University of Algiers 2/Department of English/English Grammar/ Second year, Semester 3/2020

Unit 13: Future seen From the Past (activities & rules)

Instructors groups pages

Mrs silhadi 11 & 13 1-11
Mrs Doumir 7 1-8
Mrs Nemir 12 9-11

I Explore

Story 1: Doctors look to HIV and Ebola drugs for coronavirus cure

This article is more than 1 month old

Early results of trials on Covid-19 patients expected in March

Doctors are likely to know within two to three weeks whether drugs being used to treat patients infected with the new
coronavirus are working, according to the World Health Organization.

The WHO’s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said at a briefing on Thursday 1st March there would
be preliminary results within three weeks. The drugs chosen have been prioritised by the organisation’s research and
development experts.

There are no proven therapeutics for Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, just as there were none
for Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome). Kaletra is being trialled in Mers (Middle East respiratory
syndrome) but the cases are too few to get results quickly.

Tedros said the team was pushing ahead with a vaccine for the long term but it could take about 18 months.

The Guardians, 2020

Story 2: A Year Ago, An Israeli Research Group Said They Would Cure Cancer

Within A Year. Did They Do It?

At the end of January last year (2019), the internet was awash with a flurry of viral news stories promising the
almost-impossible. Cancer was going to be cured. Within just one year, by a tiny Israeli biotechnology
company. A true fairy tale of miracle-like proportions that was going to change the world. So, one year on, is
cancer cured?

No.

Dr J. Leonard Lichtenfeld M.D., deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society has recently
written: “.

“What is certain is that the scientists who said they would have a cure for cancer in one year didn’t meet
their goal. And that is not only a shame; it is chutzpah of the highest order,”

Forbes, 2020

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II Express:

Task One: Comprehension questions:

Story one

1. When did the WHO’s director general talk about the drugs being tried to cure coronavirus?
.................................................................................................................
2. When did the Who’s director general expect the results of the drugs?
................................................................................................................

Story 2

1. When did the Israeli biotechnology company promise a cure for cancer?
.................................................................................................................
2. When did the company expect to start using the cure?
...............................................................................................................

Answers to Tasks 2, 3, 4 & 5 can be found in the following website http://random-idea-

english.blogspot.com/2011/06/future-in-past-future-in-past-is.html

Task Two; Tick the boxes in Column A for the sentences which you think are 'Future in the Past', B for
‘Reported Speech’ and C for ‘ Not Clear’

1. She said that she would be home by eight.

2. He somehow knew that she would be home late.
3. I wondered if she would be home at her usual time.

4. She was going to do it yesterday, but forgot.

5. She promised she was going do it the next day.
6. He asked when she was going to do it.

7. She asked me when and where we were to meet them.

8. They told us we were to meet them after work.
9. We were to meet them outside the cinema.

Standard future forms

Task Three: Just to remind yourself of the main future forms, match these future forms with their
functions.
1. Future simple – will

2. Going to

3. Present continuous

4. Present simple

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5. Future continuous

6. Future perfect

7. Future perfect continuous

for events happening around a certain time in the future, or that will happen in the normal course of events, rather
a)
than being part of your plans and intentions.

b) for longer events happening before a certain time in the future, but not necessarily finished.

c) for actions that have already been decided, plans, intentions

d) for timetabled and scheduled events

e) for events that will be completed before a certain time in the future

f) for decisions made at the time of speaking, predictions, promises

g) for arrangements(e.g. it's in your diary)

Task Four: Enter the right form of the verbs in the gaps: become   ·   meet   ·   stay   ·   leave   ·  
travel   ·   serve   ·   finish

1. At the age of eight, I decided I a pilot when I grew up.

2. We knew she for ten hours by the time she arrived at our house later that night, so she was
probably going to be very tired.
3. According to his ticket, the flight at 06.00, so he still had plenty of time.
4. He left home early as he his cousin off the flight from London.
5. He suggested that, as we lunch by 2pm, he would order the taxi for 2.30.
6. We were going for a picnic and hoped the weather sunny.
7. At breakfast, we were told that they lunch at 1pm, as usual.

Task Five: A/ Do you think the event happened? Tick/check yes, no or don't know.

B/ Match the beginning of the sentences from 1 to 12 with endings from ‘a’ to ‘l’

yes no don't know

1. I was going to buy a new computer yesterday,
2. I decided I was going to buy a new computer,
3. I thought the train left at six,
4. It looked possible I would be late,
5. This time I was going to be early,
6. I was going to call you earlier,
7. I would be seeing him later,

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8. I thought she was buying the tickets,
9. I was going to write the report in the morning,
10. I knew I would regret what I'd just said,
11. I'd heard she was going to start a new job,
12. I knew he would be going out for lunch,
a) so I started to panic a bit.
b) and I did, almost immediately.
c) so I left in plenty of time.
d) but I don't know whether she did or not.
e) so I didn't bother calling.
f) but I decided I couldn't really afford it.
g) but I had got the wrong end of the stick.
h) so I called him before he left.
i) but I had misread the timetable.
j) but something came up.
k) so I went to the techie shops in Charing Cross Road.
l) but it completely slipped my mind.

