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Velimir Posted 19 years ago
Grammar
be + to
Hello everybody,
Since this is my first post here, before asking I want to thank everybody here for helping people to improve their english.
My question is about the usage of "be+ to". Here is the example which I will use to make my question clear :
He was to prove his point.
Depending on the context I understand that it is possible meaning of this sentence that he was obliged to prove the point. In this sense is "was to" in this sentence interchangeable with : "was supposed to" or "should have to" or better alternative is " had to" ?
I think that in some context it is also possible to understand the sentence like ( = it would be the same to say) : "He was going to prove his point". Why "going" is often left out and "was to" is used instead of "was going to" ?
If I need to clarify my question I could provide some context to explain what I mean.
Thanks for the help, best regards
Since this is my first post here, before asking I want to thank everybody here for helping people to improve their english.
My question is about the usage of "be+ to". Here is the example which I will use to make my question clear :
He was to prove his point.
Depending on the context I understand that it is possible meaning of this sentence that he was obliged to prove the point. In this sense is "was to" in this sentence interchangeable with : "was supposed to" or "should have to" or better alternative is " had to" ?
I think that in some context it is also possible to understand the sentence like ( = it would be the same to say) : "He was going to prove his point". Why "going" is often left out and "was to" is used instead of "was going to" ?
If I need to clarify my question I could provide some context to explain what I mean.
Thanks for the help, best regards
Top answer
Welcome to English Forums! The first interpretation that comes to mind for the be to idiom is be supposed to (be required to). He was to prove his point.
- Welcome to English Forums!
- The first interpretation that comes to mind for the be to idiom is be supposed to (be required to).
- He was to prove his point.
- = He was supposed to prove his point.
- When that interpretation doesn't seem possible because of the context (and I believe that would be the case in this situation), the next interpretation that comes to mind is be about to , be going to, would (eventually) , or a paraphrase with it remained .
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3 Answers
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Welcome to English Forums!
The first interpretation that comes to mind for the be to idiom is be supposed to (be required to).
He was to prove his point. = He was supposed to prove his point.
When that interpretation doesn't seem possible because of the context (and I believe that would be the case in this situation), the next interpretation t
The first interpretation that comes to mind for the be to idiom is be supposed to (be required to).
He was to prove his point. = He was supposed to prove his point.
When that interpretation doesn't seem possible because of the context (and I believe that would be the case in this situation), the next interpretation t
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Also, study:
be + infinitive
here (as per Michael Swan):
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/grammar/archive/be01.html
be + infinitive
here (as per Michael Swan):
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/grammar/archive/be01.html
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Hello,
First of all thanks for your welcome CalifJim. The possible interpretations you've quoted was just what I needed to know .Thank you very much ,it's helped a lot. Marius thanks for the link it helped too.
Best regards to you
First of all thanks for your welcome CalifJim. The possible interpretations you've quoted was just what I needed to know .Thank you very much ,it's helped a lot. Marius thanks for the link it helped too.
Best regards to you
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