‘BE’ + to infinitive | ‘BE’ + due to infinitive – English Grammar Profiler

In the English Grammar Profile (EGP), there are three similar points in the category of Future expressions with ‘BE’ at B2 in the English Grammar Profile.

47  ‘be due to’ and, more formally, ‘be to’ talk about things that are scheduled or expected.

53 OBLIGATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS WITH ‘BE TO’

56 present form of ‘be’ + ‘due to’.

In the EGP, there is also the general point 134 in the category of Modality defined as

‘be due to’ and, more formally, ‘be to’ to talk about things that are scheduled or expected

And also EGP point 152 in MODALITY:

the full range of expressions with ‘be’ + infinitive (‘be likely to’, ‘be due to’, ‘be meant to’, ‘be bound to’, ‘be sure to’, ‘be certain to’, ‘be obliged to’) with present and past forms of ‘be’ and with modal ‘will’

EGP Point 68 in the category of FUTURE in the past is C2 and defined as

the simple past form of ‘be’ + ‘due to’ to talk about scheduled events in the future from a point in the past.

Finally, the B2 points for ‘BE to’ are all so specific about ‘use’ that there is no point in the EGP that allows for a more general use of the structure.  For that reason, our English Grammar Profiler also highlights Pearson’s:

  • GSE 59 B2 verb phrases with ‘to’ + infinitive as subject and complement.  For example:
  • Mads Mikkelsen is to replace Johnny Depp.
  • My dream is to live in New York.
  • The effect of the drug was to give him a headache.

Here is an iWeb search for:

_vb* due to _vvi*

  Glasgow Times He is due to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court today.   Mirage News The 39-year-old man from Dianella is due to appear before the Perth Magistrates Court on 4 August 2020.

A search on iWeb for _vb* to _vvi* provides the following 100 verbs.

*It is hard to decide whether the following examples do match the usage guidelines of the EGP, but there is a high level of complexity.  We also must remember that 3-word Ngrams or the vocabulary above is not exactly the same as the grammar point we want.  For example, we can put an ‘infinitive of purpose’ after a relative clause!

PROVIDE

Further collocates of _vb* to provide

1 IS (VBZ ) 104050 2 OUR (APPGE ) 20747 3 GOAL (NN1 ) 15727

  Forbes Our goal is to provide them a platform where they can review and recommend products and help others shop directly from their videos.   Australian Defence Magazine “Our goal is to provide a single, united face to our customers, Zeitz said.   The Southern Maryland Chronicle We are going 1:1 at the high school and middle school levels – our goal is to provide each student with a device at the secondary level.   Cronkite News With historic turnout expected, our goal is to provide all Maricopa County voters with a safe and secure August primary election.

CREATE

 World Economic Forum

An inclusive and green recovery is vital if we are to create more resilient economies and a world in which business can thrive.

  MuMbrella In introducing a voice feature, Twitter said its motivations are to create a “more human experience” and remove the ambiguity of using only text.

ensure

Thrive Global While I know that this cannot be done every day for a variety of reasons, I am to ensure that most of my time outside of work is spent with family, rather than fielding phone calls or emails.

Here’s an iWeb search for:

was|were due to _vvi*

1 WAS DUE TO START 878
2 WAS DUE TO TAKE 812

3 WAS DUE TO EXPIRE 506

further collocates:

1 WHICH (DDQ ) 80 2 END (NN1 ) 50

3 CONTRACT (NN1 ) 49

4 WAS DUE TO GO 497
5 WAS DUE TO ARRIVE 409

7 WAS DUE TO BEGIN 371 8 WAS DUE TO LEAVE 331 9 WAS DUE TO RETURN 316 10 WAS DUE TO GIVE 289 11 WAS DUE TO FLY 273 12 WAS DUE TO COME 265

1 BEFORE (II_CS ) 17
2 BAND (NN1 ) 16