difficile de choisir

Question

The Collins dictionary provides the expression 'difficile à fair' and in the randomly generated examples of 'difficile' gives difficile d'atteindre; difficile à réaliser. difficile à modéliser. Is there a rule as to when 'difficile' is followed by 'de' OR 'à' and does this apply to other adjectives such as in the expression 'dur de choisir' which is given as an alternative answer in the exercise.

I'm sure there is a lesson on this but my mind seems to have gone blank regarding it. Thanks in advance.

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Stewart,
To express 'it is hard/easy to [verb]', here is the pattern to follow:

Il est / c'est difficile / facile à + [infinitive verb] -> no object following the infinitive verb
Il est / c'est difficile / facile de + [infinitive verb] + [sth/sb] -> object following the infinitive verb

C'est facile à comprendre = It is easy to understand
Marc est difficle à comprendre = Marc is difficult to understand
C'est difficile de faire la différence = It is difficult to tell the difference
Il est facile de lire ce livre = it is easy to read this book
Lire un livre dans le noir est difficile à faire = Reading a book in the dark is hard to do

I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

Brilliant, thank you Céline for this straightforward reply.