Rules

1. Standard future forms

We can use all these forms and more in Future in the Past. Simply change the form to a past one, just like in
reported speech.

 Future simple - will changes to would

 am / is / are going to changes to was / were going to
 Present continuous - is/are meeting changes to was / were meeting etc.,

2. Would & Was/Were Going To Forms

Although the two forms can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often express two different meanings.
Examples:

 I told you he was going to come to the party. plan

 I knew Julie would make dinner. voluntary action
 Jane said Sam was going to bring his sister with him, but he came alone. plan
 I had a feeling that the vacation was going to be a disaster. prediction
 He promised he would send a postcard from Egypt. Promise

Remark: When ‘would’ is used with the main verb in the first form would means that something did happen.
This is used more often in written English. Example:

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  He would later achieve great success as TV chef.

But in subordinate clauses it is just the past form of will , and whether it happened or not depends on the
context. Example:

 He knew he would be able to achieve such a success. (He did it)

 He thought he would be able to achieve such a success. (He did not)

3. Was/were to+verb & was/were to +have +participle

These expressions are used to talk about events that were still in the future at a certain time in the past. Note
the following:

1.When we use was/were to have + past participle the meaning is similar to was/were meant/supposed to -
something was arranged but didn't happen.

 He was to have finished it by Friday. (but he didn't)

2.When we use was/were to + infinitive to simply state a fact, something did happen.

 Later that year he was to win the World Championship (and he did)

3.we also use was/were to + infinitive to mean was/were meant/supposed to, in which case it probably
didn't happen, or at least hasn't happened yet. In this case we often stress was/were

 They were (stressed) to contact us today. (and they haven't, at least not yet)

would (with main verb) or was/were?

Both of these expressions are quite formal and are mostly used in written English.

 Later that year he would win the World Championship

 Later that year he was to win the World Championship

REMEMBER No Future in Time Clauses

Like all future forms, future in the past cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as:
when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of using future in the past, you must
use simple past.

Examples:

 I already told Mark that when he would arrive, we would go out for dinner. Not Correct
 I already told Mark that when he arrived, we would go out for dinner. Correct

4.ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

 I knew John would finish the work by 5:00 PM. Active

 I knew the work would be finished by 5:00 PM. Passive
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  I thought Sally was going to make a beautiful dinner. Active
 I thought a beautiful dinner was going to be made by Sally. Passive

In English grammar, the future-in-the-past is the use of "would or was/were going to" to refer to the future
from the perspective of some point in the past. As illustrated below, other verbs in the past progressive can
also be used to convey this future-in-the-past perspective.

Examples and Observations:

 "Matilda stretched herself out, feeling her bones getting longer and longer. In a little while she would
be taller than Frances, maybe one day even taller than Elizabeth. Maybe one day she would be the
tallest woman in the world and she could join a circus."
 "She was sure that Boyne would never come back, that he had gone out of her sight as completely as if
Death itself had waited that day on the threshold."
 "He had not believed her when she said they would meet only once."
 "Fred Ballard, a local playwright friend of my mother, told her that I should go to his alma mater,
Harvard and that he would make inquiries on my behalf, which he did without success."

Use of be going to
"[T]he future-in-the-past... is used where the speaker wishes to refer to a past time at which a particular
event was still in the future, even though now, at the moment of speaking, it is past. It is frequently used
where some anticipated event does not occur or an expectation is canceled. Consider these examples:

 I was going to tell him, but he didn't give me a chance.

 I thought we were going to eat out tonight
 She was going to qualify next year, but now it will take longer."

Use of the Past Progressive

"When an 'arranged-future-in-the-past' (or rather 'arranged-future-from-the-past,' as it is a future relative to
the time of a past arrangement) concerns a personal arrangement, we normally use the progressive form of the
past tense. This parallels the use of the present progressive for arranged post-present situations.

 [Mary and Bill were stuffing a goose.] They were having guests that evening.
 [There was no point in inviting the Robinsons, as] they were leaving the day before the party.
 [The man was very nervous.] He was getting married that morning.
 [I didn't call him up to tell him the news because] I was going to his office the next day.The use of the
progressive past is possible even if the context makes it clear that the action planned was not actually
performed."

Future in the past (Consolidation)

When we are talking about the past, we often want to say that something was still in the future at that time. To
express this idea, we can use the past forms of ail the structures that are used to talk about the future:

present progressive ―˃ past progressive am/is/are going to ―˃ was/were goingto

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will―˃ would am/is/are to ―˃ was/were to

I was in a state of panic, because I was sitting my final exams in two days.

We were going to start a business if we could raise enough capital.

I had a feeling that things would soon turn difficult.

So this was the town where I was to spend the winter. I didn't like the look of it.

'hidden in the future' Would and was/were to are often used to express the idea that things were 'hidden in the
future.

She treated me like dirt. But she would live to regret it.

I thought we were saying goodbye for ever. But we were to meet again under very strange circumstances

Task Six Correct the mistakes or write'Correct'.

