Learn English – “Pretty to see, hard to catch”. Vs. “pretty to be seen, hard to be caught

grammarmeaning-in-context

  • A girl should be like a butterfly. Pretty to see, hard to catch.

I want to know how this could be?

-Pretty to see (someone) or to be see (by someone), or hard to be caught instead of hard to catch.

I think "pretty to be seen" and "hard to be caught" are more grammatical.

Because if we said that is pretty to see, that would mean if she is not beautiful, or ugly, she would not be able to see.

Best Answer

  • Pretty to see
  • Hard to catch

In modern grammar, these are called hollow non-finite clauses. These non-finite clauses have a non-subject gap (i.e. a missing constituent) that's recoverable from the context. The gap usually corresponds the subject in the main clause. Herein, gaps are marked with strikethrough.

Pretty to see a butterfly

Hard to catch a butterfly

These hollow clauses are licensed by the adjectives, which are—in this particular context—pretty and hard.

The latter is commonly analyzed as a tough construction¹ because it's 'licensed' by tough adjectives (e.g. hard, easy, difficult).


¹ Biber et al. in Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English analyze it as an object-to-subject raising.