Education future simple in the past. Future in the Past Future in the past in English. What is the "future in the past" in English

In addition to the twelve verb forms already known to us for expressing the present, past and future, in English language there is another group of tenses called Future in the Past, in translation - the future is in the past. Surely you will immediately be confused by such an "illogical" name. For a Russian-speaking person, it may seem "delusional". But if you think about it, it explains the meaning of the Future in the Past tenses. Future in the Past is used to express a future action in terms of the past tense. Let's give an example to make it clear to you:

• She knew he would leave at 7 o'clock - She knew that he would leave at 7 o'clock.

→ At the time when she "knew" it was not yet 7 o'clock and he had not left yet. That is, the action "leaves" is the future in relation to the past "knew". So it turns out - the future is in the past.

It is interesting that far all reference books of the English language consider Future in the Past tenses as a separate group. Many suggest studying Future in the Past within the framework of the rules for coordinating tenses. Perhaps they are right, because. the temporary group Future in the Past is used only in subordinate clauses, in order to harmonize tenses, and therefore does not perform the same functions as the full-fledged temporary groups Present, Past and Future.

We will nevertheless consider Future in the Past as a separate group, so that in the future you will not have any unnecessary "misunderstandings". So, just like all temporary groups, (Present, Past, Future) Future in the Past has 4 forms:

1. Future Simple in the Past - the future is simple from the point of view of the past
2. Future Continuous in the Past - the future is long from the point of view of the past
3. Future Perfect in the Past - future perfect from the point of view of the past
4. Future Perfect Continuous in the Past - the future is completely long from the point of view of the past

Formation of temporary forms Future in the Past

The tenses of Future in the Past are formed absolutely identical to their counterparts from the Future group, with the only difference being that would and should (forms in the past tense) are used instead of the auxiliary verbs will and shall.

Negative and interrogative sentences are formed according to the same rules as in the Future group. That is, in interrogative sentences the first auxiliary verb would / should is placed before the subject, and in negative sentences the particle not is used, which is placed after would / should.

In English, it is customary to use abbreviated forms. For example:

• I should → I'd
• I would → I'd
• should not → shouldn't
• would not → wouldn't

1. Future Simple in the Past

affirmative form	Interrogative form	negative form
S + should/ would + V ...	Should/ Would + S + V ???	S + should / would + not + V ...
I should / would (I "d) shave You would (you "d) shave He/ she/ it would (he "d/ she'd) shave We should / would (we "d) shave You would (you "d) shave They would (they "d) shave	Should/ Would I shave? Would you shave? Would he/ she/ it shave? Should/ Would we shave? Would you shave? Would they shave?	I should / would not (shouldn "t / wouldn't) shave He/ she/ it wouldn't (wouldn't) shave We should / would not (shouldn "t / wouldn't) shave You wouldn't (wouldn't) shave They wouldn't (wouldn't) shave

2. Future Continuous in the Past

affirmative form	Interrogative form	negative form
S + should/ would + be + V-ing …	Should/ Would + S + be + V-ing ???	S + should/ would + not + be + V-ing …
I should/ would (I"d) be shaving You would (you "d) be shaving He/ she/ it would (he "d/ she'd) be shaving We should/ would (we "d) be shaving You would (you "d) be shaving They would (they "d) be shaving	Should/ Would I be shaving? Would you be shaving? Would he/ she/ it be shaving? Should/ Would we be shaving? Would you be shaving? Would they be shaving?	I should/ would not (shouldn "t/ wouldn't) be shaving He/ she/ it would not (wouldn't) be shaving We should/ would not (shouldn "t/ wouldn't) be shaving You wouldn't (wouldn't) be shaving They wouldn't (wouldn't) be shaving

3. Future Perfect in the Past

affirmative form	Interrogative form	negative form
S + should / would + have + V-ed / III ...	Should/ Would + S + have + V-ed/III ???	S + should / would + not + have + V-ed / III ...
I should/ would (I"d) have shaven He/ she/ it would (he "d/ she'd) have shaven We should / would (we "d) have shaven You would (you "d) have shaven They would (they "d) have shaven	Should/ Would I have shaven? Would you have shaven? Would he/ she/ it have shaven? Should/ Would we have shaven? Would you have shaven? Would they have shaven?	I should/ would not (shouldn "t/ wouldn't) have shaven He/ she/ it would not (wouldn't) have shaven We should/ would not (shouldn "t/ wouldn't) have shaven You wouldn't (wouldn't) have shaven They wouldn't (wouldn't) have shaven

