You can present an event as very close, expected on a schedule, or officially arranged. These expressions all use be, but they do different jobs. Be on the point of adds another way to say that something is very close to happening.
These are expressions with be, not new endings added to a verb. The form of be changes with the subject and with present or past time.
| Expression | Main meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| be about to + base verb | expected very soon | The kettle is about to boil. |
| be on the point of + -ing | very close to happening | We are on the point of agreeing. |
| be due to + base verb | scheduled or expected | The inspection is due to begin at two. |
| be to + base verb | formal arrangement or instruction | Visitors are to wait outside. |
A record of one past use is not a rule that the present form is wrong.
A base verb has no -s, -ed or -ing ending: begin, leave, wait. After on the point of, use the -ing form instead: beginning, leaving, waiting.
Use am with I, is with he/she/it and singular nouns, and are with you/we/they and plural nouns. For a past viewpoint, use was or were: I was about to speak. They were due to arrive.
| Pattern | Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| about to | She is about to sing. | She is not about to sing. | Is she about to sing? |
| due to | They are due to return. | They are not due to return. | Are they due to return? |
| be to | We are to stay here. | We are not to stay here. | Are we to stay here? |
| point of | He is on the point of leaving. | He is not on the point of leaving. | Is he on the point of leaving? |
Put not after be. Put be before the subject in a question. Do not add do or does. Short answers repeat be: Is the coach due to stop here? Yes, it is. / No, it isn't. See am, is and are: the verb be in the present for contractions and short answers.
Use be about to when you expect the next action very soon. You are looking at the moment just before it happens. Just can emphasise how close it is.
This is more specific about nearness than a general intention with going to. I'm going to repair the shelf this weekend gives a plan; I'm about to repair the shelf presents the repair as immediately ahead.
Cambridge teaches be about to without a future time phrase such as in ten minutes. If you give the scheduled time, use a timetable form or due to instead.
The first gives a time interval. The second says the start is very close. They are not a test of whether you can predict the exact number of seconds. See Present continuous and present simple for the future for timetables.
Not about to can also mean that you have no intention of doing something. Longman labels this use informal. It is stronger than simply saying an event is not immediately ahead; the context tells you which meaning is intended.
Use be due to plus a base verb for an event expected or planned at a certain time. You can name that time. The statement reports an expectation or schedule, not proof that the event cannot be delayed.
The negative says the event is not expected at that point. It is not an instruction forbidding it. Compare The staff aren't due to leave until six, a schedule, with The staff are not to leave before six, an instruction.
Due can also appear without an infinitive, as in The report is due tomorrow. That sentence gives the expected time or deadline, but the pattern taught here is due to plus a verb. Do not confuse it with due to meaning because of; that is a different use.
Use be to plus a base verb for a formal or official arrangement, decision or requirement. It is not a general replacement for every prediction with will. BBC's planned-event explanation concerns events under human control.
The first reports an arranged event. The second presents a requirement or formal decision. An ordinary personal plan can use present continuous or going to instead; be to gives it a formal frame.
Are not to gives an instruction not to do something. In the second sentence, be opened is passive: the focus is on the doors, not who opens them. After to, the base verb is be; opened is a past participle. See The passive: be + past participle for the passive pattern.
Cambridge notes that newspaper headlines can leave out am/is/are in this pattern. Keep the verb in an ordinary complete sentence.
That headline style is not a reason to write The council to replace the signs as an ordinary full sentence.
In an if-clause, be to can present an aim for which another step is necessary. BBC gives this use separately from official schedules.
Here, finishing before dark is the aim. Taking the shorter route is presented as necessary to achieve it. This does not mean that every if-clause needs be to. This is a particular use of be to, not a replacement for the ordinary conditional forms.
Be on the point of has a meaning similar to be just about to. With an action verb, of is followed by -ing, not to plus a base verb. You can use present or past be.
The first describes a decision very close to now. The second looks forward from a past moment. Neither form by itself says that the action was completed. In the past example, the next clause explains what happened at that moment.
Cambridge also gives the phrase with a noun, such as collapse. The verb pattern on this page is on the point of doing. For related expressions of probability and expectation, see Advanced probability: may, might, could, should and can.
Change be to was or were when the expectation, plan or instruction belonged to a past time. You are describing what was still ahead at that time, not necessarily what is ahead now.
| Past viewpoint | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| I was about to open the cupboard. | Opening was immediately ahead at that past moment. |
| They were due to collect the samples at noon. | Noon was the expected collection time. |
| We were to meet at the north entrance. | That was the arrangement. |
| She was on the point of accepting. | Accepting was very close at that past moment. |
Was due to or was to does not by itself prove whether the event happened. Add context if the outcome matters.
Was about to can describe an action interrupted before it happened. Collins illustrates this with when; Cambridge also gives a changed outcome.
BBC also gives was/were to have plus a past participle for an unfulfilled plan. Treat this as an extension of the formal be to pattern.
Have opened is a perfect infinitive. The sentence looks back at a planned opening that did not happen as planned. For a fuller account of past viewpoints, see The future in the past: was going to and would.
More than one future expression can be grammatical. The choice changes what you present as important.
| Sentence | Focus |
|---|---|
| The lecture starts at four. | timetable |
| The lecture is due to start at four. | expected schedule |
| The lecture is about to start. | very close now |
| The lecturer is to give two talks. | formal arrangement |
Do not mark starts wrong merely because is due to start is also possible. Do not use be to to turn an uncontrolled weather prediction into an official arrangement. For plans and predictions, compare Be going to: forms, plans and predictions, Will and shall: forms, predictions, decisions and offers and Present continuous and present simple for the future.
✗She does about to speak.
✓She is about to speak.
The expression uses be; does cannot replace it.
✗The meeting is due to begins at eleven.
✓The meeting is due to begin at eleven.
After due to, use the base verb, not begins.
✗They were on the point of to agree.
✓They were on the point of agreeing.
This pattern needs of plus -ing.
✗You not are to enter this room.
✓You are not to enter this room.
Put not after are in this instruction.
Review am, is and are: the verb be in the present for be questions and negatives. Compare Will and shall: forms, predictions, decisions and offers, Be going to: forms, plans and predictions, Present continuous and present simple for the future and The future continuous, future perfect and future perfect continuous for other future viewpoints. Continue with The future in the past: was going to and would for plans and predictions viewed from the past, and Advanced probability: may, might, could, should and can for wider expressions of likelihood.
Eight questions. Choose one answer for each.