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I need to know which of these options is the correct one and why:

  • The Spanish cooking makes it easy to have a nice meal.
  • The Spanish cooking makes easy to have a nice meal.

I don't know if I need the pronoun it or not. By the way, is "a nice meal" correct, or should I use any other adjective, such as "good"?

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    You may find English Language Learners useful.
    – James Waldby - jwpat7
    Commented May 23, 2013 at 14:06
  • This is probably a question for ELL. However, ask yourself the question "What does Spanish cooking make easy?" The phrase "Spanish cooking makes..." requires an object, which is what is supplied by the dummy it. [It is normally a dummy subject, but here that pronoun fulfils a similar function as an object.] It's also not "The Spanish cooking", but just "Spanish cooking", which is another matter which I'm sure has been mentioned here in a prior question.
    – Andrew Leach ♦
    Commented May 23, 2013 at 14:10
  • I'm sorry, I didn't know about ELL. It's my first time here and I'm a bit lost. Thank you!
    – Mireia
    Commented May 23, 2013 at 14:15
  • ELL probably won't help you much. Beside the article problem, the presence or absence of it is a tricky grammatical point, since it could be one of several different kinds. This one is the dummy it of Extraposition, and it's almost all that's left of a subordinate clause.
    – John Lawler
    Commented May 23, 2013 at 15:07
  • Do you mean the methods of Spanish cooking? Otherwise, I'm confused before you get to the "makes easy"/"makes it easy" part.
    – Kristina Lopez
    Commented May 23, 2013 at 18:12

2 Answers 2

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The first one is correct. "Makes" is the verb, "it" is the object of which "makes" refers to, and "easy" is the adjective. "It" refers to the work done to prepare the meal. However, referring to the work in general is informal English and can be improved by expanding upon the aspect of work that has been made easy. The word "nice" is much more professional than the word "good." "Good" implies that the meal would not be appetizing if it were not for the Spanish cooking. However, the word "nice" implies that the meal is enjoyable to eat in general because of the Spanish cooking.

The phrase, "Make easy" is an expression used to mean, "to get along with again," or, "to resolve." When people say, "Let's make easy," it is usually after a conflict between two closely related people and is said by an outside party.

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Neither sentence is correct.

Spanish cooking makes it easy to have a nice meal. [This is grammatical and natural]
Spanish cooking makes having a nice meal easy. [This is grammatical and natural]

You can use any adjective that suits your fancy instead of the tepid nice.

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  • Brits might often say "a good meal".
    – TrevorD
    Commented May 23, 2013 at 14:27
  • @TrevorD: That's less tepid. I'd say "tasty & inexpensive". Those are my two top criteria.
    – user21497
    Commented May 23, 2013 at 14:29
  • Actually, although I agree that nice can be tepid, it's not always so. Here (in S.England), a guest saying That was a (very) nice meal. Thank you (with the emphasis on nice) would a fairly normal expression with no adverse or 'tepid' connotations.
    – TrevorD
    Commented May 23, 2013 at 14:55
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    @TrevorD: Same in the USA, but nice is just so faux-vanilla bland that it's beyond the pale of simple cliché: it's mummified when it's not necrotic.
    – user21497
    Commented May 23, 2013 at 15:07

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