The Future in the Past - The future in the past in English: rules and examples, use, education. Future in the Past - future in the past Used future in the past

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.

In English, unlike Russian, there is another form of tense - “future in the past”, which is called ‘Future in the Past’. This form is intended to describe a future action at a specific point in the past.

He said that he would apologize for being late.

He said he would apologize for being late.

Note that the tense Future in the Past is used only in subordinate clauses after verbs such as: think, believe, know, say, hope, tell and others. It is important that to form this form, verbs are put in the past tense form.

Let's look at examples of all forms of using the form Future in the Past according to the tense forms of the future tense.

TABLE OF TIME GROUPS FOR FORMFUTURE IN THE PAST

Please note that all forms of Future in the Past are formed using the auxiliary verb ‘ would’. The negative form is used by adding a negative particle ‘ to the auxiliary verb not’, which has the form ‘ wouldn't’ t’.

The English language is full of unusual phenomena and paradoxes. And even the future here could end up in the past. We are talking about a group of tenses, Future in the Past, identified by some linguists, expressing action in the future for a certain moment in the past. Let's look at a simple example:

In the past, when the speaker was ten years old, professional prospects were his future. And although such a “future” was not brought into practice, nevertheless, in English it is very important to show the fact that this action was “future” for a certain moment in the past, and not for the present time.

If you take a closer look at the offer … I would be a doctor, we can understand that this sentence is in the future simple tense I will be a doctor, “transferred” to the past due to the placement of an auxiliary verb will into the past tense form would .

Formation of temporary forms

The Future in the Past group includes 4 temporary forms, presented with examples in the following table:

It should be noted that similar Russian sentences use the ordinary future tense.

Affirmative sentences with predicates in these tense forms are formed according to the following schemes:

At the same time, Future Simple in the Past is a fairly common form, while the other three require a rather narrow context and therefore are rare.

Negative verb forms are formed by adding a particle not to auxiliary verb would , For example:

Education interrogative form The Future in the Past would have to be constructed by bringing forward the auxiliary verb would and placing it before the subject. However, if you think about the scope of use of the tenses Future in the Past, it becomes obvious that such sentences are almost impossible to find in living English speech, and the schemes for constructing interrogative sentences will remain diagrams on paper that will never be filled with a living context. The fact is that the tense forms of Future in the Past are not used independently; they are used only in subordinate clauses that express mainly indirect speech and therefore require coordination of tenses. It is for this same reason that many linguists and teachers (including the author of this article) do not consider it advisable to consider the Future in the Past as a separate group of times. This is rather a manifestation of the same tenses of the Future group in conditions of coordination of tenses and indirect speech. However, due to the fact that in many domestic textbooks this group is considered separately, we describe it in this article in order to help our readers understand the intricacies of using these tense forms.

So what about questions? Let's compare the presentation of general questions in direct speech, where the usual tense forms of the Future are used, and in indirect speech, which requires coordination of tenses through the use of the Future in the Past:

As you can see in the examples given, no moving of the auxiliary verb to the first position in the sentence occurs, because in the case of the Future in the Past we don’t even have to deal with interrogative sentences - only with subordinate clauses. What makes such a subordinate clause “interrogative” is the conjunction “if” in the meaning “whether”. By the way, if the same conjunction if in the meaning of “if” does not allow any will and would after itself, then if in the meaning of “whether” gets along well with these verbal forms, mainly with would (such combinations are more common).

If we look at how special questions are conveyed using Future in the Past, we get the following:

In such subordinate clauses, allied words are used, similar to the interrogative pronouns in the corresponding questions.

Let's also consider examples of presenting an alternative question and a question to the subject in indirect speech:

As can be seen from the examples above, the possibilities of conveying interrogative sentences in indirect speech through the Future in the Past differ only in the choice of the conjunction if or the conjunction word corresponding to the interrogative pronoun.

A disjunctive question completely loses its structure when translated into indirect speech and is displayed in the same way as a general question:

From all of the above it follows that Future in the Past is not an independent group of tenses, but the result of the rules for coordinating tenses in the context of a narration about the future from the past.

