Future in the Past

C1 — grammar, writing, speaking

Sofía: I was going to call the client this morning, but then everything happened at once.

Kenji: Ben said he would help with the report today.

Ben: I was about to start, actually, when Sofía's message came in.

Abuela Carmen: By the time you all finish deciding who was going to do what, the day will be over.

Common mistake: “Sofía will go to call the client, but she forgot.” — Correct: “Sofía was going to call the client, but she forgot.”

Future in the past describes a plan or prediction made from a point in the past — 'was going to', 'would', and 'was about to' all talk about a future that, seen from now, may or may not have actually happened.

Future in the past — three forms
StructureUseExample
was/were going toa plan that may or may not have happenedSofía was going to call, but she forgot.
wouldreporting a promise/prediction from the pastBen said he would arrive by six.
was/were about tosomething on the point of happeningThey were about to leave when the phone rang.

Practice

  1. Sofía ___ call the client, but she forgot. (was going to, will, is going to)
  2. Ben said he ___ arrive by six. (would, will, is)
  3. They ___ leave when the phone rang. (were about to, are about to, will be about to)
  4. 'Was going to' describes a past plan that may not have happened.
  5. 'Would' can report a promise or prediction made in the past.
  6. 'Was about to' means something happened a long time ago.
  7. Sofía ___ (not/go, to) mention it, but she changed her mind.
  8. Ben said he ___ (not/be) late this time.
  9. They ___ (not/be, about to) give up so easily.
  10. Unscramble: Sofía, was, going, to, call, the, client
  11. Unscramble: they, were, about, to, leave, when, the, phone, rang
  12. Find the mistake: Sofía will go to call the client, but she forgot.
  13. Sofía planned to call the client, but forgot. — Rewrite using 'was going to'.
  14. Ben promised he would arrive by six. — Report this using 'said he would'.
  15. Was Sofía going to call the client? — Answer with a short answer (Yes).
  16. They were about to leave. — Write the negative form.
  17. What were you going to do this weekend before your plans changed?

Listening

Sofía: I was going to call the client this morning, but everything happened at once.

Kenji: Ben said he would help with the report today.

Ben: I was about to start, actually, when Sofía's message came in.

Sofía: By next year, Kenji will have been living here for two years, and Ben still won't have finished a single report on time.

Ben: Harsh, but probably accurate.

Abuela Carmen: By the time you all finish deciding who was going to do what, the day will be over.

Reading

Every plan in this office seems to exist in two versions: the one that was going to happen, and the one that actually did. Sofía was going to call the client at nine; by noon, she still hadn't. Ben said he would finish his part of the report by lunch; Abuela Carmen predicts, with total confidence, that he won't. Kenji was about to remind everyone of their responsibilities when Ben's phone rang — of course it was the client, calling exactly the person nobody had called first. By next year, someone joked, they'd all have learned to just wait for the universe to sort out their to-do lists for them.

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