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BE TO + INFINITIVE / BE ABOUT TO + INFINITIVE, PASSIVE FORMS ARE OFTEN…
BE TO + INFINITIVE / BE ABOUT TO + INFINITIVE
We use
be about to + infinitive
mainly in conversation to say that something will (not) happen in the very near future:
We're about to eat. Do you want to join us?
Appearing on TV might make her famous, but it's not about to make her rich.
Why don't you switch it off and turn it back on again? Yes, I was about to try that when you came in.
BE TO + INFINITIVE
Is commonly used in news reports to talk about events that are likely to happen in the near future.
Police officers are to visit every home in the area.
The main Rome-to-Naples railway line is to be reopened today.
It is also used to talk about formal or official arrangements, formal instructions, and to give orders:
You're not to leave the school without my permission.
The European Parliament is to introduce a new law on safety at work.
Children are not to be left unsupervised in the museum.
Note that we only use
be to + infinitive
tot talk about future events that can be controlled by people.
In the next few years, thousands of speed cameras are to appear on major roads.
Scientists say they can't predict when or where the disease will appear again. (Not is to appear)
The president is to return to Brasil later today.
The comet will return to our solar system in around 500 years. (not the comet is to return, the movement of the comet cannot be controllled)
However, when
be to + infinitive
refers to
the future from the past
, we often use it to describe what happened to someone, whether they were able to influence events or not.
Matthew Flinders sailed past Tasmania in 1770, but it was to be a further 30 years before he landed there.
Clare Atkins was to write two more books about her experiences in Africa before her death in 1997
We often use
be to+ infinitive
in
if- clauses
to say that something must happen first
(in the main clause)
before something else can happen (in the if-clause)
If the human race is to survive, we must look at the environmental problems now.
The laws needs to be revised if justice is to be done.
Compare the use of
be to + infinitive
and
the present simple
for the future in if-clauses:
If Lopez is to win gold at the next Olympics, he needs to work on his fitness. and If lopez wins gold at the next Olympics, he has said that he will retire from athletis.
Note how the order of cause and effects in if-sentences is reversed with these two sentences:
If Lopez is to win gold ...(=Effect), he needs to work ... (=Cause) and If Lopez wins gold (=cause). He has said that he will retire ...(=Effect)..
PASSIVE FORMS ARE OFTEN USED TO MAKE ORDERS AND INSTRUCTIONS MORE IMPERSONAL.