The grammar of the English language cannot be called illogical, because anyone who has come across its rules in one way or another can note that all tense forms have a clear structure and order, and almost every instance of the use of a particular construction can be explained. But one cannot help but say that the English language, from the point of view of tense formation, is completely similar to Russian. It has its own characteristics, and some rules are specific to this language. In particular, such a temporary form as Future in the Past in English.
This construction has no analogues in Russian grammar. As the name implies, with the help of such a structure the future time is expressed, which, however, is inextricably linked with the past. It is this time and its peculiarities of formation and use that will be discussed further.
The essence of time
Although the key word in the name of this form is Future, this type of tense is applicable to special situations. We are talking primarily about complex sentences, where the main part is used in the past tense, for example, in, and the dependent part, which even though it refers to the future, nevertheless, the simple Future cannot be used here, and in this case the form is relevant and forced Future in the Past. This is very often found in indirect speech (Reported Speech), when the Future in the Past Tense is used after the author’s words in the past.
Just like the simple future tense, the future in the past in English has the same categories - Simple, Continuous, Perfect and Perfect Continuous. For clarity, below is a table of such forms and the formulas by which they are formed:
Next, we should describe in more detail the features of using each tense Future in the Past in English and give examples of their use. In addition, for these two constructions - Simple and Perfect - it is also possible to form Passive forms, i.e., according to the same principle as the ordinary future tense.
Using Fut Indefinite in the Past
A similar structure is relevant in English when it is necessary to show a typical situation in the future. The only difference is that it is used after the past tense, adjoining it as a dependent part. There is no difficulty in formation: it is an auxiliary would (and not will, as in the simple future), and an infinitive without the particle to, in other words, a verb in the first form. In Future Indefinite in the Past sentences it looks like this:
· Peter told me that he would return quite soon - Peter told me that he would return quite soon
· I wanted to know when Mr. Richards would call me again - I asked when Mr. Richards would call me again
As can be seen from the examples, the Future Simple in the Past is often preceded by the Past Simple, which is the main reason for using such a tense form.
Education and use of Fut Continuous in the Past
A tense such as Future Continuous in the Past is almost completely analogous to the usual long future tense. The only difference is that here the relationship with the past is directly traced, and the process in the future is in any case connected with the past and depends on it.
Education is similar to regular Fut. Continuous, only here the auxiliary verb is would, which shows the attitude towards the past. The formula is: would + be + V(–ing). Here, of course, there is a similarity with the Past Continuous, but the duration is aimed at action in the future:
· My wife said that the following day she would be working the whole morning. My wife told me that the next day she would work all morning.
· My friends didn’t tell me that next week they would be lying on the beach at this time. My friends didn't tell me that they would be lying on the beach at this time next week.
Application and structure of Fut Perfect in the Past
Another tense form in which English differs from Russian is the Future Perfect in the Past. In this construction, the basis is the completeness and completeness of the action associated with the future, but due to the dependence on the past, time cannot be simply Future, it takes the form of Future in the Past, and, moreover, Perfect.
The structure is formed by adding to would an auxiliary verb have, characteristic of the perfect, and a main verb in the third form, or Past Participle, as it is correctly called. Here are the situations that such a construction looks like in speech:
· I showed him the man who would have finished the whole experiment by next Friday. I showed him the very person who would complete the experiment by next Friday.
· I wondered why John would have left the house when we came. I asked why John would already be gone by the time we arrived.
Construction and application of Fut Perfect Continuous in the Past
There is another form that is used quite rarely in English, but it is possible to come across it, which means we need to talk about it. This is the Future Perfect Continuous in the Past, a structure where we are talking about an action that at a specific moment in the future will have been ongoing for some time. Many people find a connection here with the Past Perfect Continuous, but this tense still refers to the future, despite the fact that it is forced to change due to the influential main part in the past.
It looks like this: would + have + been + V(–ing), i.e. almost the same as a regular Future, except for the form of the auxiliary verb, where it changes from will to would.
