estar a punto de

estar a punto de

to be about to

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estar a punto de

to be about to, be on the point of

■ ese jarrón está a punto de caerse that vase is about to fall

■ estuvimos a punto de matarnos we nearly got killed

* * *

(v.) = be poised to, be about to, be on the point of, stand + poised, come + very close to

Ex. The compact disc, which has already revolutionised domestic audio entertainment, is poised to exert quite as big an influence on the world of the business user.

Ex. The very meanings of words like 'library' and 'university' are about to undergo mutations too radical to conceive, much less predict = Los significados mismos de palabras como "biblioteca" y "universidad" están a punto de experimentar cambios demasiado radicales de concevir y cuanto mucho menos de predecir.

Ex. She was on the point of saying 'How dare you call him that?' but she checked herself.

Ex. The Arabian Gulf Libraries stand poised at the threshold of networking.

Ex. A new hypothesis about recent human evolution suggests that we came very close to extinction because of a 'volcanic winter' that occurred 71000 years ago.

* * *

(v.) = be poised to, be about to, be on the point of, stand + poised, come + very close to

Ex: The compact disc, which has already revolutionised domestic audio entertainment, is poised to exert quite as big an influence on the world of the business user.

Ex: The very meanings of words like 'library' and 'university' are about to undergo mutations too radical to conceive, much less predict = Los significados mismos de palabras como "biblioteca" y "universidad" están a punto de experimentar cambios demasiado radicales de concevir y cuanto mucho menos de predecir.

Ex: She was on the point of saying 'How dare you call him that?' but she checked herself.

Ex: The Arabian Gulf Libraries stand poised at the threshold of networking.

Ex: A new hypothesis about recent human evolution suggests that we came very close to extinction because of a 'volcanic winter' that occurred 71000 years ago.