Kibbitzer 73 | Easy to be done |
| Original | Revision |
|---|---|
| Each step is easy to be carried out. | Each step is easy to carry out. |
| Each step can be carried out easily |
The 'Passive Error' on the left is at first sight puzzling since it is made by a student whose mother tongue, as she tells me, does not allow such a structure. A moment's reflexion, however, shows how it is possible to explain it in terms of English alone, in which the MEANING of the complement 'is easy' is close to that of the modal 'can', though the contexts of the complement and of the modal are very different. The revisions above show how the original may be rewritten without, and with, the Passive.
| 1. | The parachute is easy to remove | The parachute can be _______ easily. |
| 2. | The plants are ________ to ________. | The plants can be propagated easily. |
| 3. | Future inflation is ________ to predict. | Future inflation can be predicted only with difficulty |
| 4. | Low temperature plasmas are relatively cheap to manufacture. | Low temperature plasmas ________ be __________ relatively ________. |
| 5. | Houses from Colorado to Maine are ________ to ______ and easy to ______. | Houses from Colorado to Maine can be bought cheaply and can be let easily. |
| 6. | This is a theory that is difficult to verify. | This is a theory that can ______ verified only ______ __________. |
| 7th July 2000 | Consultant: Tim Johns |
| Back to Tim Johns EAP page |