Description
Learn an advanced but very useful English grammar structure: *BE + TO + VERB.* For example, “She *is to be transferred*” or “He *was to give* a speech”. You have probably seen this form in the news, business writing, and formal communication, but maybe you’re not sure what it means or when to use it. In this class, I show you how we use the present and past versions of this form. By the end of the lesson, you’ll clearly understand the difference between: “Jim *is* in charge”, “Jim *is to be* in charge”, “Jim *was* in charge” and “Jim *was to be* in charge”. Test your understanding with the quiz: https://www.engvid.com/advanced-english-grammar-be-to-verb/
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More of my advanced grammar lessons:
https://youtu.be/PshkHp8dYE4
https://youtu.be/kOPUQHnitB4
In this lesson:
0:00 English Grammar: BE + TO VERB
0:32 Present: "is to be", "am to be"...
3:41 Past: "was to be", "were to deliver"...
6:38 Review
Transcript:
Today's lesson is a grammar lesson that a lot of people have been asking about, so I thought this would be a very good topic for a video. We're going to look at the situation where you're using a "be" verb, "am", "is", "are", "was", "were", etc., plus an infinitive verb, but especially a "be" verb plus a "be" verb, so "am" to "be", "was" to "be", "were" to "be", etc. But I'll show you that it doesn't have to be the "be" verb only, but we can use it with... So, you can have "am" to "be", "is" to "have", "was" to "take", and so on.
So, I'm going to... Before I get into the examples, there are a couple of things that you must realize when we're using this structure. First of all, we're making a statement, and we're talking about the future, but not always. Sorry, I'm going to do small. When we're using a present "be" verb first, we're talking about future plans, so that's where it gets a little bit confusing. You have to remember that. It's always about future plans or arrangements, or to give instructions or orders. For example, a boss would give orders to his employees, to his staff. So, when we're using the present verb, we're talking about the future. When we're using the past verb, it's a different situation, and I'll show you examples of that in a moment. So, "Linda is to be transferred to the New York office next week." So, I'm making a statement. This is what is going to happen. She is going to be transferred. But instead of saying "she is going to be", I can just say "she is to be". It's a little bit more formal, a little bit more emphatic, like it has a bit of more emphasis because it's a very strong statement, and that's why you have to remember it's a statement. I'm not asking, I'm not suggesting, I'm saying exactly what's going to happen, right? So, "She is to take over the sales department." That is the plan. So, this could be like an order, this could be like a plan, but either way, it's a statement about the future.
Now, notice here that I'm using the "be" verb as part of a passive. "She is to be transferred by me", the boss, right? But "She is to go to the New York office", that's fine, too. Both are okay. Different connotation, different suggestion of what the order is. "Jim", but here's where you'll see the difference. "Jim, you are to be in charge until I get back." So, we can also use a "be" with a passive or just with a situation, just like a regular... Any other regular situation where you're using a "be" verb. But, if I say, "Jim, you are in charge until I get back." "Jim, you are to be in charge until I get back." What's the difference? If I use "without to be", it means right now. "Jim, you are in charge now. I'm going out." "Jim, you are to be in charge." So, next week, I will go to California for a business trip. While I'm gone, "Jim, you are going to be in charge." "Jim, you are to be in charge", right? So, that's very, very important to understand. Future, present, with "to be" or without "to be".
Okay, so now we're going to look at the past situation, which is very different, and you have to somehow understand what is happening. "Sophie was to deliver the keynote speech at the conference." So, again, there was a plan. She was supposed to. And this is a key word you have to remember, "supposed to". Something was supposed to happen. Something should have happened, but it didn't. And that's the key to this situation. "Unrealized" or the "unknown results". So, two things can happen here. Sorry. One, what was supposed to happen, what was planned, didn't happen, or what was planned, we're not sure if it happened or not. That's the key to using past "be" verb, "was", "were", plus an infinitive. So, "Sophie was to deliver the keynote speech", but did she? I don't know. Or, something happened, there was a bit of a mix-up, and she wasn't able to get onto the stage to give the speech. By the way, if you're curious, "keynote speech", that's the main speech, the highlight speech of the conference. […]