Thread: It's nice to talk to you = You are nice to talk to?

bitpicker, how is it possible to say these sentences in a different way? I just try to understand what function infinitive has in the second sentence.
It's nice to talk to you. = To talk to you is nice.
You are nice to talk to. = ?
May be You are nice for talking?

It's nice to talk to you. = To talk to you is nice.To talk to you is the subject.
But what is function of the infinitive in You are nice to talk to? Purpose?

Originally Posted by oldboy

bitpicker, how is it possible to say these sentences in a different way? I just try to understand what function infinitive has in the second sentence.
It's nice to talk to you. = To talk to you is nice.

It's nice to talk to you. = To talk to you is nice. -------Yes, both are right and mean the same thing.
You are nice to talk to. = ---- That is fine.
May be You are nice for talking? ---- No, that sounds strange.

Here are some alternative ways to say the same thing, in a nice way:

It's very nice talking with you.
I am really enjoying this conversation.
Talking with you is very nice indeed.
To talk with you is so enjoyable!
It's so nice to chat with you.
This conversation is really enjoyable.
It's always nice to talk with you.


It's nice to talk to you. = To talk to you is nice.To talk to you is the subject.
But what is function of the infinitive in You are nice to talk to? Purpose?
I am not very good at grammar but I would say that the purpose of the infinitive is to specify that you are talking to that particular person, and not just talking in general. It has to be there, if you don't have it, then the sentence sounds strange.

But what is function of the infinitive in You are nice to talk to?

The infinitive qualifies the adjective to form what you might call a complex adjective/complex predicate. To be honest I'm not sure what the correct grammatical terminology should be. The way I see it it's not all that dissimilar from the way in which other parts of speech can qualify adjectives too.

For example you can say either,
Is this plate safe to put in the dishwasher?
or Is this plate dishwasher safe

Either Fruit is nice as a starter
or Fruit is nice to start your meal with

Either The battery is hot to the touch
or The battery is hot to touch

It's nice to talk to you. = To talk to you is nice.To talk to you is the subject.

Correct. The two sentences ( I mean It's nice to talk to you and You are nice to talk to), although they will often mean more or less the same thing, have different grammatical structures.

Originally Posted by oldboy

bitpicker, how is it possible to say these sentences in a different way? I just try to understand what function the infinitive has in the second sentence.
It's nice to talk to you. = To talk to you is nice.
You are nice to talk to. = You are a nice person to talk to

It's nice to talk to you. = To talk to you is nice.To talk to you is the subject.

No, "it" is the subject. "To talk to you" is an infinitive phrase. It's a similar structure to "это просто понять" - I don't think it is possible to translate "you are nice to talk to" into Russian using such a structure, but "this is easy to understand" follows the same principle. In English, verbs which are accompanied by prepositions may use that same pattern: "you are easy to get along with" for example.

In English, sentences may end in prepositions. The silly "rule" saying that they may not, which you might find quoted sometimes, is a remnant of an early humanistic outlook on grammar when grammarians thought that Latin was the ideal language, and therefore anything which was not possible in Latin must be a somehow debased or devolved grammatical feature best forgotten. Which is something, as is sometimes ascribed as a quote to Churchill, up with which we should not put.

Correct: something with which we should not put up.