Be To + Infinitive: Formal Plans, Instructions and Fate
Use be to + infinitive for formal arrangements, official instructions, conditions, and later events viewed from the past.
Learning Objective
Be To + Infinitive: Formal Plans, Instructions and Fate
Interpret be to constructions by context and distinguish actual, unfulfilled, prescribed, and destined events.
Clear Explanation
Be to + infinitive presents an event as officially arranged, required, possible only under a condition, or viewed as part of a later course of events. Perfect infinitives can mark an unfulfilled arrangement.
Form and Structure
am/is/are/was/were + to + base verb; was/were to have + past participle
“The delegates are to meet at noon.”
Context distinguishes arrangement from command and actual later event from unrealised plan. Do not infer non-occurrence from was to alone.
Meaning and Use
Formal arrangement
News and official contexts use be to for scheduled or agreed future events.
“The two boards are to hold talks next week.”
Instruction or condition
The construction can express an authoritative requirement or a necessary condition.
“If we are to succeed, we must cooperate.”
Future in the past
Was/were to can frame a later event as destiny or, with a perfect infinitive, an arrangement that did not occur.
“They were to have met, but the flight was cancelled.”
Common Errors and Meaning Traps
The president is to visiting Rome.
The president is to visit Rome.
Be to takes a bare infinitive after to, not an -ing form.
We were to have meet on Tuesday.
We were to have met on Tuesday.
The perfect infinitive is to have + past participle.
If you will to qualify, you must submit the portfolio.
If you are to qualify, you must submit the portfolio.
Be to is the formal conditional construction required here.
Guided Practice
Use the grammar in context
“You are not to disclose the password.”
“She was to become one of the field's leading researchers.”
Write examples of an official plan, a prohibition, a necessary condition, a later destined event, and an unfulfilled past arrangement.
Quick Recap
Be to + infinitive presents an event as officially arranged, required, possible only under a condition, or viewed as part of a later course of events. Perfect infinitives can mark an unfulfilled arrangement.
News and official contexts use be to for scheduled or agreed future events.
Context distinguishes arrangement from command and actual later event from unrealised plan. Do not infer non-occurrence from was to alone.
Be to takes a bare infinitive after to, not an -ing form.
Independent Mastery Check
Complete these four checks before taking the quiz. If one feels difficult, return to the matching section and try again.
Explain the core rule in your own words without looking back at the lesson.
Find the target form in “The delegates are to meet at noon.” and explain what it communicates in this context.
Explain why “The president is to visit Rome.” is the recommended revision for “The president is to visiting Rome.”.
Write examples of an official plan, a prohibition, a necessary condition, a later destined event, and an unfulfilled past arrangement.
Continue at C1-C2 Level
Aim for at least 5 out of 6 in the quiz below. For every missed answer, read the explanation, return to the relevant section, and try the quiz again.
Which statement best explains Be To + Infinitive: Formal Plans, Instructions and Fate?
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