The Announcement
I can choose a future expression that matches the purpose and timing of an announcement.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Choose a short recording.
Your situation
A fictional arts centre has three messages. Its official programme says the director is to announce a new workshop series on Friday. A notice says the session is due to begin at four. At the microphone, the host tells the audience that the director is about to speak. One generic future sentence would lose these distinctions.
Read the situation transcript
A fictional arts centre has three messages. Its official programme says the director is to announce a new workshop series on Friday. A notice says the session is due to begin at four. At the microphone, the host tells the audience that the director is about to speak. One generic future sentence would lose these distinctions.
Which message is tied to the immediate moment rather than just an arrangement or schedule?
Compare your idea
The host’s statement that the director is about to speak.
How it works
Announcement language selects a viewpoint. Is to announce sounds like a formal arrangement; is due to begin reports a schedule or expectation; is about to speak signals immediate readiness.
Keep the reader’s practical need in mind. A schedule can slip, and an official arrangement can change. If a notice says a delay is due to a missing key, due to introduces a cause rather than an infinitival scheduled event.
Arrangement: is to announce. Schedule: is due to begin. Imminence: is about to speak.
Notice this
The director is to announce the series on Friday.
Formal programme language.
Compare this
The session is due to begin at four.
A scheduled expectation.
Hear the examples
The director is to announce the series on Friday.
Formal programme language.
The session is due to begin at four.
A scheduled expectation.
The director is about to speak.
A cue for immediate attention.
The delay is due to a missing key.
A cause, not a scheduled action.
One mistake worth avoiding
Instead of: The delay is due to begin at a missing key.
Say: The delay is due to a missing key.
Cause takes a noun phrase here; a scheduled event takes an infinitive.
You say
Hear the prompt, answer aloud, then deliberately reveal or hear one possible model. Check it and retry with a changed detail.
Your turn 1
Write a spoken formal announcement about an arranged event.
Compare a possible model
Reveal the model text
The director is to announce the new series on Friday.
Check yourself: Use an official arrangement, not a personal promise.
Retry with one detail of your own. Other wording is welcome when it meets this check.
Your turn 2
Give the audience a scheduled start time.
Compare a possible model
Reveal the model text
The session is due to begin at four.
Check yourself: Do not imply that the schedule is guaranteed.
Retry with one detail of your own. Other wording is welcome when it meets this check.
Your turn 3
Switch from schedule to immediate readiness.
Compare a possible model
Reveal the model text
The session is due to begin at four, and the director is about to speak now.
Check yourself: Make the two viewpoints clear.
Retry with one detail of your own. Other wording is welcome when it meets this check.
Two guided self-checks
Say or write your answer before opening a model.
Self-check 1
Explain the practical effect of “The director is about to speak.”
Compare a model and explanation
The audience should expect speech very soon.
It signals imminence, not a distant calendar commitment.
Self-check 2
Classify due to in “The delay is due to a missing key.”
Compare a model and explanation
Cause.
The following noun phrase gives a reason.
Check your understanding
Choose one answer to each question, then check your answers. One of the ten questions is listening.
Automatic scoring needs JavaScript. Use the answer key after attempting all ten questions.
Answer key with explanations
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The director is to ___ the series on Friday.
announce: The official-arrangement construction takes a base verb.
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The session is due ___ at four.
to begin: Due to plus infinitive gives the scheduled event.
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Which announcement calls for immediate attention?
The director is about to speak.: About to signals imminence.
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Which statement concerns an official arrangement?
The director is to announce the series on Friday.: Is to announce frames the formal programme arrangement.
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Does a scheduled start prove the event cannot be late?
No: The schedule is an expectation, not a guarantee.
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Correct “The session is due to beginning.”
The session is due to begin.: Use a base verb after due to in this construction.
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Which due to phrase expresses a cause?
The delay is due to a missing key.: The noun phrase a missing key names the cause.
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What should the audience expect immediately?
The director to speak: About to speak gives the imminent event.
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Which announcement preserves the intended nuance?
The session is due to start at four, although a short delay is possible.: The correct answer distinguishes schedule from guaranteed outcome.
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What makes the three expressions useful?
They distinguish arrangement, expectation and imminence.: Future expressions help match the message to the audience’s current need.
Take it with you
I can choose a future expression that matches the purpose and timing of an announcement.