Use of prepositions between adjective/nouns and infinitives

Question

OK, I have searched and searched and so many times this question gets twisted around, but I just cannot figure it out and so am hoping someone who truly understands it can help me with this.

Simply, I am NOT talking about prepositions following verbs, nor lists that one can find with verbs and prepositions. No conjugated verbs are relevant to this question!

How can a non-native speaker determine what preposition, if any, goes between a noun or adjective and an infinitive, such as the following:

It is difficult to understand which prepositions to use in this sentence.

Es difícil ??? entender cuales preposiciones ??? usar en esta frase.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Kirk, The following explains part of your problem. When the infinitive is the subject of the sentence, the preposition "de" is not required. For example:

"Es defícil aprender español" "To learn Spanish is difficult" [The learning (of Spanish) is difficult]

When the infinitive is not the subject, the preposition "de" is required. For example:

"El español es difícil de aprender" "Spanish is difficult to learn"

Sometimes the subject is implied rather than stated:

"(Eso) es difícil de explicar" "(That) is difficult to explain"

For this type of construction, "de" is the only preposition in play.

Hope this helps

So another test might be -Es difícil ??? leer este libro- and -Este libro es difícil ??? leer- Are these different grammatically and is the subject -El libro- in both, so therefore DE must be used in both? - kirk8, Feb 2, 2013

I think this is helpful. I would think that in -Es difícil aprender español- the subject is IT, as in IT is. But I think I can work with this. Thanks. - kirk8, Feb 2, 2013

Ah, and ultimately from my initial post - Es difícil ??? entender cuales preposiciones ??? usar en esta frase. - What is the answer for the two sets of ??? using your rule? - kirk8, Feb 2, 2013

"Es dificil leer este libro" and "Este libro es dificil de leer" - padrin, Feb 3, 2013

Answer 2

Ok I found you a rule. How's your Spanish? jeje

a) Ciertos adjetivos que denotan facilidad, dificultad, probabilidad, merecimiento, relevancia o frecuencia, como fácil, difícil, sencillo, complicado, cómodo, rápido, costoso, imposible, digno, importante, raro, etc., o que denotan sensaciones o efectos producidos por una acción, como aburrido, divertido, penoso, gratificante, etc., admiten como complemento un infinitivo transitivo introducido por la preposición de:

«Me siento atrapado en una alternativa imposible de resolver» (PRossi Solitario [Ur. 1988]);

«Demostró que la paz era un hueso duro de roer» (Mundo [Esp.] 8.8.95);

«Este arbusto contiene un metal muy raro de encontrar en la naturaleza» (ByN [Ec.] 9.11.97).

En estas construcciones, el infinitivo transitivo tiene sentido pasivo (problema fácil de resolver = ‘problema que puede ser resuelto fácilmente’) y el sustantivo al que se refiere el adjetivo viene a ser el sujeto paciente tácito de dicho infinitivo.

Es incorrecto en estos casos añadir al infinitivo transitivo el pronombre átono de complemento directo, cuyo antecedente es el sustantivo al que se refiere el adjetivo:

Planteó cuestiones difíciles de resolverlas (en lugar de Planteó cuestiones difíciles de resolver). Este error se ve potenciado por el cruce de estructuras del tipo Es fácil de hacer, donde el infinitivo es complemento del atributo adjetivo, con otras como Es fácil hacerlo, en las que el infinitivo es el sujeto de la oración copulativa.

Por otra parte, solo los infinitivos de verbos transitivos pueden ser complementos del adjetivo; por ello, no es aceptable en la lengua culta utilizar esta estructura con verbos intransitivos (que llevan complementos indirectos o complementos de régimen):

«Se trata de una música fresca y fácil de gustar a todo el mundo» (Abc [Esp.] 23.2.96); «¿Qué es lo más difícil de darse cuenta?» (Puig Beso [Arg. 1976]); debió decirse: Se trata de una música fresca, que es fácil que guste a todo el mundo y ¿De qué es más difícil darse cuenta?, respectivamente.

I think the main point is that the infinitive of a transitive verb can be used as a complement when it is introduced by the preposition de.

This is somewhat useful, or parts of it, but to me seems to indicate, as best I understand the Spanish, that DE would always be used with adjectives such as fácil, difícil, rápido, etc. So how do you explain -Es difícil entender...- as correct? - kirk8, Feb 2, 2013

Answer 3

Adjective + De + Infinitive

This construction arises primarily with the adjectives "difícil" "fácil" "posible" and "imposible". Some people have a difficulty with the idea of an infinitive being the subject of a sentence, so there is another way to look at this:

These adjectives are followed by an unadorned infinitive when they precede the noun they qualify. For example:

"No es fácil entender tu acento" (the infinitive is the subject here) "Understanding is not easy"

When the adjective follows the qualified noun, the preposition "de" is required before the infinitive:

"Tu acento no es fácil de entender" (acento is the subject)

My take on your original post is:

"Es difícil entender que preposiciones usar en esta frase"

There is no "adjective + de + infinitive" question relating to the employment of the infinitive "usar"

correction: usar, not user - kirk8, Feb 3, 2013

Thanks so much, this gets close to an understanding. One clarification, you mention that user does not employ the adj. + de + infinitive BUT isn't preposiciones a noun? So do you mean to say that noun + de + int. does not apply either? - kirk8, Feb 3, 2013

I hate this autocorrect feature, noun + de + infinitive (not int.) - kirk8, Feb 3, 2013

Kirk, I don't know of any particular construction "noun + de + infinitive" - padrin, Feb 4, 2013

Answer 4

"de" is a preposition. The use of prepositions in Spanish is largely arbitrary

It is not arbitrary at all. As a general rule, nouns in Spanish that modify another noun or adjective have to be connected with a preposition, and the default one is "de". Infinitives in Spanish behave as nouns, so you have to connected with "de" too:

difícil de carácter [adjective + noun]

difícil de tratar [adjective + infinitive]

cuchillo de cocina [noun + noun]

cuchillo de cortar [noun + infinitive]

This is from " lazarus 1907" I hope this helps for your particular question but realize that many of my answers turn out not too good.

I appreciate the effort here but this answer really makes no sense nor is very relevant to my question, which involves a noun or adjective followed by an infinitive. :) - kirk8, Feb 2, 2013

I understand your question better now, nevertheless, I sometimes need to restrain my desire to contribute - swampy, Feb 2, 2013

Answer 5

Hmmm I can't think of any rule that applies to all verb/noun/adjective etc combinations but with the sentence you've given I'd say that you don't need any preposition between 'es difícil' and 'entender'. The word order makes all the difference ....

Also, if you didn't state what you were talking about and you were referring to something already understood by you and the hearer/reader then I think you should say - 'es difícil de entender.