here with "difficile," and they are not grammatically equivalent.  As it happens, one requires _de_ and the other requires _à._  I'm basing this answer on the TLF dictionary entry for _difficile_.

1. impersonal expression
...a. il est (c'est) difficile *de* + infinitive phrase saying what is difficult 
...b. c'est difficile *à* + infinitive with no phrase, absolute usage. 
2. difficile *à* + infinitive of a transitive verb

When you say _Je trouve cela difficile à comprendre_, you are in case two.  You're using _difficile à comprendre_ as an adjective phrase to describe _cela_. You must use the preposition "à."  You're saying, "I find that hard to understand" where "hard to understand" describes "that."  You could also say "That's hard to understand" = _C'est difficile à comprendre_.  You would still be using "hard to understand" to describe "that."  It is this adjective-like structure that dictates "à" for expressions with _difficile._

When you say _Je trouve difficile de comprendre cela,_ you're really saying a shortened version of _Je trouve *qu'il est* difficile de comprendre cela_.  This puts you in case one, so you must use the preposition "de."  You don't have an adjective phrase describing "that" this time.  Instead, you are implying the structure "it is difficult to do X". For this impersonal structure with _difficile, _you need to use "de."

You can read more examples in the dictionary link I gave above. 

As I said, there is no rule to predict which verbs require _de_ and which ones require _à_ in which situations.  Expressions with _possible_ will not necessarily use the same prepositions as expressions with _difficile_.... though it does happen that the correct expression for impersonal constructions with _possible _is _il est possible de + _infinitive phrase saying what is possible.  Since each thread should talk about only one expression, please let's not discuss _possible_ here (though you are welcome to open a separate thread, or see here).

Since the topic in general can be confusing, we've had lots of discussions about it.  If you're interested in which preposition to use with a given expression/phrase, try looking it up in the dictionary or on the forums.   For example, I have transferred your question into an existing thread about "difficile"... so you might want to read back through the previous posts. 

There is also an article in French cited here in our Resources forum...

I hope it helps!


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## geostan

The bottom line is that _*à*_ refers back to something or someone; _*de*_ refers ahead to something. The references can be specific or they may be ideas.

Il est difficile de lire ce roman. [Informally, _*ce*_ may replace _*il*_]
Oui, il est difficile à lire. [*il *refers to *ce roman*]

Il est facile de se taire quand on n'a rien à dire.
Oui, c'est facile à faire.

This extends even to some personal constructions such as mentioned above.

Je trouve difficile de le comprendre quand il parle allemand.

Cheers!


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## jacques songo'o

I'm very confused about whether to use à or de after il est/c'est in an impersonal expression. For instance: il est difficile de/à .What are the rules about this? Also is there any difference between using il or c'est as the subject or do both mean the same thing. Any help much appreciated.


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## melu85

let's take an example: "it's hard to tell"
if the verb is not followed by anything, I'd rather use *c'est*...à > "c'est difficile à dire"

"it's hard to tell whether he's happy or not"
if the verb is followed by a clause, I'd use c'est/il est...de > c'est difficile de dire s'il est content ou pas/il est difficile de dire s'il est content ou pas; "il est" sounding a bit more formal than "c'est"

I don't know if this is a rule but it seems to work.
does that help?


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## Thomas1

mtmjr said:


> [...]Edit: Oh yeah, I forgot to answer the question...the phrases are "il est nécessaire *de *parler" and "il est difficile *à *comprendre".


I think it's a bit different:
_Il est dificile de comprendre._
It's difficult to understand. (understanding is difficlut)

If you use c'est then you use à:
_C'est facile à comprendre._
That's easy to understand. 

Thomas


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## brian

mtmjr said:


> Basically, you just have to memorize which prepositions go after which verbs or phrases. I'm in my sixth year of French and it's still the bane of my existence. Perhaps there is a magic rule, but I have yet to learn it...
> 
> Edit: Oh yeah, I forgot to answer the question...the phrases are "il est nécessaire *de *parler" and "il est difficile *à *comprendre".