Sentences with this construction are rarely used, but this does not prevent us from giving a few examples:
· He invited me to come the following day and said that by next month he would have been living there for 5 years. He invited me to come and said that by next month he will have lived there for 5 years
· She informed me that by 2019 she would have been working on her project for 10 years. She told me that by 2019 it will be 10 years since she has been working on her project
As you can see, the English language is rich in its specific features, and the future in the past tense is one of them. The examples described above will help you better understand how similar tense forms are formed and used in different situations. And the presented structures themselves can be a good help in speech and will help demonstrate to the interlocutor your knowledge of these unusual constructions, which, nevertheless, from the point of view of all existing grammatical norms, are absolutely correct and logical.
Since you are on this page, then you have definitely heard about such an illogical time as Future in the past. Of course, this is a little strange, but it is true, in English this is possible. For some reason, school textbooks on the English language do not talk about this form, although it is a very useful structure that will be needed for everyday conversations.
Let's start with an example: would never quit! – After the first week in the gym, I decided that I would never quit.
Many would probably use an auxiliary verb Will and the sentence would already sound like this: After the first week in a gym, I decided I will never quit! But you can’t say that; most likely, it’s ideal from the point of view of our native language, but it’s completely unsuitable for English. We'll look at when to use Future in the past later.
There are four forms of The Future in the Past in English and they are familiar to you:
- Future Simple in the past - Just the future in the past
- Future Continuous (Progressive) in the past - Future continuous in the past
- Future Perfect in the Past - Future perfect in the past
- Future Perfect Continuous (Progressive) in the past - Future perfect continuous in the past.
All these forms occur quite often in colloquial speech, but most often Future Simple in the past.
Education Future in the past
You know exactly how all future forms are formed, we usually use will, but in this structure will is replaced by auxiliary verbs or and an infinitive without the particle to. Should used for the first person plural and singular (1st person singular and plural), Would used for the first, second and third person plural and singular (1st, 2nd, 3rd person singular and plural), but mostly used for all persons.
Formula Future in the past – Subject + should/would + verb + the rest of sentence
Let's start with the simplest. Let's look at the table of formation of the Future in the past simple, all three forms: affirmative, negative and interrogative, and the same with other tenses.
Education table Future Simple in the past
Rules Future Simple in the past is the most used tense in the English language, and it is simple. There is no need to be fancy, you just need to remember to change will to would. Don't forget about the abbreviation: He thought I'd (wouldn't) win the election.
| Affirmative sentence Positive sentence |
Interrogative sentence Question sentence |
Negative sentence Negative sentence |
| I' d (should) win the election. We' d (should) win the election. |
Would (Should) I/we win the election? | I (should) would not win the election. We (should) would not win the election. |
| He' d win the election. She' d win the election. You' d win the election. They' d win the election. |
Would he/she/you/they win the election? | He/she/you/they would not win the election. |
Examples:
- I knew he' d kiss me – I knew that he would kiss me.
-Mark said he' d go to the doctor – Mark said he would go to the doctor.
Education table Future Continuous in the past
Formula for the Future Continuous Tense in the Past: would or should + be + V-ing. (V-ing = verb in -ing form).
| Affirmative sentence Positive sentence |
Interrogative sentence Question sentence |
Negative sentence Negative sentence |
| I' d (should) be reading. We' d (should) be reading. |
Would (Should) I/we be reading? | I/we should/wouldn't be reading. |
| He' d be reading. She' d be reading. You' d be reading. They' d be reading. |
Would he/she/you/they be reading? | He/she/you/they would not be reading. |
Examples:
— I was dreaming how I’ d be sunbathing on the beach – I dreamed of sunbathing on the beach.
- They thought I' be jogging tomorrow morning - They thought that I would run tomorrow morning.
Education table Future Perfect in the past
A simple diagram of the Future perfect tense in the past: should or would + have + V3 (Past Participle).
