different construction from Spanish in such cases: study the sentences given below as
examples.
agradar: Nos agrada comer al aire libre.
We like eating in the open air. (lit. ‘Eating in the open air pleases us.’)
apetecer: ¿Qué te apetece tomar?
What would you like to drink (lit. ‘Drinking what appeals to you?’)alegrar: Me alegra cantar villancicos.
It makes me happy singing Christmas carols. (lit. ‘Singing Christmas
carols makes me happy.’)
bastar: Nos basta tener buena salud.
Having good health is enough for us.
complacer: Me complace invitarle a la cena.
I have pleasure in inviting you to the dinner. (lit. ‘Inviting you to the
dinner gives me pleasure.’)
encantar: Me encanta tener tantos parientes.
I’m delighted to have so many relatives. (lit. ‘Having so many relatives
delights me.’)importar: ¿Te importa cerrar la ventana?
Do you mind shutting the window? (lit. ‘Does shutting the window
matter to you?’)
interesar: ¿Les interesaría a Vds. saber dónde está nuestro amigo?
Would you be interested to know where our friend is? (lit. ‘Would
knowing where our friend is interest you?’)
ser difícil: Es difícil decirlo con certeza.
It’s difficult to say with certainty. (lit. ‘Saying with certainty is difficult.’)
ser fácil: Es fácil ir a Madrid.
Getting to Madrid is easy.ser gracioso: Es gracioso ver a los chimpancés.
It’s funny to see the chimpanzees. (lit. ‘Seeing the chimpanzees is
funny.’)
ser imposible: Fue imposible comentarlo todo.
It was impossible to comment on all of it (lit. ‘Commenting on all of it
was impossible.’)In all the above cases, the implied subject of the infinitive complement is either
indefinite or is the same as the indirect object of the main verb. Some of these verbs and
expressions have the possibility of taking a sentence complement with que and the
subjunctive when this situation does not hold, e.g.:
¿Te importa cerrar la ventana?
Lit. ‘Is it important to you for you to shut the window?’But:
¿Te importa que fumemos?
Lit: ‘Is it important to you if we smoke?’Infinitive complementation 26.2