El futuro inmediato
Formación
Al referirnos a un futuro inmediato, podemos emplear una construcción compuesta de tres elementos:
el verbo "to be" conjugado en presente + about + infinitivo del verbo principal
| Sujeto | + to be | + about (o "just about") | + infinitivo |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | am | about | to be sick |
| They | are | about | to arrive. |
| It | is | just about | to explode. |
To leave, en futuro inmediato
| Afirmativa | Negativa | Interrogativa | Interrogativa negativa |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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? |
Funciones
Esta construcción se emplea para referirse a un tiempo inmediatamente posterior al momento de hablar y enfatiza que el evento o acción sucederán muy pronto. A menudo, se añade el término "just" antes de "about" para enfatizar aún más la inmediatez de la acción.
Ejemplos
- 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.
Esta construcción puede también utilizarse con el "simple past" del verbo "to be" en lugar del presente, para referirse a una acción o evento que eran inminentes pero fueron interrumpidos. En este caso, suele ir seguida de una frase que empieza por "when".
Ejemplos
- 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.