When we talk, we usually use this shorthand: I thought I’d’ve found the keys by now.
| Affirmative sentence Positive sentence |
Interrogative sentence Question sentence |
Negative sentence Negative sentence |
| I' d (should) have won. We' d (should) have won. |
Would (Should) I/we have won? | I/we s would/wouldn't have won. |
| He' d have won. She' d have won. You' d have won. They' d have won. |
Would he/she/you/they have won? | He/she/you/they would not have won. |
Examples:
—My wife hoped I should have repaired the car by five o’clock - My wife hoped that I would repair the car by five o’clock.
—David promised that he' d have called me back by 12 pm – David promised that he would call me back by 12 o’clock.
Education table Future Perfect Continuous in the past
Formula for the Future Perfect Continuous in the Past: should or would + have + been + V-in g.
| Affirmative sentence Positive sentence |
Interrogative sentence Question sentence |
Negative sentence Negative sentence |
| I' d (should) have been reading. We' d (should) have been reading. |
(Should)Would I/we have been reading? | I/we should/wouldn't have been reading. |
| He' have been reading. She' have been reading. You' have been reading. They' have been reading. |
Would he/she/you/they have been reading? | He/she/you/they would not have been reading. |
Examples:
-Luke said he' have been driving for six hours by the time we came – Luke said that he would have been driving for six hours by the time we arrived.
Usage and examples of Future Perfect in the past
There is no such time in Russian. But if we start thinking differently, we can say that we have something similar to this form. For example: He said he would come. “He will come” in Russian is a verb of the future tense, and “said” is a verb of the past tense. It turns out that in our language there is still such a concept as the future in the past, the difference is that in our language there is no auxiliary verb would, which shows that the action took place in the past.
So what is the Future in the Past? This is an event that should happen in the future, but from the perspective of the past. To try to put it more simply, this is when we talk about past events and we want to refer to what was the future at that moment.
These forms can be used for plans, predictions, and events that happen—and don't happen. Let's look at example sentences from all times.
Future Indefinite in the Past
Designation of an action that was future from the point of view of the past.
Let's look at examples in the active voice.
Examples:
- She promised she' d find my parcel - She promised that she would find my parcel.
- I knew he' d be late again - I knew he would be late again.
— Rita had a feeling that the wedding would be a disaster - Rita felt that the wedding would be a disaster.
— When he was a child he believed he'd be a coach. But now he is a doctor – When he was a child, he believed that he would become a coach. But he became a doctor.
Passive voice in the past future (Future in the past passive):
— My parents believed that their book would be published— My parents believed that their book would be published.
Future Continuous in the past
Denotes an action taking place at a certain moment, which was the future from the point of view of the past.
Examples:
— I felt sure that they’ d be discussing the same problem when I called – I was sure that they would discuss the same problem when I called.
— Liza said that she’ d be studying at 5 o’clock today – Lisa said that she would study today at five o’clock.
— I asked Alice what she’ d be doing after her divorce with Tim – I asked Alice what she would do after her divorce from Tim.
- They knew we should be meeting her later on – They knew that we should meet her later.
Future Perfect in the past
The future perfect in the past is used to denote an action completed up to a certain point, which was the future from the point of view of the past.
Example:
— When I called her, she said she’ d have finished the book by next week – When I called her, she said she would finish the book next week.
— He wondered whether we should have reached the place by midday - He was wondering if we would get to this place by midday.
- I thought I shouldn't have found my wallet by this time – I thought I wouldn’t find my wallet by this time.
Future Perfect Continuous in the past
Denotes an action continuing for a certain period of time up to a certain point, which was the future from the point of view of the past.
—Victoria said that she would have been teaching Chinese for 13 years next month - Victoria said that next month she will teach Chinese for 13 years.
We can also talk about the future in the past using other future expressions.
1. Am/is/are going to becomes was/were going to:
-I was going to do yoga, but I feel tired now – I was going to do yoga, but I’m tired.
-I was going to ask Charles for money, but I changed my mind - I was going to ask Charles for money, but I changed my mind.
2. Be about to becomes was about to:
-I was about to confess to stealing the painting, but Rob advised me not to do it - I was going to confess to stealing the painting, but Rob advised me not to do it.