4. Future Perfect Continuous in the Past

affirmative form	Interrogative form	negative form
S + should/ would + have been + V-ing …	Should/ Would + S + have been + V-ing ???	S + should/ would + not + have been + V-ing …
I should/ would (I"d) have been shaving He/ she/ it would (he "d/ she'd) have been shaving We should / would (we "d) have been shaving You would (you "d) have been shaving They would (they "d) have been shaving	Should/ Would I have been shaving? Would you have been shaving? Would he/ she/ it have been shaving? Should/ Would we have been shaving? Would you have been shaving? Would they have been shaving?	I should/ would not (shouldn "t/ wouldn't) have been shaving He/ she/ it would not (wouldn't) have been shaving We should/ would not (shouldn "t/ wouldn't) have been shaving You wouldn't (wouldn't) have been shaving They wouldn't (wouldn't) have been shaving

The use of temporary forms Future in the Past

Future in the Past forms are rarely found in colloquial speech. But they can still be found in the narrative of past events when transmitting the words of a person in indirect speech relating to the future tense. This means that the forms Future in the Past are used in additional subordinate clauses after verbs: think - think, tell - speak, say - speak, know - know, hope - hope, believe - believe, expect - expect etc. in past simple Tense ( thought, told, said, knew, hoped, believed, expected).

Example sentence with Future Continuous in the Past

Future in the Past in the Indefinite, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous forms conveys the same meanings as the Future forms parallel to them. The difference is that Future tenses express future actions relative to the present moment, while Future in the Past tenses express future actions relative to the past moment.

• Future Simple: He says he will not eat an apple - He says he won't eat an apple
• Future Simple in the Past: He said he would not eat an apple - He said he would not eat an apple

• Future Continuous: He says he will not be eating apples at 5 o'clock tomorrow - He says he won't eat apples tomorrow at 5 o'clock
• Future Continuous in the Past: He said he would not be eating apples at 5 o'clock the next day - He said that he would not eat apples at 5 o'clock the next day

• Future Perfect: He says he will not have eaten apples by midnight - He says he won't eat apples by midnight
• Future Perfect in the Past: He said he would not have eaten apples by midnight - He said that he would not eat apples by midnight

• Future Perfect Continuous: He says he will not have been eating this apple for 5 minutes before his mother comes - He says that he will not eat this apple for 5 minutes before his mother comes
• Future Perfect Continuous in the Past: He said he would not have been eating this apple for 5 minutes before his mother comes - He said that he would not eat this apple for 5 minutes before his mother comes

As can be seen from the examples, Future in the Past is used exclusively to coordinate temporary forms and is translated into Russian by the future tense. It is mainly used in indirect speech if the utterance of this speech refers to the past. It can be concluded that Future in the Past expresses the future action that was discussed in the past.

We considered Future in the Past as a separate group of tenses, because it can cause learning difficulties. Having dealt with this topic, you will kill two birds with one stone, because. make your work much easier when studying tense agreement in English.
Watch the following video lessons on the topic: "Future in the Past - the future is in the past tense."

Future in the Past Tenses (future in the past)- are used in additional clauses, depending on the main with a predicate in the past tense, to express a future action.

Education of the Future in the Past

All forms of Future in the Past are formed in the same way as the corresponding forms of Future with the replacement of shall and will with the forms should and would.

In colloquial speech, abbreviations are used:
would='d
should='d
They'd have played.
should not=shouldn't='d not
I should't have played =I'd not have played.
would=wouldn"t='d not
She wouldn't be playing. = She'd not have played .
Shouldn't I have played?
Wouldn't he have played?

