ENGLISH
REFERENCE

turn out to be sth

phr. v..
B1 Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to be discovered to be something, especially when you did not expect it.

phr. v.. to prove to be the case; to be revealed as having a particular quality or identity in the end.


SIMPLE

The movie turned out to be very boring.

CONTEXTUAL

The stranger I met at the airport turned out to be my new boss.

COMPLEX

Although the initial data suggested a significant decline in sales, the final quarterly report turned out to be surprisingly positive.

Particles
out
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
turn + out + to + be + complement
Usage

often followed by an adjective or a noun phrase; can also be used with 'that' clauses.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'become' (which implies a change over time); 'turn out to be' implies a discovery of a truth that was already there but unknown.

Pitfall

He turned out being a spy.He turned out to be a spy.this phrasal verb requires the infinitive 'to be' rather than the gerund '-ing' form.

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