1 'What do you write?' A report for the Managing Director.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2 I'm thinking this is the wrong address.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3 Why is that man jumping up and down?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4 Iron is melting at 1536".

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5How do your tai-chi lessons go?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

6 We're seeing a lot of Peter and Susan just now

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

7 Het always criticizing

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

8 It's saying in today's paper that the pilots are going on strike'

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

9 'Is it going to snow?' 'I'm doubting it'

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

10 Julie's not feeling very well today'

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…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

11 This cheese is tasting funny.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

12 I'm not working next Friday

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

13 We should leave now if we're to catch the train

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

14 Will you be seeing Edward when you're in Glasgow?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

15 This time tomorrow I'm lying on the beach

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

16 Do you know what time the film starts?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

17 Next July we have been together for five years.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

18 I'll never be knowing what he thinks of me.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

19 Sorry I'm late - the train I was going to catch was cancelled

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

20 They showed me the room where I would have stayed. I said it was oK.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2nd year Mrs. NEMIR EDDOUAOUDA

Future seen from the past

1. Explore

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Tom knew he would be meeting Angela later on but he decided he would stay home at the
weekend. At the time, Angela thought she would be going to meet Tom and waited in the coffee
shop for ages. After a few days, the two friends met. Tom told Angela it was announced that there
was to be a soccer tournament that Sunday. Besides, he was having an urgent meeting with his
tutor. After a five minute silence Angela finally said “you must have called at least!

2. Follow up questions

What tense is being used in this text?

Why are these future forms used in the past?

What are we reporting in this text?

Let’s look at the forms.

We have the present tense, the past tense and a lot of future forms, but we also have future in the
past or the future seen from the past. But before that I would like you to remind me of all the past
forms we dealt with so far. (Introduce other ways to talk about the future).

A Reminder!

Other ways to talk about the future

1. IS TO + INFINITIVE: I am to pick up my ticket from Mr Smith

This form refers to an obligation to do something at a time later than now. It is similar to 'must', but
there is a suggestion that something has been arranged or organised for us.

2. BE + ABOUT TO + INFINITIVE: She is about to leave.

This form refers to a time immediately after the moment of speaking, and emphasises that the event
or action will happen very soon.

3. PRESENT CONTINUOUS: I'm meeting Jim at the airport = Jim and I have discussed this.

We're having a staff meeting next Monday = all members of staff have been told about it.

The present continuous is used to talk about arrangements for events at a time later than now. There
is a suggestion that more than one person is aware of the event, and that some preparation has
already happened.

So when we about the past, sometimes we want to talk about something that was in the future at
that time. To do this we put the future forms into the past.
I am going to show you some examples of this and I am gonna take you back to the past to do this.

Earlier today Now (I am going to go back to the past

Such a nice day today. I am going to go
for a run after lunch.
and look at the future)
I was going to go for a run today but I am
feeling a bit tired.
We use this form for plans, predictions
and intentions that change just like my

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 intention to go for a run. We can use it
for things that happen e.g. I knew it was
going to be sunny today.

I’ve got to go now; I am meeting the dean
at 3 o’clock.
I’ve got to go mom I’ll call you back later.
Sorry I was in a rush earlier, I was
meeting the Dean at 3 and I didn’t want
to be late.
We use the past continuous to talk about
future arrangements in the past. (It can
be used either if the arrangements did
not happen).
Ah, I told mom I would call her later. I
need to do that now.

I think I will have finished all my work by It is almost supper time, I thought I
lunch time. would have finished all my work by lunch
time but it is taking ages.

When referring to the future in the past

Alright, I am about to call mom now
otherwise she will kill me.
(to call her in a short time)
‘will’ becomes ‘would’.
Oh mom is calling... oh hi mom, I was
just about to call you mom, no honestly i
was about to call you.
Am about to becomes was about to.
When I was about to call mom she called
me.

P.S. I ACT OUT THE CHART IN THE CLASSROOM

3. Induction: Future in the past is used to express the idea that in the past you thought something
would happen in the future

4. The lesson

There are a number of ways to talk the future as seen from the past.

1. Events that took place:

Was/were to+ inf. E.g. I was to see my doctor this morning. (and I saw him)
Would + inf. E.g. Maureen decided that she would stay home for the summer (and this happened)

2. Events that were expected to happen but didn’t.

Was/were to have + past participle. E.g. the boat, which was to have taken them to the island,
failed to arrive.
Be supposed to, however, is used in less formal contexts. Sorry, I was supposed to help but I was
terribly ill.

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3. Future plans in the past which didn’t happen.

Was/were going or planning to + inf. e.g. I though we were going to see a movie.

4. Future arrangements in the past: was/were + verb + ING.

I couldn’t go downtown as I promised because I was meeting my friends.

5. Imminent events: (events just about to happen but didn’t actually happened at the end)

Was/were about to+ inf. E.g. I was about to call you.

Was/were on the point of + ING verb or noun. E.g. he was on the point of retiring.

Note

If the future seen from the past is still in the future for the speaker, then either form is possible:

It was announced this morning that there is/was to be a statement this evening.

6. Exercises

Unit 14 advanced in use. P. 29

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