Re: Aspects of English Grammar

Roger Mills scripsit:
>
> scripserunt multi:
>
> > On Fri, Mar 12, 2004 at 10:07:57PM -0600, Nik Taylor wrote:
> > > > Philippe Caquant wrote:
> > > >
> > > > "To be about to" is possible in the future tense:
> > > > Tomorrow morning, at the same time, I'll be about to
> > > > take the train to Madrid...
> > > >
> > > > > To this native speaker, that sounds, at best, only
semi-gramatical.
> > > > [snip]
> >
> (Mark Reed:)
> > It sounds perfectly natural to me, and I'm also a native speaker.
> > I'm sure I've used exactly that construct zillions of times in my
> > everyday speech.
> >
> Well, this native speaker finds it Quite Odd and awkward.
> [snip]
Roger, you live in Michigan. Did you grow up in Michigan?
I'm a native speaker who grew up in Michigan, and I find this
construction perfectly acceptable.

--Ph. D.

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