Den umiddelbare fremtid
Form
Når vi taler om den umiddelbare fremtid, kan vi bruge et mønster bestående af tre elementer:
udsagnsordet "to be" bøjet i nutid + about + hovedudsagnsordet i navnemåde
| Grundled | + to be | + about (eller just about) | + navnemåde |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | am | about | to be sick |
| They | are | about | to arrive. |
| It | is | just about | to explode. |
To leave, i den umiddelbare fremtid
| Bekræftende | Nægtende | Spørgende | Nægtende spørgende |
|---|---|---|---|
| I am about to leave. | I am not about to leave. | Am I about to leave? | Am I not about to leave? |
| You are about to leave. | You are not about to leave. | Are you about to leave? | Aren't you about to leave? |
| He is about to leave. | He is not about to leave. | Is he about to leave? | Isn't he about to leave? |
| We are about to leave. | We aren't about to leave. | Are we about to leave? | Aren't we about to leave? |
| They are about to leave. | They aren't about to leave. | Are they about to leave? | Aren't they about to leave? |
Funktion
Dette mønster bruges til at henvise til en tid i den umiddelbare fremtid efter det tidspunkt, hvor vi taler, og understreger, at begivenheden eller handlingen vil finde sted meget snar. Vi tilføjer ofte ordet just før ordet about, som understreger handlingens umiddelbarhed.
Eksempler
- She is about to cry.
- You are about to see something very unusual.
- I am about to go to a meeting.
- We are just about to go inside.
- Sally is just about to jump off that diving board.
Dette mønster kan også bruges med præteritum (simple past) af to be i stedet for nutid til at henvise til en handling, der var nært forestående, men som blev afbrudt. Dette mønster bliver ofte efterfulgt af en sætning indledt af when.
Eksempler
- She was about to leave when Jim arrived.
- When it started to rain, I was about to go out for a walk.
- I was just about to call her when she walked in.
- The car was just about to flip over when he regained control.