Breakdown of Ese truco de magia es divertido de ver, pero imposible de hacer.
ser
to be
de
of
pero
but
ver
to see; to watch (TV, a film)
hacer
to do, to make
ese
that (m.sg., also esa, esos, esas, eso)
divertido
fun
la magia
the magic
imposible
impossible
el truco
the trick
Questions & Answers about Ese truco de magia es divertido de ver, pero imposible de hacer.
Why do we need de in divertido de ver and imposible de hacer? Couldn't we just say divertido ver?
When an adjective describes how a specific noun experiences an action (like the trick being fun to watch), Spanish requires the preposition de to link the adjective and the infinitive verb. You can't put the infinitive directly after the adjective in this structure.
The lesson calls this a "passive-like" structure. What does that mean here?
Look at the relationship between ese truco (that trick) and the verbs ver (to watch) and hacer (to do). The trick isn't watching or doing anything itself; rather, it is being watched and being done by someone else. Even though ver and hacer are in the active infinitive form, their relationship to the subject is passive.
Does this mean I always use de between an adjective and an infinitive?
Not always! You only use de when the sentence has a specific subject that receives the action. If you used a general or impersonal statement like "It is impossible to do that trick", you drop the de: Es imposible hacer ese truco. The de is only needed because the specific subject (ese truco) comes first here.
Why is "magic trick" translated as truco de magia instead of using an adjective like truco mágico?
If the subject was feminine, like esa ilusión (that illusion), what else in the sentence would change?
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