Saturday, April 20, 2019

Meaning of a sentence with 'was to'


What is the meaning of this sentence:



He met a girl who was to become a queen.



Does it show the plan of the girl?


Does it mean: He met a girl who 'was going to' become a queen?


How and in which sense is 'was to' used in this sentence?




Answer



Here


The expression to be to, here, means that it was "programmed". In this case, It can take a greater sense of destiny/fate:




  1. He met a girl who was destined to become a queen.



But also of about to:





  1. He met a girl who was about to become a queen.



Depending on the context before and after.


So no, it doesn't say that the girl had any say in it.


In other cases


It can also take the sense of supposed to. For example:



We were to go to the pool yesterday, where were you?




But also of obligation/interdiction:



You are to follow my orders !



This is an idiom that is very context-dependent.


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