Was to have been?

Question

Robert had loved her even more. She was to have been his bride.
“She was more beautiful than that,” the king said after a silence. His eyes lingered on Lyanna’s face, as if he could will her back to life.

Hi, dear teachers. I am wondering why the author use the structure "was to have been"? I have only encountered "was to do"(meaning "will do") but not "was to have been"? What does this structure mean?

Thank you.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

"She was to have been his bride." is a correct sentence. It means: there was supposed to be a wedding between Robert and this woman, at some time in the past, but something occurred to prevent the wedding.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

zuotengdazuoI am wondering why the author use the structure "was to have been"?

The form be + infinitive shows us that something is/was planned for the future.

Present tense:

The meeting is to be held in Los Angeles next year.  (It is planned in the present, and the time for the event is in the future.  It has a similar meaning as "The meeting will be held in Los Angeles next year. " but emphasizes the planning or expectation that it will happen.)
They are to be married on her birthday next year.

Past tense: The perfect infinitive indicates that the event was planned but it will never happen. Here are some examples.


The meeting was to be held in Los Angeles, but the chairman changed the venue to Chicago.  (It was planned in the past.)
The meeting was to have been held in Los Angeles, but the chairman cancelled the event to save money. (It was planned in the past and it never happened as planned.)

They were to be married on her birthday this year, but she got very sick, and they postponed the wedding six months. 
They were to have been married on her birthday this year, but she got very sick and died.

That large plot of vacant land near downtown was to be the site of the new football stadium, but the mayor is still trying to raise enough money to build it.
That large plot of vacant land near downtown was to have been the site of the new football stadium, but a big Internet company bought the land and built their headquarters there.

Was to have been?

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