- A shop is being opened.
- A shop is about to be opened.
What is the difference between these two sentences?
The first one is voice change, the second one is also a voice change? Is there any difference in the meaning?
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1(1) means literally that the shop is being opened at this moment. However, the present continuous can be used to refer to a future event, so (1) could mean the same as (2) - "The shop is being opened tomorrow". – Kate Bunting Nov 30 '20 at 15:56
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- {2) 'A shop is about to be opened'
means that the shop referred to (though it's just possible that this is a generic statement) will be opened very shortly. One would not normally say this if this were the regular daily occurrence, but it could be that the opening is for the first time after lockdown say, or for the first time ever.
- (1) 'A shop is being opened'
is less definite about the timescale. It would normally refer to an opening within not more than a few weeks say, but could refer to an imminent opening, as in (2). Again, it would not usually be used to refer to a regular daily occurrence, when 'Butes is just about to open' / 'A new Butes is opening soon' would be used.
