TOEIC Link Grammar — Tough-Movement and Easy-Class Predicate Recognition Discipline: The Subject-Promotion Construction That Separates Band-22 From Band-25

Tough-movement is the syntactic construction in which the matrix subject of an evaluative predicate — tough, easy, difficult, hard, impossible, simple, pleasant, painful, convenient, awkward, comfortable, dangerous — is interpreted as the missing object of a verb embedded inside a non-finite complement clause. The construction generates surface sentences such as the merger agreement is difficult to interpret without the disclosure schedule, the post-mortem narrative was easy for the on-call engineer to misread under fatigue, the regulatory disclosure is impossible to reconcile with the management discussion and analysis section, and the indemnity carve-out is awkward for outside counsel to negotiate under the standstill. The TOEIC Link grammar module includes tough-movement question targets because the construction packs a precise subject-promotion mechanism that band-22 candidates parse as a copular predication and band-25 candidates parse as a structured object-to-subject raising operation, and the answer choices on the question target reward only the parse that resolves the matrix subject as the embedded object.

This guide formalizes the tough-movement construction, contrasts it with the easy-class versus tough-class predicate distinction, catalogues the four failure modes that hold candidates at band-22, and outlines a four-week drill routine that installs construction-recognition discipline to automatic recognition. For adjacent grammar-module preparation, see the aspectual coercion and lexical aspect mismatch repair guide and the resultative secondary predicate and depictive construction recognition guide.

Why tough-movement recognition discriminates so strongly

Tough-movement is a syntactically marked construction in which the surface matrix subject and the deep-structure object are the same referent, even though the matrix predicate appears to be predicating directly of the surface subject. The construction is licensed by a closed class of evaluative predicates — the tough-class predicates that license object-to-subject promotion — and it is blocked by the surface-cognate but syntactically distinct easy-class predicates such as eager, ready, willing, reluctant, keen, hesitant, anxious, certain, likely, bound, where the matrix subject is interpreted as the embedded subject rather than as the embedded object. The TOEIC Link grammar module exploits the tough-versus-easy distinction because the surface similarity invites the band-22 misparse and the band-25 parse requires the candidate to recognize the construction class.

The band-22 candidate reads the merger agreement is difficult to interpret without the disclosure schedule as a sentence in which the merger agreement is the agent of the interpretation, picks the answer choice that captures the agent-misparse, and produces an interpretation that is syntactically incoherent because merger agreements do not interpret. The band-25 candidate reads the same sentence as a tough-movement construction in which the merger agreement is the patient of the interpretation, recognizes the implicit agent as the human reader of the document, picks the answer choice that captures the object-promotion parse, and produces an interpretation that is syntactically coherent and semantically appropriate. The TOEIC Link question target weights the construction-recognition parse heavily because the construction is one of the most reliable discriminators of advanced grammatical competence at the band-22-to-band-25 transition.

The tough-class versus easy-class predicate distinction

Tough-class predicates — object-to-subject promotion licensed

The tough-class predicates are the evaluative predicates that license object-to-subject promotion from the non-finite complement clause into the matrix subject position. The closed class includes tough, easy, difficult, hard, impossible, simple, pleasant, painful, convenient, awkward, comfortable, dangerous, safe, fun, enjoyable, tricky, straightforward, delicate, sensitive, risky, profitable, expensive, cheap, affordable, and a small set of related evaluative adjectives that pattern with the class. The construction takes the form Subject + be + tough-class adjective + (for + Experiencer) + to-infinitive verb + (PP), where the Subject is interpreted as the missing direct object of the to-infinitive verb and the Experiencer is the implicit agent of the embedded verb.

The construction is recognized by four diagnostic properties. First, the matrix subject and the embedded object are co-referential through the missing object slot of the to-infinitive verb. Second, the for-phrase, when present, introduces the agent of the embedded verb rather than the experiencer of the matrix predicate. Third, the matrix predicate is evaluative rather than dispositional or modal. Fourth, the matrix predicate cannot be coherently predicated of the surface subject under a non-tough-movement reading, which is the diagnostic that rules out the easy-class parse.

