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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > help

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miss zakia

help

do we say "the plate is too hot to be touched" or "the plate is too hot to touch"?

8 May 2010

coyote.chus

I would say It is to hot to be touched, in the passive.

8 May 2010

sousou aicha

I think you could use the passive structure or you would say: "the plate is too hot to touch it"

9 May 2010

miss zakia

thanks a lot for help

9 May 2010

serene

In my opinion, we say "the plate is too hot to touch" (without it). The structure with the passive infinitive sounds grammatically correct but it doesn �t sound natural to me.

Similarly, we say:

The box is too heavy to carry.
The television is too expensive to buy.

http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/part_3.htm
(paragraph 17)

edit: also http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/inf5.cfm
http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/very-too-and-enough

9 May 2010

hokage8002

I would say:

It is too hot to be touched / it is too hot to touch it.

but never:

it is too hot to touch.

9 May 2010

Apodo

As a native speaker:

When giving an urgent warning:- Careful! That plate is too hot to touch!

A more general warning:- That plate is too hot to be touched.

Although not really incorrect, �It � isn �t necessary here.

9 May 2010

aquarius_gr

"the plate is too hot to touch" ... "it" would be incorrect at the end.

Normally the infinitive structure here should not be passive unless the subject is a person.

9 May 2010