Tenses · CEFR B1 · Independent
be about to / be due to — English tenses
About to means in the next moment. Due to means scheduled, and often slightly late.
The shape
be about to + plain verb · be due to + plain verb
Say something is going to happen in the next moment.
In Hindi
about to यानी बस अभी होने वाला है। due to यानी जो तय समय पर होना है।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
The meeting is about to start in three days. | The meeting is due to start on Friday. "About to" means within minutes; for a scheduled day use "due to". |
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
Questions people ask
- What is the be about to / be due to used for?
- About to means in the next moment. Due to means scheduled, and often slightly late. In practice: say something is going to happen in the next moment.
- How do you form the be about to / be due to?
- be about to + plain verb · be due to + plain verb.
- What is the most common mistake with the be about to / be due to?
- Saying “The meeting is about to start in three days.” instead of “The meeting is due to start on Friday.”. "About to" means within minutes; for a scheduled day use "due to".
Where be about to / be due to fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
be about to / be due to is a CEFR B1 structure — the independent band — and it belongs to tenses. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
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