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Are the following three sentences grammatically correct? If yes, what is the difference in the correct ones?

  1. This will make it easier to recognize the object.
  2. This will make the object easier to recognize.
  3. This will make the object easier to be recognized.
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  • (3) is ungrammatical; easy governs Tough-Movement as in (2), and Extraposition, as in (1), but not Equi, as in (3).
    – John Lawler
    Commented Jun 18, 2016 at 22:42
  • @JohnLawler — Could you please translate your comment into a more standard English and provide sources in support. I have no idea what 'Tough-Movement' means and even after finding it in Wikipedia cannot follow your argument. Likewise Extraposition. And has Equi got something to do with horses? Anyway, answers should be given as answers, not as comments. Why do so many people insist in ignoring the guidelines, although they are quite happy to mark down the answers of others?
    – David
    Commented Jun 19, 2016 at 8:23
  • I have no idea why people are so happy to mark down the answers of others; it puzzles me, too. But there are many things about the ELU format that are less than ideal. One of them is that people who ask questions about grammar are often unprepared to understand the answer, because it's too technical. FYI, Tough-Movement, Extraposition, and Equi are three syntactic rules in English.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Jun 19, 2016 at 14:29

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All are grammatically correct. Which you use depends on desired emphasis and style.

In 1 the emphasis is on recognition, whereas in 2 and 3 it is on the object.

If you want to emphasize recognition I prefer 2 to 3 because the use of the passive in 3 makes the sentence more complex without adding anything.

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