Easy-class predicates — subject-to-subject control licensed

The easy-class predicates — eager, ready, willing, reluctant, keen, hesitant, anxious, certain, likely, bound, prone, apt, determined, committed, motivated, enthusiastic, disinclined, disposed — are the dispositional or modal predicates that license subject-to-subject control from the non-finite complement clause. The construction takes the surface form Subject + be + easy-class adjective + to-infinitive verb + (NP) + (PP), where the Subject is interpreted as the controlling subject of the to-infinitive verb rather than as the missing object.

The construction is recognized by three diagnostic properties. First, the matrix subject and the embedded subject are co-referential through the controlled-subject slot of the to-infinitive verb. Second, the to-infinitive verb's direct object is present as an overt noun phrase rather than as a gap. Third, the matrix predicate is dispositional or modal rather than evaluative, and it can be coherently predicated of the surface subject as a property of the subject's disposition.

The minimal-pair discrimination test

The minimal-pair discrimination test is the diagnostic that distinguishes tough-class from easy-class predicates under exam-pressure conditions. The test consists of three steps. First, identify whether the matrix predicate is evaluative (tough-class) or dispositional (easy-class). Second, check whether the to-infinitive verb has an overt direct object (easy-class) or a gap in the object position (tough-class). Third, test whether the matrix subject can be the agent of the embedded verb (easy-class) or only the patient (tough-class). The test resolves the construction class deterministically and produces the parse that the TOEIC Link question target rewards.

The four failure modes that hold candidates at band-22

Failure 1 — Tough-class agent-misparse error

The first failure mode is parsing a tough-class construction as if the matrix subject were the embedded agent. The band-22 candidate reads the indemnity carve-out is awkward for outside counsel to negotiate as a sentence in which the indemnity carve-out is the agent of the negotiation, picks the answer choice that captures the agent-misparse, and produces a syntactically incoherent interpretation. The band-25 candidate recognizes the construction as a tough-movement construction in which the carve-out is the patient of the negotiation and the outside counsel is the embedded agent, picks the answer choice that captures the object-promotion parse, and produces a syntactically coherent interpretation. The repair is to install the tough-class evaluative-predicate inventory as the trigger for the object-promotion parse and to treat the matrix subject as the patient by default whenever the inventory is matched.

Failure 2 — Easy-class object-misparse error

The second failure mode is parsing an easy-class construction as if the matrix subject were the embedded object. The band-22 candidate reads the chief financial officer is reluctant to disclose the off-balance-sheet exposure as a sentence in which the CFO is the object of the disclosure, picks the answer choice that captures the object-misparse, and produces an interpretation in which the CFO is being disclosed rather than disclosing. The band-25 candidate recognizes the construction as a subject-control construction in which the CFO is the controlling subject of the disclosure and the off-balance-sheet exposure is the overt direct object, picks the answer choice that captures the subject-control parse, and produces an interpretation in which the CFO is the discloser. The repair is to install the easy-class dispositional-predicate inventory as the trigger for the subject-control parse and to treat the matrix subject as the controlling agent whenever the inventory is matched.

Failure 3 — For-phrase agent-misassignment error

The third failure mode is misassigning the for-phrase's role under a tough-movement construction. The band-22 candidate reads the post-mortem narrative was easy for the on-call engineer to misread and treats the for-phrase as introducing an experiencer of the matrix predicate ("easy for the engineer in the sense of easy on the engineer"). The band-25 candidate treats the for-phrase as introducing the embedded agent ("the engineer is the one who would misread the narrative"), picks the answer choice that captures the agent-introduction parse, and produces an interpretation in which the engineer is the misreader and the narrative is the misread object. The repair is to install the for-phrase as the diagnostic for the embedded-agent introduction under tough-movement and to distinguish it from the experiencer for-phrase that surfaces under non-tough-class evaluative predicates.