Future in the Past Simple

affirmative form	negative form
I should play He (she, it) would play We should play You would play They would play	I should not play He (she, it) would not play We should not play You would not play They would not play
Interrogative form
Should I play ? Would he (she, it) play ? should we play ? Would you play ? Would they play ?	Should I not play? Would he (she, it) not play? Should we not play? Would you not play? Would they not play?

affirmative form	negative form
I should be play ing He (she, it) would be play ing We should be play ing You would be play ing They would be play ing	I shouldn't be playing ing He (she, it) wouldn't be play ing We shouldn't be playing ing You wouldn't be playing ing They wouldn't be playing ing
Interrogative form	Interrogative-negative form
Should I be play ing? Would he (she, it) be play ing? Should we be play ing? Would you be play ing? Would they be play ing?	Should I not be play ing? Would he (she, it) not be play ing? Should we not be play ing? Would you not be play ing? Would they not be play ing?

Future in the Past Perfect

affirmative form	negative form
I should have play ed He (she, it) would have played We should have play ed You would have play ed They would have play ed	I should not have played He (she, it) would not have played We shouldn't have played You wouldn't have played They wouldn't have played
Interrogative form	Interrogative-negative form
Should I have played? Would he (she, it) have play ed? Should we have played? Would you have play ed? Would they have played?	Should I not have played? Would he (she, it) not have play ed? Should we not have played? Would you not have play ed? Would they not have played?

affirmative form	negative form
I should have been play ing He (she, it) would have been play ing We should have been play ing You would have been play ing They would have been play ing	I should not have been played ing He (she, it) wouldn't have been play ing We should not have been played ing You wouldn't have been play ing They wouldn't have been play ing
Interrogative form	Interrogative-negative form
Should I have been play ing? Would he (she, it) have been played ing? should we have been play ing? Would you have been play ing? Would they have been played ing?	Should I not have been played ing? Would he (she, it) not have been played ing? Should we not have been played ing? Would you not have been played ing? Would they not have been played ing?

Using Future in the Past

1. Future in the Past Simple used to express simple, ordinary actions or a sequence of actions in the future, viewed in the past.

He said he would soon take up French. He said that he would soon improve his French.(pull up - future action, viewed from the past, said relative to the past)

2. Future in the Past Continuous used to express a long-term action that will occur at a certain point in the future, or a future action arising from circumstances. Both actions are related to the past.

And she thought that at this time next Sunday she would be approaching her beloved Paris. - And she thought that at the same time next Sunday she would already be driving up to her beloved Paris.

3. Future in the Past Perfect used to express an action that will be completed by a certain point in the future relative to the past.

He realized that he would have finished his task long before midnight. He realized that he would finish the work long before midnight.

4. Future in the Past Perfect Continuous is used to express a long-term action that will begin up to a certain point in the future relative to the past and last until that moment or still continue at the moment. This form is rarely used even in book style.

He said he would have been living here for ten years next year. He said that he would live here for 10 years in next year.

Note: Even though Future in the Past tenses denote future actions, real time these actions can be much wider.
I said I should come today, and so I "m here! (actual present)

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

He said that he would apologize for being late.

He said he would apologize for being late.

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

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 THE FORMFUTURE IN THE PAST

Future	Future in the past
Future Simple I hope I will arrive on time. I hope I arrive on time.	Future Simple in the Past I hoped I would arrive on time. I hoped to arrive on time.
Future Continuous She knows we will be working at that time. She knows that we will be working during this time.	Future Continuous in the Past She knew we would be working at that time. She knew that we would be working at that time.
Future Perfect He says they will have prepared all documents by 5 o'clock. He says they will have all the documents ready by 5 o'clock.	Future Perfect in the Past He said they would have prepared all documents by 5 o'clock. He said that they would have all the documents ready by 5 o'clock.
Future Perfect Continuous They think that by the next year she will have been studying for 4 years. They think that by next year she will have been studying for 4 years already.	Future Perfect Continuous in the Past They thought that by the next year she would have been studying for 4 years. They thought that by next year she would have been studying for 4 years already.

Note that all forms of Future in the Past are formed with the help of the auxiliary verb ‘ would'. The negative form is used by adding the negative particle ‘ not' which has the form ' would’ t’.

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

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

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

To build such sentences, you need to know the tense agreement 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 we talk about an event or action in the past 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 an action in the future (I will have time, we will 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 (long perfect in the past)

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

Rules for using Future Simple in the Past in English

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

This proposal 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 time Past Simple (past simple). Typically, this part contains a character and an action. Most often in it we use the following verbs (actions):

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

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

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

Examples:

Correct verbs:

He decided…
He decided…

She wanted...
She dreamed...

