Lesson 9: Future in the Past
This lesson covers future forms in the past.
About this lesson
In this lesson, you will deepen your understanding of the different ways to express future actions as seen from a past perspective. We will explore structures such as 'would/should', 'was/were going to', 'was/were about to', and more — you'll learn when to use each one and how to apply them in a variety of contexts. Get ready to take your ability to express complex time relationships in English to the next level.
40 minutes
What you'll learn
- Understand and recognise the different future-in-the-past forms.
- Use 'would' and 'was/were going to' correctly to express the future in the past.
- Distinguish the nuances between 'was/were about to', 'was/were to', and 'would have + past participle'.
- Apply future-in-the-past structures in both written and spoken English.
- Avoid the most common mistakes when using future-in-the-past forms.
Lesson vocabulary
- announced He announced his retirement last week.
- predicted Scientists predicted the eclipse accurately.
- intended She intended to finish the report by Friday.
- promised He promised to call me back.
- assumed I assumed she would be there, but she wasn't.
- expected We expected a larger crowd at the concert.
- realized He realized his mistake immediately.
- believed She believed in his innocence.
- anticipated They anticipated a strong opposition to the new policy.
- occur Such events often occur during economic downturns.
- scheduled The meeting was scheduled for Tuesday morning.
- resolved They resolved the conflict peacefully.
- envisioned He envisioned a future with renewable energy.
- warned She warned him about the danger.
- foretold An ancient prophecy foretold the coming of a king.
- committed He committed to finishing the project on time.
- speculated People speculated about the cause of the fire.
- imminent The storm was imminent, and we had to prepare.