3. Be on the verge/brink /point of smth, doing smth becomes was/were on the verge/brink/point of smth, doing smth.
Examples:
— Our company was on the verge of financial disaster – Our company was on the verge of financial disaster.
— The two countries was on the brink of war – Two countries were on the brink of war.
The Future in the Past tense is not used with the words: when, while, before, after, if, unless, during, as soon as. You should use if you have the words listed above at the beginning of a sentence. One more thing, you definitely noticed that after the form Future in the Past the verbs hope, know, believe, say, tell are used.
As can be seen from the examples, the Future in the past in English is very easy to master and today you can use this form in colloquial speech. In this article, you learned when to use this form, the correct formation of each tense, and also several other expressions that you can use for variety so that you don’t get bored when communicating in English.
Exercises and answers
And now, in order to consolidate the material to the end, we suggest doing a test and translating sentences from Russian into English.
Exercise 1. Translate the sentences using Future in the past.
1. I knew that people around me would call an ambulance, so I did not stay at the scene of the accident.
2. He thought that he would buy her a ring the next day.
3. We hoped that the party would be fun.
4. Natalie promised that she would return the money by noon.
5. I hoped that my husband would not be working when I came home.
6. The daughter said that she would come home late.
7. Richard told us that by April he will have been working at this school for three years.
8. Andrey believed that he would pass the tests by the end of the month.
9. She thought that she would win the competition.
10. They promised that they would finish the project by 12 noon.
11. I thought that Harry would help us.
12. I knew that you would be upset.
13. We knew that in a week we would be lying on the beach.
14. I knew that if I didn’t call, he would try to contact me all day.
15. I asked my sister if next year it will be 13 years since she has lived in Spain.
16. Peter decided that he would go on holiday to England.
17. I thought that she would prepare everything for our arrival, but I was mistaken.
18. I was sure that Rita would leave by the time I arrived.
19. I knew that after midnight I would sleep.
20. I believed that he would pass the exam.
You can download the answers to the exercise by clicking on the button below:
You and I said that in complex sentences the main part dictates its own rules for the subordinate part. This happens when the main one is in the past tense. Be sure to read it to understand what we are talking about.
Let me just remind you briefly: if the main clause is in the past tense, then the verb in the subordinate clause is put in the past tense. Therefore the Russian sentence:
Converts to English:
Would is the past tense form of the verb will.
Future in the Past in English: rule
This is the Future in the Past: future time perceived from the past. We said that this construction is often used when we convey the words of another person. Accordingly, the moment when the words were spoken will be in the past.
Remember that Future in the Past is not just another “another” verb tense (otherwise you might end up hating English!). This is just one of the forms of the future tense. Now you will be convinced of this.
How is Future in the Past formed in English?
Future in the Past is formed in the same way as any of the future tense forms in English. There are four of these forms: Simple, Continuous, Perfect and Perfect Continuous. Only one part is subject to change: will becomes would(or should, which historically is the past tense form for shall). Abridged version - ‘d.
I knew you’d come, spring! – I knew you would come, spring!
Examples with translation for Future in the Past
1. Future Simple in the Past. From the name it follows that it is formed from and denotes a simple action in the future, perceived from the past:
The snow will melt. => I knew the snow would melt.
The simple tense is the most commonly used. When talking about Future in the Past, we usually mean the Simple form. But there are other forms that originate from the three remaining forms: Continuous, Perfect and Perfect Continuous. They are used less often, but we cannot help but talk about all the pitfalls.
2. Future Continuous in the Past. Derived from and denotes a process that will continue at a certain point in the future. Of course, also perceived from the past.
I will be cycling at noon. => He said he would be cycling at noon.
3. Future Perfect in the Past. Derived from the Future Perfect and denotes an action that will be completed by a certain point in the future, perceived from the past.
I will have got a driver’s license by June. => I knew I would have got a driver’s license by June.
Using the same principle, the Perfect Continuous Future in the Past can be formed. But it is used so rarely that we will not clutter your head with this form.