Really? I'm not so sure in this case...

It is true that, yes, you do have to simply memorize quite a number of verb + preposition combinations. For example, "chercher *à* faire quelque chose" but "essayer *de* faire quelque chose." In this case, the constructions are synonymous (verb, preposition, verb in infinitive form, then maybe direct object). So the preposition choice is simply arbitrary and must be memorized.

But in the case of "C'est/Il est difficile *à/de* comprendre.." we actually have a difference construction than verb + arbitrary preposition. Instead, we have "être" + adjective + verb in infinitive. Moreover, depending on the function of this infinitive, we can have two difference senses/meanings going on which in English are sort of blended together because both are conveyed by the word "to." French, however, distinguishes by using either "à" or "de." To put it simply:

-"*à*" is used when the infinitive has a passive meaning: _C'est difficile *à* comprendre_ -- _It's difficult *to* understand / *to be understood.*_Another way to think of it: _It's difficult for this _("ça") *to be understood.*_

-_"*de*" is used particularly when the infinitive has some sort of object, such that it therefore no longer has a passive meaning, but rather an active one: _Il est difficile *de* comprendre la grammaire française -- It's difficult *to understand* French grammar._

The biggest problem I guess is when there is no explicitly written/spoken object of the infinitive, or "ça" actually receives the action of the verb and is not simply a dummy subject. Compare:

_-C'est difficile *à *voir -- It _(this specific thing, "ça") _is difficult to see / *to be seen.*_

-_Il est difficile *de* voir -- It's difficult to see _(in general). In other words, I find it hard to see, where "it" does not refer to any specific "thing" in particular. And the fact that no specific thing is referred to means that "il est" instead of "c'est" is used, but in conversation I think they're both used interchangeably a lot of times.

I hope that helps. Would also appreciate corrections from natives if I've managed to completely get all this wrong.


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## shrekspeare

(sorry for the missing accents)

You're absolutely right Brian8733 !

To put it simply, you'd say "c'est difficile a voir" ou "a comprendre" when you refer to something you've said before (that's what the "a" refers to)
but you'd say "c'est difficile de voir..." or c'est difficile de comprendre..." when you want to add something. "C'est difficile de voir quelquchose dans ce brouillard" for example.


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## brian

Thanks, shrekspeare. 

Another example, dealing more with the sentence of this thread:

-_C'est difficile *de* parler -- It's difficult to speak_, e.g. because I have a sore throat.

-_C'est difficile *à* parler -- It _(e.g. French) _is difficult to speak._ Here you refer to something specific, mentioned before.. the French language. The example above, however, is more general and does not refer to anything particular.


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## shrekspeare

you're right. Except, I wouldn't say "c'est difficile de parler" if I have a sore throat. I could say "c'est difficile de parler avec des cailloux dans la bouche" (though I never tried...) but I'm not sure I'd say "c'est difficile de parler", I think I'd say something like "J'ai du mal a parler" in that case....the French language...


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## Febreze

Hi, I'm a bit confused about the preposition to use after adjectives like 'difficile' - 
e.g. c'est un probleme difficile __ résoudre.
       Should I use _de_ or _a_?


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## arundhati

"à"
The accent is very important here.


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## Petite-Belette

It depends of the sentence:

"C'est un problème difficile à résoudre."
"Il est difficile de résoudre ce problème."


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## Ryuusei

I was doing an online quiz, and I came across this question...

'L'hôtel est complet ? ________ difficile à croire.'

I got all the other answers right but I couldnt figure out why the answer to the blank was "C'est".

It seems like an impersonal expression so wouldn't  "Il est" also be appropriate?

If anyone can give me any other tips with these two constructions, i'd appreciate that.

Also, i'd like to know if the plural partitive article 'des' and the indefinite 'des' have the same function?

I have a long way to go in my studies ;p

Thank you in advance!


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## arundhati

"C'est" must be used for impersonal phrases, so it's needed here.
However, you could say :
"Il est difficile d'imaginer que l'hôtel est complet". (you say what "il" refers to in the same sentence).


