Please tell me what is the difference between as was expected and as was to be expected below.
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A good many proposals were raised by the delegates, as was expected.
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A good many proposals were raised by the delegates, as was to be expected.
Thank you
Best Answer
as was expected means "as people expected".
as was to be expected means "as there was reason to expect"
P.S. Consider this scenario:
The hairline crack propagated and the turbine blade failed, as was to be expected.
That is, there is reason to expect any turbine blade to fail if it has a hairline crack which propagates. That is the usual result when a crack in metal is subject to further stress. There is no implication that people had advance knowledge of this particular crack.
The hairline crack propagated and the turbine blade failed, as was expected.
This would imply that there was knowledge, in advance, that the blade had a crack, and that it was expected to fail; people were waiting for the blade to fail.