Future in the Past in English: table
Let's systematize all the forms in a small table.
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Future in the Past Passive: passive voice in English
Future in The Past can also take passive forms. Let me remind you that the passive voice is used when the person or thing on which the action is performed is more important to us, and not the one who performed the action.
We will be heard. – We will be heard (we don’t know who exactly will hear, and it doesn’t matter, the action is performed ABOVE us).
And for the passive voice the same rule for the formation of Future in the Past applies: will becomes would.
I knew we would be heard. “I knew they would hear us.”
Let's summarize: Future in the Past in simple words
- If the verb in the main clause is in the past tense, then the verb in the subordinate clause must be in one of the past tenses.
- For the future tense it will be the construction Future in the Past.
- It is formed very simply: the verb will is replaced by would (or should). The short form is ‘d.
Exercises on Future in the Past
And after a few “approaches” you will use this design automatically.
I said that there are four future tenses that we can use in the past tense. Today we will look at Future Continuous in the Past- future continuous in the past.
We use it when in the past (for example, last summer), we talk about actions/events that will happen in the future, focusing on their duration.
Look at the examples: “They hoped that they would rest all day. He thought she would be studying for an exam all evening».
In all these sentences we are talking about long-term processes. It is easy to construct such sentences. Now I will teach you this.
But since in the first part we use the past tense, then according to the rule of tense coordination, we cannot use the future tense in the second part. Therefore we must make the Future Continuous past. It's very simple!
We just need to replace will with would.
……..they would be play ing football all day.
……..they will play football all day.
……..he would be study ing the whole evening.
……..he will study all evening.
Now let's connect the two parts together. In writing, to connect two parts of a sentence, we often use the word that, which is translated as “what.” But in colloquial speech we usually omit that.
The education scheme will be as follows:
Actor + said/thought/told + (that) + actor + would be + -ing verb
She said (that) she would be work ing all day.
She said she would work all day.
They thought (that) he would be driv ing all night long.
They thought he would drive all night.
He knew (that) they would be walk ing.
He knew that they would walk.
Negation in the form of Future Continuous in the Past in English
We can add a negation to the first or second part to make the sentence negative.
Denial in the first part
Since the Past Simple tense is used in the first part, the negation is formed using the auxiliary verb of this tense did and the negative particle not.
They are usually abbreviated like this:
did + not = didn’t
In this case, the action itself will now be in its initial form, that is, it will not change in any way (say, tell, hope). Scheme for the formation of such a sentence:
Actor + didn't + say/think/tell + (that) + actor + would be + verb with -ing
He didn't know (that) he would be study ing at that time.
He didn't know what he would do at this time.
She didn't think (that) she would be cook ing the whole evening.
She didn't know what she would be cooking all evening.
Denial in the second part
To make the second part negative, we need to put not after would.
We can shorten:
would + not = wouldn't
The outline of such a proposal would be as follows:
Actor + said/thought/told + (that) + actor + wouldn’t + be + -ing verb
He said (that) he wouldn't be sleep ing the whole morning.
He said he wouldn't sleep all morning.
They thought (that) they wouldn't be walk ing.
They thought that they would not walk.
Interrogative form in the Future Continuous in the Past in English
If we want to ask a question, then we need to change the first part a little. To do this, we put the auxiliary verb did in the first place in the sentence, and the action itself in the initial form.
The proposal outline will be as follows:
Did + actor + say/think/tell + (that) + actor + would be + -ing verb
Did she say(that) she would be watch ing a movie?
She said she would watch the movie?
Did they know(that) they would be work ing?
Did they know they would work?
We have discussed the theory, and now let's consolidate the use of Future Continuous in the Past in practice.
Reinforcement task
Translate these sentences into English and write them in the comments under the article:
1. He didn’t think that she would rest all evening.
2. She knew that they would study from 5 to 8.
3. They expected that he would not sleep at this time.
4. He said that he would play tennis all evening.
5. She hoped that she would not work at this time?
6. They told us that they would fly all morning.
Leave your answers in the comments below the article.