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Picnic Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

How is this form called

I would like to know what the name for this form is;

(correct me if I am wrong)

"You are not to be honored."

"...,this is to be done."

"The__is to be released next__"

and so it goes on.
  

Top answer

Hi, What you're illustrating is a periphrastic form of the future tense, or rather, the immediate future. 'This new CD is to be released next week' , for example, means about the same as 'This new CD will be released next week' . However, this form is less used in practice, and you're unlikely to hear people utter such things in an everyday conversation.

— Regards

  • Hi, What you're illustrating is a periphrastic form of the future tense, or rather, the immediate future.
  • 'This new CD is to be released next week' , for example, means about the same as 'This new CD will be released next week' .
  • However, this form is less used in practice, and you're unlikely to hear people utter such things in an everyday conversation.
  • Yet, it is imperative that you will use that form when the foreseeable future is concerned.
  • Therefore, you may use this form thus: He is to leave tomorrow (= 'He'll leave tomorrow' or 'He's going to leave tomorrow' ).
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12 Answers
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Hi,

What you're illustrating is a periphrastic form of the future tense, or rather, the immediate future.

'This new CD is to be released next week', for example, means about the same as 'This new CD

will be released next week'. However, this form is less used in practice, and you're unlikely to

hear people utter such things in an everyday co
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Thank you for the explanation! wonderful!

Are you sure it does not have a specific name?
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PicnicThank you for the explanation! wonderful!
Are you sure it does not have a specific name?
Hi,
I suspect this form doesn't have an official name, if that's what you're looking for...

It's just another way of using the future tense.

Regards
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Picnicthe name for this form
It's just called 'IS TO'. It's an idiom that only has a few forms:

am to, is to, are to, was to, were to.

According to Palmer (The English Verb) it can't really be called 'BE TO' because there are no non-finite forms like *be to, *being to, or *been to.

CJ
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CalifJimIt's just called 'IS TO'.
Hi,

I believe it's an unofficial term, isn't it?

Where is this term taken from?

Regards
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It's taken from the work cited. Maybe the author made it up. Maybe he heard others using it and liked it. I don't know.

It occurs in the chapter entitled "Marginal Verbs". Maybe that term is unofficial, too. Since English has no regulatory academy like Spanish has, for example, I don't know what 'official' really would mean.
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CalifJimIt's taken from the work cited. Maybe the author made it up. Maybe he heard others using it and liked it. I don't know.
CJ
Hi,

Are you talking facetiously?
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No. What's facetious about not knowing where the author got his terminology?

CJ
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CalifJimIt occurs in the chapter entitled "Marginal Verbs". Maybe that term is unofficial, too. Since English has no regulatory academy like Spanish has, for example, I don't know what 'official' really would mean.

No. What's facetious about not knowing where the author got his terminology?

CJ
Hi,

It's OK. I see you'd edited your c
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RegardsIt's OK. I see you'd edited your comment.
You're too fast for me! Emotion: smile

CJ
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