The Communicative Grammar of English Workbook - Edward Woods, Rudy Coppieters 2002

5.10. Future time 2
Unit five. Time, tense and aspect

Sections 147-148

The ’future in the past’ is the future seen from a viewpoint in the past. It is expressed by future constructions whose first verbal element is a past tense:

• was going to and was about to usually suggest that the anticipated happening did not take place

• was/were to and would are rather literary in style and can refer to the fulfilled future in the past.

The ’past in the future’ is expressed by will + perfect infinitive. In subordinate clauses it is often replaced by the ordinary present perfect.

Task **

Use one of the above constructions with the verb in brackets to express future in the past or past in the future as required by the context.

1. If we don’t reach an agreement soon, all our efforts (be) ... in vain.

2. We thought they (not cancel) ... the fireworks but in the end they did.

3. Firefighters continued to work frantically and (rescue) ... two more trapped residents later that afternoon.

4. All the letters (be delivered) ... by the end of this week.

5. Robin (jump) ..., but Alice tried to stop him, so he didn’t.

6. Indiana Jones’s best partner had died and (never see) ... those he cherished dearly.

7. Richard (come) ... but he fell asleep while Clare was taking a shower.

8. It had been a dreadful experience, which ... haunt the victims for the rest of their lives.

9. By the time you (read) ... this sentence, someone (die) ... somewhere.

10. The little boy looked as though he (cry) ..., but when I picked him up he smiled at me.

11. The disgruntled lawyer wrote a vicious letter, which he (regret) ... for the rest of his life.

12. We (just leave) ... the building when it began to rain.