Failure 4 — Gapped-object recognition failure

The fourth failure mode is failing to recognize the gap in the embedded direct-object position that licenses the tough-movement construction. The band-22 candidate reads the regulatory disclosure is impossible to reconcile with the management discussion and analysis section and treats the with-phrase as the embedded direct object, which misparses the construction as a subject-control construction with an overt direct object. The band-25 candidate recognizes the gap in the embedded direct-object slot of reconcile, treats the with-phrase as the obligatory prepositional argument of reconcile rather than as the direct object, picks the answer choice that captures the gap-recognition parse, and produces an interpretation in which the disclosure is the patient of the reconciliation and the with-phrase introduces the comparison standard. The repair is to drill the gap-recognition diagnostic on a corpus of tough-movement sentences in which the embedded verb selects a prepositional argument in addition to the direct object.

The four-week drill routine

Week 1 — Tough-class versus easy-class inventory installation

The candidate memorizes the tough-class and easy-class predicate inventories, drills 30 minimal pairs in which the same surface frame can be parsed under either construction class depending on the predicate, and tags each minimal pair with the construction class and the resulting parse. The week's output is a construction-tagged minimal-pair corpus that surfaces which predicate classes the candidate identifies confidently and which require additional drill.

Week 2 — Diagnostic-test execution drill

The candidate works through 40 tough-class and easy-class sentences drawn from authentic business-document corpora — merger agreements, post-mortem reports, regulatory disclosures, audit memos, board minutes, indemnity schedules — and executes the three-step minimal-pair discrimination test on each. The week's output is a diagnostic-test log that records the candidate's test execution and the resulting construction-class assignment.

Week 3 — For-phrase and gapped-object discrimination drill

The candidate isolates tough-movement sentences with for-phrases and tough-movement sentences with gapped objects whose embedded verbs select prepositional arguments, and drills the for-phrase agent-introduction recognition and the gap-recognition diagnostic. The week's output is a for-phrase-and-gap discrimination log that records the candidate's parses and the corresponding correct construction recognition.

Week 4 — Authentic TOEIC Link item calibration drill

The candidate works through authentic TOEIC Link grammar items that target tough-movement and easy-class construction recognition under exam-pressure conditions. The drill is calibrated to the module's specific construction-recognition surface and produces the construction-recognition discipline the candidate will deploy under section conditions.

Calibration against authentic TOEIC Link tough-movement items

The drill routine should be calibrated against authentic TOEIC Link grammar items that target the tough-movement and easy-class construction recognition rather than against raw corpus sentences alone. The calibration is what ensures the recognition discipline generalizes to the specific question-generation surface the module uses. Candidates who drill extensively on raw corpus sentences without calibrating to the module's authentic items frequently produce band-23 or band-24 outcomes because the recognition discipline generalizes imperfectly to the module's specific construction preferences (the module's preferred tough-class predicates, the module's preferred easy-class predicates, the module's preferred for-phrase and gapped-object surface frames).

The recommended calibration cadence is to allocate 15 percent of each week's drill volume to authentic TOEIC Link items and the remaining 85 percent to the raw corpus drill. The 15 percent calibration is sufficient to anchor the recognition discipline to the module's construction preferences without consuming the authentic-item supply that the candidate will need for full timed-section practice closer to the exam date.

Closing — the tough-class versus easy-class discrimination as the band-25 anchor

Tough-movement and easy-class predicate constructions discriminate strongly at the band-22-to-band-25 transition because the surface similarity invites the band-22 misparse and the band-25 parse requires the candidate to recognize the construction class through the diagnostic-test execution. The candidate who installs the tough-class and easy-class inventories, drills the diagnostic-test execution, masters the for-phrase and gapped-object discrimination, and calibrates against the module's authentic items will produce band-25 outcomes on tough-movement and easy-class question targets reliably. The candidate who skips the construction-class discrimination and relies on surface-frame matching will be held at band-22 indefinitely by the question targets that require the construction recognition.

The tough-class versus easy-class discrimination discipline is one of the highest-leverage grammar-construction installations in the TOEIC Link grammar-module preparation curriculum, and the four-week drill routine is the most efficient path to installing it to automatic recognition.