Question 1

Why do we use à in disposé à essayer?

Accepted Answer

In French, certain adjectives must be followed by à before an infinitive verb, and disposé (willing) is one of them. When describing a person's readiness or tendency to do something, you will often use à, just like with prêt à (ready to).

Question 2

In C'est excitant de surfer, why do we need de before surfer?

Accepted Answer

When you use the impersonal structure c'est + adjective to make a general statement about an action, you must use de before the infinitive verb. You are stating the general fact that the act of surfing is exciting.

Question 3

If we use de after excitant, why does impossible take à in impossible à faire?

Accepted Answer

This is a very common difference! Use de when the sentence has an impersonal dummy subject, like c'est excitant de surfer (It is exciting to surf). But use à when the adjective describes a specific thing that is receiving the action. Here, impossible à faire refers back to the specific act of surfing, meaning that surfing itself is impossible to do.

Question 4

Why is there no article before courage in sans courage?

Accepted Answer

The preposition sans (without) is generally followed directly by a bare noun without an article. This happens especially when referring to abstract concepts or uncountable things, like sans courage (without courage) or sans argent (without money).

Je suis disposé à essayer. C'est excitant de surfer, mais impossible à faire sans courage.

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