In English there is a section of grammar called "future in the past." How is this possible?

Despite the confusing name, it's quite simple. We use Future in the Past when in the past we talk about some action that will happen or may happen in the future.

For example: “He said he would come home from work late. She thought they were going to the store together."

To construct such sentences, you need to know the agreement of tenses in English. It's very simple. Now I will teach you.

In the article you will learn:

• Using the future simple tense in the past

What is "future in the past" in English?

We use Future in the Past when in the past we talk about an event or action that will happen in the future. Simply put, when in the past we talked about future actions.

For example:

I thought (past tense) that I would catch the train (future tense).

He said (past tense) that we would regret our decision (future tense).

As you can see, the first part is in the past tense (said, thought). The second part contains action in the future (if I have time, I'll regret it).

There are four future tenses that we can use in the past tense:

• Future Simple in the Past (simple future in the past)
• Future Continuous in the Past (continued future in the past)
• Future Perfect in the Past (future perfect in the past)
• Future Perfect Continuous in the Past (continuous perfect in the past)

Today we will look at the first tense - Future Simple.

Rules for using the Future Simple in the Past in English

We use the Future Simple in the Past form when we talk about an action in the future in the past. This form is the most used of all four.

This sentence consists of 2 parts:

• The first part is in the simple past tense (Past Simple)
• The second part contains the action of the future tense (Future Simple in the past)

Let's look at the formation of each of these parts in detail.

The first part is the simple past tense

The first part is built in Past Simple tense. Typically, this part contains a character and an action. Most often we use the following verbs (actions):

• say - to speak;
• tell - to speak;
• think - to think;
• know - to know;
• believe - believe, believe;
• hope - to hope

Since the first part contains the past tense (Past Simple), we put the verbs in the past form. For this:

• if the verb is regular, we add the ending -ed (hoop - hooped)
• if the verb is not regular, we put it in the 2nd form (tell - told, say - said).

Examples:

Regular verbs:

He decided…
He decided…

She wished...
She dreamed...

Irregular Verbs:

She thought…..
She thought…..

They knew…..
They knew…..

The second part contains the Future Simple

In the second part, we talk about future action and use Future Simple. This tense is formed using an auxiliary verb will.

However, because the first part is past tense, we cannot simply use the future tense.

Here we must make the future tense past. It's very simple. To do this, we put will in the past tense - would.

The action that comes after would remains in its initial form, that is, it does not change in any way.

……he would be late.
…..he will be late.

…..she would work.
…..She will work.

Now let's connect our two parts. The sentence formation scheme will be as follows:

Actor + said/thought/told + (that) + actor + would + action

In writing, to connect two parts of a sentence, we often use the word that, which translates to "what". But in colloquial speech we usually omit that.

She said(that) she would come back.
She said (that) she would come back.

He thought(that) he would win.
He thought (that) he would win.

They hoped(that) they would buy the tickets.
They hoped (that) they would buy tickets.

Negation in the form of Future Simple in the Past

We can make a sentence negative by adding a negation to the first or second part.

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 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 + action

He didn't say (that) he would come.
He didn't say he would come.

She didn't hope (that) she would pass an exam.
She didn't expect her to pass the exam.

Denial in the second part

To make the second part negative, we need after would put not.

We can shorten:

would + not = wouldn't

Actor + said/thought/told + actor + would + not + action

Interrogative sentences in the form Future Simple in the Past

When we ask a question, all changes occur in the first part. We put the auxiliary verb Past Simple (did) first in the sentence and the action in the initial form.

The proposal outline will be as follows:

Did + actor + say/think/tell + (that) + actor + would + action?

Did they think (that) she would get this job?
Did they think (that) she would get the job?

Did she say (that) she would return next week?
She said (that) she would be back next week?

So, we've covered the theory, now let's put it into practice.

Exercise to reinforce the topic Future Simple in the past

Translate these sentences into English and write them in the comments under the article:

1. He said he would meet me.
2. They thought that they would not fly by plane.
3. She didn't know that he would be late.
4. Did they think that she would come?
5. He said that he would work.
6. We believed that we would make the right choice.

Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

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.