To buy vs. To be bought

Question

"To sum up, although the odds are rather against us of winning a competition, there would be many things to be bought if we happened to win a great prize."

I know that this sentence is a nonsense and doesn't express any proper meaning. But is "to be bought" in this particular instance interchangeable with "to buy" or not?

I was told that "to be bought" rather imply obligation and therefore it isn't replaceable without the change of the meaning.

Thank you in advance.

Regards · Accepted Answer

Hi,
I detect no significant difference; moreover, I think to buy would be even better as it could prevent wordiness.

Regards

Dimsumexpress · Answer

For your example (scenario), I wouldn't go as far as calling it nonsense. Although it may be considered what I would call "a "forced passive" pattern to deliver a defined action.
So, this is my interpretation of the " be+ past participle" construction. Quite apparent, it is a passive construction.
We were taught from grade school that "to be.." implies obligation, which is true but not always. These are common usages to emphasize a goal or purpose.

She is only 20, There is plenty of life to be lived.
In America, there are plenty of opportunities to be had.
They have plans yet to be accomplished
There is way too much work awaiting to be done.
He has many love songs waiting to be sung
She has many dreams which are to be fulfilled.

Marold"To sum up, although the odds are rather against us of winning a competition, there would be many things to be bought if we happened to win a great prize."

Yes, we can and it is not wrong by the way to say : there would be lot of things to be bought if we happened to win the cash prize."
Or, " There would be lots to buy if we happened to win the cash prize."

To buy vs. To be bought

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