Be about to en inglés
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Be about to
Be (just) about to permite expresar un acción inminente, o un futuro muy cercano:
The train is just about to leave. El tren va a partir.
I was about to be promoted when the new boss took over. Estaba a punto de ser ascendido cuando llegó el nuevo jefe.
Ejercicio 1
Philip: Hey Kevin, I to call you yesterday to see if you wanted to grab a beer, but then Susie called me, and you know how she is...
Kevin: I to leave for the airport, Philip, can we this later?
Kevin: I to leave for the airport, Philip, can we this later?
Philip: Hey Kevin, I was about 1 to call you yesterday to see if you wanted to grab a beer, but then Susie called me, and you know how she is...
Kevin: I am about 2 to leave for the airport, Philip, can we talk about 3 this later?
Kevin: I am about 2 to leave for the airport, Philip, can we talk about 3 this later?
1 was about: This is the correct choice. We must use the past tense form of the verb 'to be' here, because Philip is speaking of yesterday. 'To be about' to do something expresses an imminent action in the past or present tense.
1 am about: We cannot use the present tense here because Philip is speaking of an action which took place yesterday.
2 am about: 'Am about' is the best choice here. Because Kevin is referring to the present tense here, we must use a present tense form of the verb 'to be'. 'To be about' to do something expresses an imminent action.
2 was about: Because Kevin is speaking about the present, we cannot use a past tense form of the verb 'to be' here.
3 talk about: This is the best choice here. In this case, we are not expressing an impending action, just the subject of conversation.
3 to talk about: We cannot use the preposition 'to' in front the verb 'talk' because the subject 'we' cannot be followed by an infinitive verb beginning with 'to'.
3 are talking about: Because Kevin is asking to 'talk about something' later, we cannot use the present continuous tense here. The present continuous only refers to actions which are happening in the immediate present.
Ejercicio 2
Polly: Luna, I see you're reading a new book, what is it ?
Luna: Well, it an HR director who becomes a mermaid and learns to truly appreciate life on the surface world. I finish it, would you like to borrow it?
Polly: No, I think I'll pass, but let me know how it turns out.
Luna: Well, it an HR director who becomes a mermaid and learns to truly appreciate life on the surface world. I finish it, would you like to borrow it?
Polly: No, I think I'll pass, but let me know how it turns out.
Polly: Luna, I see you're reading a new book, what is it about 1 ?
Luna: Well, it is about 2 an HR director who becomes a mermaid and learns to truly appreciate life on the surface world. I am about to 3 finish it, would you like to borrow it?
Polly: No, I think I'll pass, but let me know how it turns out.
Luna: Well, it is about 2 an HR director who becomes a mermaid and learns to truly appreciate life on the surface world. I am about to 3 finish it, would you like to borrow it?
Polly: No, I think I'll pass, but let me know how it turns out.
1 about: 'About' is the best choice. To ask what something 'is about' is to inquire about its content or subject.
1 about to: We cannot ask what a book is 'about to'. The construction 'be about to' is used to express an imminent action, and cannot be used here.
2 is about: This is the best choice here. Luna is explaining what the book 'is about', which expresses the content or subject of her book.
2 is about to: The construction 'be about to' is used to express an imminent action, and cannot be used here because the book is not preparing to do something.
3 am about to: This is the best choice here. 'To be about' to do something expresses an imminent action in the past or present tense. Here Luna tells Polly that she is close to finishing her book.
3 about to: We must precede the preposition 'about' with the verb 'to be' to correctly complete this sentence.
3 is about to: Because Luna is speaking about herself, we must use the first person form of the verb 'to be'. (I am about to).
Ejercicio 3
Jeff: I was just leave when, all of a sudden, this spaceship lands in the back yard.
Freddie: No way! What happened? Did you meet some aliens?
Jeff: Well, my dad comes running out of the house and he exploding with rage.
Freddie: Well? What happened? What did he do?
Jeff: He threw his beer at the spaceship, screaming about loud music, so the aliens left.
Freddie: No way! What happened? Did you meet some aliens?
Jeff: Well, my dad comes running out of the house and he exploding with rage.
Freddie: Well? What happened? What did he do?
Jeff: He threw his beer at the spaceship, screaming about loud music, so the aliens left.
Jeff: I was just about to 1 leave when, all of a sudden, this spaceship lands in the back yard.
Freddie: No way! What happened? Did you meet some aliens?
Jeff: Well, my dad comes running out of the house and he is nearly 2 exploding with rage.
Freddie: Well? What happened? What did he do?
Jeff: He threw his beer at the spaceship, screaming about loud music, so the aliens left.
Freddie: No way! What happened? Did you meet some aliens?
Jeff: Well, my dad comes running out of the house and he is nearly 2 exploding with rage.
Freddie: Well? What happened? What did he do?
Jeff: He threw his beer at the spaceship, screaming about loud music, so the aliens left.
1 about to: We use 'about to' here to show that Jeff was 'almost ready to leave' or 'on the point of leaving'. This is the best choice here.
1 ready: We cannot use 'ready' here without it being followed by the preposition 'to'.
1 nearly to: 'Nearly to' does not make sense here, it is grammatically incorrect in this construction.
