0
Hela Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

"BE TO" to express necessity

0 02hr
02br
00Dear teachers,02br
02br
00What are the different uses / meanings of "BE TO" in the present and past?02br
00Are my interpretations correct?02br
02br
001) I 01b00am to tidy up02b00 my room before my mother gets back.02br
00= I will have to do it (obligation given my an external authority) 02br
02br
002) I 01b00were to tidy up02b00 my room before my mother got back.02br
00= I had to do it (but the interlocutor 01u00doesn't know if the speaker did tidy up his room or not02u00) 02br
02br
003) I 01b00were to have tidied up02b00 my room before my mother got back.02br
00= I had to do it but 01u00I didn't02u00.02br
02br
00Thank you in advance,02br
00Hela00 0-
  

Top answer

02br 00= I had to do it (but the interlocutor 01u 00doesn't know if the speaker did tidy up his room or not02u 00) 02font 02br 02br 01font 00Don't try to use subjunctive. Say00 I 01i 00was02i 00 01b 00to tidy up02b 00 my room before my mother got back. 00Your interpretation is correct.

— Clive

  • 02br 00= I had to do it (but the interlocutor 01u 00doesn't know if the speaker did tidy up his room or not02u 00) 02font 02br 02br 01font 00Don't try to use subjunctive.
  • Say00 I 01i 00was02i 00 01b 00to tidy up02b 00 my room before my mother got back.
  • 00Your interpretation is correct.
  • However, there is an implication that the tidying up was not done,because if it had been done, one would normally just state that fact, something like 'I tidied up my room before .
  • 02font 02br 02br 01font 00Again, say 'was', not 'were'.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

8 Answers
0
0Hi Hela,02br
02br
01font00What are the different uses / meanings of "BE TO" in the present and past?02br
00Are my interpretations correct?02br
02br
001) I 01b00am to tidy up02b00 my room before my mother gets back.02br
00= I will have to do it (obligation given my an external authori
0
0
0Thanks Clive, you're right I should've written "was"; I didn't mean to use a subjunctive.02br
02br
00So according to you there isn't much difference between "be to + present infinitive" and "be to + perfect infinitive", both mean that the obligation was not fulfilled?02br
02br
00Would you please give me more examples of that kind?02br
02br
0
0
0Hi Hela,02br
02br
01font00So according to you there isn't much difference between "be to + present infinitive" and "be to + perfect infinitive", both mean that the obligation was not fulfilled?02font02br
02br
00Yes, there's not a lot of difference. 02br
02br
01i00Mary was to cook dinner last
0
0
0Dear Clive, hope you're still on line.02br
02br
00Could I say then that: 02br
02br
00a) "Mary WAS to cook dinner / They were to stop off in Paris last night" = past expectation/obligation (?) but we 01u00don't know if02u00 the action was completed or not, the message is not clear. 02br
02br
00As you mentioned ea
0
0
0Hi,02br
02br
01font00Could I say then that: 02font02br
02br
01font00a) "Mary WAS to cook dinner / They were to stop off in Paris last night" = past expectation/obligation (?) but we 01u00don't know if02u00 the action was completed or not, the message is not clear. 02
0
0
0 01blockquote
01cite10Clive12cite11font10c) "Mary WAS TO HAVE cooked dinner / I was to have tidied up... / They were to stop off in Paris last night" = past expectation/obligation and the action 11u10was definitely not performed12u10.12font10 First two, yes. Last one, unclear, see A above
0
0
0Yes, Yohf, this is exactly what I meant. Again, I made a mistake. 05002br
02br
00Best wishes.010id10
0
0
0Clive,02br
02br
00Help me to see these disputable things more in order:02br
02br
00The original poster stated that if we use the first personal pronoun it seems to be clear that the subject didn't perform the obligation, as in "I was to cook dinner last night." 00I would say "Yes" to that if the poster make that very clear that it is what he thinks
0

Related Questions