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## TitTornade

Bonjour,
"*L'hôtel* est complet ? *Il* est difficile à croire" : If you say this, the pronoun "il" replaces and means "l'hôtel" -> the meaning is not correct... And "il" is not impersonal.

"*L'hôtel* *est complet* ? *Ceci *est difficile à croire"
"*L'hôtel* *est complet* ? *C'*est difficile à croire" : in this case, "ceci" or "c'" replaces the whole sentence. 
Right ?

But "C'est difficile à croire" can be constructed in an _impersonal_ way :
"Il est difficile à croire que *l'hôtel* *est complet* "
"Il est difficile à croire que *l'hôtel* *soit complet* "
Here, "il" is an impersonnal subjet and it doesn't work as a pronoun (it replaces nothing)... Right ? The impersonal construction need here the "que".

NB : in the sentence, the verb after "que" can be in the indicative or subjunctive...


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## geostan

TitTornade said:


> "Il est difficile à croire que *l'hôtel* *est complet* "
> "Il est difficile à croire que *l'hôtel* *soit complet* "



Surely these cannot be correct. Wouldn't you say:

_Il est difficile* DE* croire que l'hôtel est/soit complet. _?


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## TitTornade

Très bonne question... A laquelle je n'ai pas de réponse.
Pour moi les deux sont possibles ("à" ou "de").

Attendons d'autres avis sur la question, même si nous risquons le hors-sujet.


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## itka

Pour moi, sans hésiter :

"Il est difficile *de* croire que l'hôtel est complet "
"Il est difficile *de* croire que l'hôtel soit complet "

*Quelque chose* est difficile _*à*_ croire.
*Il est* difficile _*de*_ croire quelque chose.


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## mioute

Je suis d'accord avec itka


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## TitTornade

Excusez-moi d'insister car je ne suis toujours pas convaincu que j'étais dans l'erreur 

"_Que *l'hôtel* *soit complet* est difficile à croire !!"_ C'est correct, non ?
Et si j'inverse l'ensemble : "_Il est difficile *à* croire que__ *l'hôtel* *soit complet*_" ??
Me trompé-je ? 
Est-ce que ma langue est si difficile *à *parler que je ne sais plus l'utiliser ?  

Sinon, merci à qui de droit pour le regroupement de "post"


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## tilt

Je crains que oui, tu te trompé-je, car je rejoins Geostan et Itka ! 
On ne peut pas toujours, pas souvent, même, changer l'ordre des mots dans une phrase sans en modifier le sens, ou la fonction grammaticale, voire les deux.

Dans _Que l'hôtel soit complet est difficile à croire, _nous avons une proposition (_Que l'hôtel soit complet_) qui est sujet du verbe _être_. C'est ce que Itka mentionnait en citant le cas _*Quelque chose* est difficile __*à* croire_.

 Dans _Il est difficile de croire que l'hôtel soit complet_, cette même proposition se retrouve complément d'objet direct de _croire_, ce qui est totalement différent ! (It-cas : _*Il est* difficile __*de* croire quelque chose_)

Pour que la proposition reste, au moins indirectement, le sujet du verbe _être _tout en passant en fin de phrase, la seule solution est d'écrire_ *C'*__est difficile à croire*,* que l'hôtel soit complet. _


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## Maître Capello

Pour moi, le _à_ ne peut introduire qu'un COI comme dans :

_Il est difficile *à* un touriste *de* croire que l'hôtel est complet._


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## TitTornade

tilt said:


> La seule solution est d'écrire_ *C'*__est difficile à croire*,* que l'hôtel soit complet. _


 
C'était justement mon argument suivant ! Mais sans la virgule... 

Sinon, pour information, en tapant "est difficile *à *croire que" et "est difficile *de* croire que" sur Google, on trouve ~4 000 occurences pour le premier et ~60 000 occurences pour le second...
Ca me rassure, je ne suis pas le seul qui emploierait cette tournure... erronée ?


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## poliphili

Bonsoir,

I am a bit confused on a grammar point having to do with these prepositions.