Irregular Verbs:

She thought…..
She thought…..

They knew…..
They knew…..

Second part - contains Future Simple

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

However, due to the past tense in the first part, we cannot just take and 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 stays in initial form, that is, it does not change.

……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 as "what". But in colloquial speech, we usually omit that.

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

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.

Denial in the form of Future Simple in the Past

We can make a sentence negative by adding a negative 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

At the same time, the action itself will now stand in its initial form, that is, it will not change in any way (say, tell, hope).

The scheme for the formation of such a proposal:

Actor + didn "t + say / think / tell + (that) + character + 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 did not hope that she would 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 of 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) in the first place in the sentence, and the action in the initial form.

The proposal scheme 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 have analyzed the theory, and now let's fix it in practice.

Exercise to reinforce the topic Future Simple in the past

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

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

Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

The English language, when studied superficially, is full of contradictions. Where else, for example, will you meet such a group of tenses as Future in the Past, which is translated into Russian as “the future in the past”? It would seem that common sense itself opposes the fact that actions that have already taken place are combined with those situations that have yet to happen. But if you thoroughly understand the essence of the issue, it turns out that in Russian the future often exists in the context of the past tense. Consider, for example, the phrase: "He said he wouldn't come tomorrow." In this case, the first verb (said) is in the past tense, but the second action (will not come) refers to the future. FROM Future in the Past Simple everything is exactly the same. This tense group, which includes 4 tenses, is used in subordinate clauses after the verb in the Past Simple (simple past tense).

If the simple future tense (Future Simple) speaks of the future relative to the present, thenfuture past tense in englishtells about what will happen in the future from the point of view of the past. In other words, the action we mentioned at some point in the past was the future:

He said that he would not come tomorrow. He said he won't come tomorrow.

I believed you would find my letter. - I believed that you would find my letter.

What is Future in the Past Simple?

In English, the future in the past is not distinguished into a separate group of tenses. English-language manuals offer to study Future in the Past in the context of tense coordination. The verb would (form will) also comes up in those situations when indirect speech is parsed:I said I would give him some money . However, Russian textbooks often talk about the future in the past as separate group times, which include Future Simple in the Past, Future Perfect in the Past, and Future Perfect Continuous in the Past.

All four of the above tenses are used to emphasize that the action we place in the subordinate clause will happen later than the main action in the past. For example,My friend hoped that you would miss this party (My friend hoped that you would miss this party) . In the example presented, the verb "hoped" would happen before the person about whom in question, miss or not miss the party.

It is noteworthy that Future in the Past necessarily implies the presence of a verb in the Past Simple in the main clause. If this rule is not observed, there can be no talk of any future tense in the past. It is also important to mention that Future in the Past is often used after verbs of speaking (say, tell) or after verbs of feelings and knowledge (hope - hope, believe - believe, know - know, think - think, etc.).

I thought you wouldn't visit me. - I thought you wouldn't visit me.

Rules for the formation of the Future in the Past

Future past tense in English, as we said, is used in a subordinate clause. To form it, we always need the auxiliary verb would. In the first person (I, we) sometimes you can also meet should. However, would is still preferable. Thus, the basic scheme of education Future in the Past is as follows:

Subject + Would + semantic verb.

Jane said she would meet with him. Jane said she would meet him.

Since this tense is used exclusively in subordinate clauses, it is difficult to imagine the use of interrogative constructions in Future in the Past. However, the question can be expressed using the union if:

I asked him if he would come tomorrow. I asked him if he would come tomorrow.

The negative construction in Future in the Past is created by adding not to the auxiliary verb would.

Jane said she would not meet with him. Jane said she wouldn't meet him.

In English speech, the auxiliary verb would is often shortened to the letter d, which is attached to the pronoun with an apostrophe (""):

Jane said she "d meet with him.

The negative construction would not can be shortened to wouldn "t.

Jane said she wouldn't meet with him.

