BE + sure | certain + to INFINITIVE – English Grammar Profiler

In this post, we explore modality with two adjectives followed by infinitives.

Here is an imperative example of telling someone with emphasis not to forget or fail to do something:

Be sure to check the weather

before you go to the airport.

listen

And here is an extremely advanced modification of an assertion, a bit like a negative superlative comparison:

There’s nothing more certain to ruin a beautiful relationship than marriage.

The People vs Larry Flynt

An iWeb search for:

_vb sure|certain to _v

1 BE SURE TO CHECK 64533
2 IS SURE TO BE 18733
3 BE SURE TO USE 16100
4 BE SURE TO INCLUDE 15021
5 BE SURE TO KEEP 14811
6 BE SURE TO GET 13006
7 BE SURE TO HAVE 12002
8 BE SURE TO READ 11772
9 BE SURE TO TAKE 11499
10 BE SURE TO FOLLOW 10100
11 BE SURE TO ASK 8904
12 BE SURE TO VISIT 8751
13 ARE SURE TO BE 7696
14 BE SURE TO LET 7443

15 ‘RE SURE TO FIND 6933

King James Gospel

The perfect addition to either the shirt or hoodie,

this hat comes in five different color variants,

so you ‘re sure to find the one you love.

16 BE SURE TO MAKE 6583
17 ARE SURE TO FIND 6559
18 BE SURE TO BRING 6340
19 BE SURE TO LOOK 5785
20 BE SURE TO FIND 5537
21 BE SURE TO ADD 5197
22 BE SURE TO GIVE 5048
23 BE SURE TO STOP 4988
24 BE SURE TO SHARE 4703
25 BE SURE TO LEAVE 4701
26 BE SURE TO DO 4488
27 IS SURE TO MAKE 3928
28 BE SURE TO TELL 3851
29 BE SURE TO CLICK 3608
30 BE SURE TO WATCH 3473

31 BE SURE TO SELECT 3351

StreetInsider.com

Be sure to select waters that you are familiar with

and conditions which match your boating experience and vessel capabilities.

1 IS CERTAIN TO BE 1491

Rams Wire

Aaron Donald is certain to be one of the other two left,

with Ramsey likely in the top 100, too.

2 ARE CERTAIN TO BE 697
3 ARE CERTAIN TO FIND 373
4 IS CERTAIN TO HAVE 226
5 IS CERTAIN TO MAKE 210

RESEARCH NOTES:

This is advanced because at C1 in the English Vocabulary Profile:

‘be’ sure to do sth = it is certain that you will do it.

and at B2 in the English Grammar Profile in the category of MODALITY expressions with BE is defined as:

‘ be sure to’, ‘be certain to’ to talk about certainty.

Some of these points also overlap with Modality & imperative obligation. It is easy to see below that ‘Be’ is very common.

It also overlaps Point 152

MODALITY the full range of expressions with ‘be’ + infinitive (‘be likely to’, ‘be due to‘, ‘be meant to’, ‘be bound to’, ‘be sure to’, ‘be certain to’, ‘be obliged to’) with present and past forms of ‘be’ and with modal ‘will’.

Finally, if this is confusing just remember ‘be sure to exercise’

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