English — Adjective + to-infinitive
Many adjectives are followed by a to-infinitive to say how we feel about an action or how we judge it: I'm glad to help, It's easy to learn.
How it works
Feeling adjectives (glad, happy, sorry, pleased) and adjectives like ready and likely take a to-infinitive after the subject: I'm sorry to hear that; She's ready to start; It's likely to rain. With judgement adjectives (easy, difficult, important, dangerous) we usually start with it and can add for + object to name the doer: It's easy to learn; It's important for you to rest.
Examples
| Sentence | Meaning / use |
|---|---|
| I'm glad to see you. | glad + infinitive — a positive feeling about the action |
| I'm sorry to hear the news. | sorry + infinitive — regret about the action |
| She's ready to leave. | ready + infinitive — prepared to do it |
| It's likely to rain later. | likely + infinitive — probable that it will happen |
| It's easy to learn. | it + easy + infinitive — judging the action |
| It's important for you to rest. | it + important + for + object + infinitive — names who should act |
| It's difficult for beginners to pronounce it. | it + difficult + for + object + infinitive — judgement with a stated doer |
Good to know
Use for (not to) to name the doer after these adjectives: say It's important for you to rest, not It's important you to rest. Also, after it + easy/difficult, keep the it and don't repeat the object: It's difficult to open, not It's difficult to open it (when it is already the subject).