It is also important to note that the scheme for the formation of the future in the past will depend on what specific time from this group we are dealing with. The above structure is suitable for Future Simple in the Past . For other tenses, in addition to would, other auxiliary verbs will be required.

Future Simple in the Past

Of all the times of the group, the future is in the past Future Simple in the Past - perhaps the most common. As you might guess from the name, this tense is used to report simple, short-lived actions that, relative to a certain moment in the past, are the future.

My friend knew that he would be late this evening. My friend knew that he would be late this evening.

For Education Future Simple in the Past we need the auxiliary verb would. The form of the semantic verb will remain unchanged if we are talking about the active voice. In the passive voice (cases when the subject experiences some action), the scheme for the formation of the future simple in the past is as follows:

Subject + would be + semantic verb in the third form (past participle).

He knew that his house would be sold. He knew that his house would be sold.

Future Continuous in the Past

The future continued in the past is another tense with which there is, albeit small, but still a chance to encounter in colloquial practice. Unlike the previous, simple time, Future Continuous in the Past expresses an action extended over time. It can be a dream, work, writing an article, preparing homework, etc. And, of course, this very action must be future in relation to the past. For example:

I thought I would be reading your article at that time tomorrow. - I thought I would be reading your article at this time tomorrow.

She supposed that her child would be sleeping at 17. - She assumed that her child would be sleeping at 17 o'clock.

In order to receive an offer in Future Continuous in the Past , the auxiliary verbs would and be are needed. Small transformations also occur with the semantic verb: in this case, the suffix -ing must be added to the stem of the word.

Subject + would be + semantic verb with -ing.

I said I would be working all day tomorrow. I said that I would work all day tomorrow.

Future Perfect in the Past and Future Perfect Continuous in the Past

Future Perfect in the Past is extremely rare in English. This time differs from others in that it characterizes the completed action. Often the future perfect in the past can be identified by the preposition by. This marker indicates the end time of the action (by Monday - by Monday, by 5 o "clock - by 5 o'clock ...). At the same time, as in other times of the Future in the Past group, the action in question is future for a moment in the past.

We supposed that she would have published that novel by the end of January. We thought that she would publish this novel by the end of January.

In the example presented, the assumption expressed by the verb in the Past Simple occurred before the publication of the novel.

When building a phrase in Future Perfect in the Past, you cannot do without the auxiliary verb would. We also need the constant companion of the Perfect group - the verb have. The semantic verb is put in the third form. As a result, we get just such a formula for constructing a sentence in the future perfect in the past.

Subject + would + have + semantic verb in the 3rd form.

I hoped I would have finished this project by Christmas. - I was hoping to finish this project by Christmas.

In this varietyfuture past tense in Englishthere is also a form of passive voice, which is formed according to the same principle as sentences in the active voice. Only in the passive voice is there an additional auxiliary verb been:

Subject + would + have + been + semantic verb in the 3rd form.

I hoped that the project would have been finished by Christmas. - I was hoping the project would be completed by Christmas.

Even less often than Future Perfect in the Past, Future Perfect Continuous in the Past is found in English. You may not even find the last, fourth tense from the group of the future past, even in good British books. But purely theoretically, it is quite possible to construct a phrase in the future perfect continued in the past.

So, Future Perfect Continuous in the Past is used when we need to report a continuous action that will last until a certain time point in the future. At the same time, this very action, again, is the future in relation to the past. In other words, if in the past we say (hope, believe, etc.) that at such and such a moment in the future so many years (months, weeks) will be completed, as we will perform some long-term action, then it is necessary to use Future Perfect Continuous in the Past.

He said that he would have been working in that company for 2 years next month. - He said that next month it will be 2 years since he has been working in this company.

For the formation of this complex time in every sense, an auxiliary construction would have been required. The semantic verb is put in the ing form:

Subject + would + have + been + semantic verb ending in ing.

I told that I would have been studying French for 3 years next year. - I said that next year it will be three years since I learn French.

It is clear that in real life, of all the tenses of the group of the future in the past, the most in demand Future Simple in the Past . It is unlikely that you or your interlocutor in fast colloquial speech will want to build bulky structures with Future Perfect in the Past or, even more so, with Future Perfect Continuous in the Past. That is why, when studying the future in the past, it is necessary to rely on its simplest form.