Let's say that a friend says to me : "Je ne peux pas préparer de la mousse au chocolat. C'est trop difficile."

Can I reply either...

"Mais non. C'est facile *à* préparer."
"Mais non. C'est facile *de* la préparer." 

??

If possible can you explain the rule behind the change in preposition?

Thanks!!

jk


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## Tim~!

Off the top of my head, I'm sure that the issue depends on whether you have a direct object involved.

If you came to my house and were hungry you might ask me "As-tu quelquechose à boire?"  (No direct object of _boire_, just the infinitive on its own.)

However, you might decline my offer of a cup of tea because it's a hot day and you need something cool.  "Non, merci.  C'est difficile de boire du thé quand il fait si chaud dehors."  (There's a direct object _du thé_ following _boire_.)

Looking back at your examples, I see that there is no direct object in the first example, just the infinitive.

In the second there is a direct object, although we shouldn't allow the fact that it's placed before the verb to fool us; we know that the fuller sentence is really "Mais non. C'est facile de préparer *de la mousse au chocolat*."


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## janpol

"je ne peux pas préparer de mousse..."
Je préfère "c'est facile à..." d'autant que, avec "de", il serait plus correct d'employer "en"


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## Stéphane89

I might be wrong, but here is my own understanding of the sentences:

If you say "C'est facile à préparer", I think it sounds like you're talking about chocolate mousse in general.
If you say "C'est facile de la préparer", I sounds to me like you're talking about that particular type of chocolate mousse. This phrase is less common than the first one.
Like Janpol said you might use "C'est facile d'en préparer", although it sounds a bit more formal.


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## Cynthia-Clare

I am not sure in which contexts 'difficile a' is used and in which 'difficile de' is used.
 I am translating 'it is very difficult to give up smoking when one is addicted'. I have changed this to 'il est vraiment difficile a renoncer a fumer quand on est accro'. Should it be difficile de?
Thanks.
Cynthia


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## Fred_C

Hi,
The complement of the adjective "difficile" must be introduced with the preposition "à".
Example : This book is difficult to understand : Ce livre est difficile à comprendre.

But be careful ! There are some sentences where the words "to + verb" after the word "difficult" are not its complement :
In your sentence : "It is very difficult to stop smoking", the clause "to stop smoking" is not the complement of the adjective "difficult". It is the real subject of your whole sentence, because what you mean is "Stopping smoking is difficult".

In this case, you must use the preposition "de", in order to introduce an infinitival subject.
Infinitival subjects are always introduced with the preposition "de", it does not depend of the adjective "difficile" at all : 
Examples :
"Il est amusant *de* constater que..."
"Il est pénible *de* devoir répéter les mêmes choses".
"Il est facile *de* se rendre compte que..."
etc.


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## Music22

"For students and parents alike, the idea of spending another three years in each other's company is difficult to accept"

I would translate the sentence as "pour les étudiants et les parents de la même manière, l'idée de passer encore trois années ensemble est difficile *à* accepter.

Is it correct to write "difficile *à* accepter." and not "difficile *d'*accepter."

Thanks!


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## Maître Capello

Yes, when the subject is personal (a person, a thing, a concept, etc.) and the verb is _être_, you should use only _*à*_, not *de*.

_Cette idée est difficile *à* accepter._ 
_Cette idée est difficile d'accepter._ 

If the subject is impersonal, it is a different story (see the previous posts in this long thread).


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## Minasp

So for example as i understand it:

C'est difficile de comprendre
(It is difficult for me to understand - referring to oneself)

C'est difficile á comprendre 
(It is difficult to be understood - generally)

Do i have this right?


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## J.F. de TROYES

Your first sentence means_ comprendre est difficile _; as Fred_C clearly explains it_, comprendre_ is the real subject and the the phrase _c'est ... de_ emphasizes the predicate. So it sounds a bit strange, if the verb has no complement as _C'est difficile de comprendre son raisonnement_.

On the contrary _C'est difficile à comprendre_ is correct , c(e) is the subject and refers to something that was mentionned before.


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