2 is nearly: We use 'is nearly' here to show that his father was 'almost exploding with rage'. The present tense is used here to describe a past action, to give a sense of immediacy. This construction is only used in spoken, informal English.
2 is about to: We cannot use 'is about to' before the -ING form of the verb. This is not the best choice here.
2 is ready to: We cannot use 'is ready to' before the -ING form of the verb. This is not the best choice here.
Ejercicio 4
Choose the appropriate meaning for each phrase. Be careful! Each answer is used only once:
'Bruno is likely to make a smart business decision' =
'Bruno is sure to make a smart business decision' =
'Bruno is about to make a smart business decision' =
'Bruno is likely to make a smart business decision' =
'Bruno is sure to make a smart business decision' =
'Bruno is about to make a smart business decision' =
Choose the appropriate meaning for each phrase. Be careful! Each answer is used only once:
'Bruno is likely to make a smart business decision' = Bruno will probably make a smart decision 1
'Bruno is sure to make a smart business decision' = Bruno will almost certainly make a smart decision 2
'Bruno is about to make a smart business decision' = Bruno will make a smart decision very soon 3
'Bruno is likely to make a smart business decision' = Bruno will probably make a smart decision 1
'Bruno is sure to make a smart business decision' = Bruno will almost certainly make a smart decision 2
'Bruno is about to make a smart business decision' = Bruno will make a smart decision very soon 3
1 Bruno will probably make a smart decision: This is correct. 'To be likely (to do something)' expresses strong probability, in this case there is a strong possibility that Bruno will make a smart business decision.
1 Bruno will almost certainly make a smart decision: This is incorrect. The construction 'to be likely to' expresses a strong possibility, but not 'quasi-certainty'. This is a difficult distinction to make, however there is a difference between the two constructions.
1 Bruno will make a smart decision very soon: This is incorrect. The 'be likely to' construction does not express that a smart business decision is 'imminent' or 'coming soon'.
2 Bruno will almost certainly make a smart decision: This is correct. The construction 'to be sure to' expresses a 'quasi-certainty'. It is often difficult to distinguish between 'be sure to' and 'be likely to', but there is a difference between the two constructions.
2 Bruno will probably make a smart decision: This is incorrect. The construction 'to be sure to' indicates that something will almost certainly happen. It is stronger than saying that something will 'probably happen' (which expresses less certainty). This is a difficult distinction to make, however there is a difference between the two constructions.
2 Bruno will make a smart decision very soon: This is incorrect. The 'be sure to' construction does not express that a smart business decision is 'imminent' or 'coming soon'.
3 Bruno will make a smart decision very soon: This is correct. The 'be about to' construction expresses that an action is 'imminent' or coming soon. In this case, Bruno will make a smart business decision soon.
3 Bruno will probably make a smart decision: This is incorrect. The construction 'to be about to' does not express that making a smart decision is a probability.
3 Bruno will almost certainly make a smart decision: This is incorrect. The phrase 'will almost certainly' describes an action that is almost completely sure to happen, but does not indicate that an action will occur soon!
Ejercicio 5
Fill in the gaps below with the correct forms of the verbs or expressions.
There is no need to use conditional terms (would, could, should, etc) in this exercise.
Yesterday, Bob to switch on his computer when the power to the Delavigne offices cut out. 'I really wish that I that back-up power supply when I was in the store last week,' he to himself. 'Bruno me if his work has been lost.'
There is no need to use conditional terms (would, could, should, etc) in this exercise.
Yesterday, Bob to switch on his computer when the power to the Delavigne offices cut out. 'I really wish that I that back-up power supply when I was in the store last week,' he to himself. 'Bruno me if his work has been lost.'
Fill in the gaps below with the correct forms of the verbs or expressions.
There is no need to use conditional terms (would, could, should, etc) in this exercise.
Yesterday, Bob [not done] was about 1 to switch on his computer when the power to the Delavigne offices cut out. 'I really wish that I [not done] had bought 2 that back-up power supply when I was in the store last week,' he [not done] thought 3 to himself. 'Bruno [not done] will kill 4 me if his work has been lost.'
There is no need to use conditional terms (would, could, should, etc) in this exercise.
Yesterday, Bob [not done] was about 1 to switch on his computer when the power to the Delavigne offices cut out. 'I really wish that I [not done] had bought 2 that back-up power supply when I was in the store last week,' he [not done] thought 3 to himself. 'Bruno [not done] will kill 4 me if his work has been lost.'
1 was about: 'Was about to' is used here to show that Bob was 'on the point of doing something when another action occurred' (the power cut out). The past tense is needed here because the action took place in the past (indicated by the word 'yesterday').
2 had bought: The past perfect must be used here. When the verb 'to wish' is used to express regret in the past, the next verb takes the past perfect tense. Using 'wish' expresses a conditional desire in the past: I wish I had gone to the wedding, I wish I hadn't eaten the ice cream.
3 thought: Bob is referring to the past ('yesterday') so the past tense (preterit) form of the verb 'to think' is required. 'To think' is an irregular verb: think/thought/thought.
4 will kill: The idea of Bruno 'killing' Bob is a possibility which may arrive in the future, if Bruno's work has been lost. Therefore, the simple future tense is appropriate. The simple future tense is formed with the auxiliary 'will' and the infinitive form of the verb (kill).
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