Future In The Past

Future In The Past Have you heard of future past? In todays class, your dreams are going to come true. We are going to time travel! Can you think of a time last year, and think of where you thought you would be right now? Youve just time travelled, and hopefully you thought of a sentence in the future past. Confused? Dont worry, this blog  post  will show you how to  use the  future past.We use  future in the past  to talk about something in the past that you  thought  would happen in the future (it doesnt matter if it actually happened or not). Take a  look at the diagram below:As you can see, both of the Xs are in the past, but the blue X is slightly closer to the present (now). This is because we thought the blue X would happen in the future. So how do we make a sentence to show we thought something would happen in the future?  There are two ways:Forming Future Past  1. would  + (base verb)example: I thought you would help him.meaning: I thought you  would help him (with his homework), maybe you did help him/maybe you didnt help him.example: He promised he would send a postcard from Hawaii.meaning:  He said (or he promised) that he would send a postcard to me from Hawaii, maybe he did/didnt.2. was/were  + going to + (base verb)example:  I knew you were going to the concert.meaning:  I thought that you were going to go to the concert and you DID go. (When you  use knew it is to show you were correct with your prediction).example: I thought he was going to crash the car, he was driving so fast!meaning:  He was driving dangerously, I thought he was going to crash the car, but he didnt.We use both of these forms in slightly different ways. Would + (base verb) is mostly used to show a voluntary action,  promise  or to make a  prediction:Voluntary action:  I knew Eric  would make  dinner tonight.Promise:  She promised that she would come to my party.Prediction:  I thought it  would be a disaster.When we use was/were + going to + (base verb),  we  are talking about a  plan  or a  pre diction:Plan:  David said that he  was going to bring  his camera with him, but he forgot.Prediction:  I had a feeling that it  was going to be  a disaster.Future Past Listening ExerciseNow that we have studied how to make  future in the past  sentences, lets practice  using them. First, take a  look at this video:As you can see, these are predictions in the past that people thought would happen in the future. I particularly like the  crazy robot that people thought would exist in 1960!Now its your turn to complete some sentences. At the beginning of the sentence, I have written  either  volunteer, promise, plan  or  prediction. That indicates what type  of sentence to write (would + verb or  was/were + going to + verb).Example: (prediction)  I thought that there _would be  _ cars before the 1930s.(promise) They promised I would ______________ before 1960.(prediction) They thought  there ________________ helicopter trains in 1940.(plan) He told you there _________________ lots of c ars in 2000.Great work! You may have noticed in these sentences that I placed time expressions at the end of the sentence. This is because in all future forms, time expressions cannot be at the beginning of the sentence. You must use the  past  simple  if you have a time expression at the beginning of the sentence- look below:As soon as I would  arrive  at the restaurant, I would order  a pizza.  IncorrectAs soon as I  arrived  at the restaurant, I would order pizza.  Correct (past simple)Future Past Gap Fill ExerciseYoure doing great! We just have one exercise left.  Identify if there is a  time expression, and then use either the  past simple or the Future in the Past  (would +verb or was/were going to +verb)  to complete the sentence with the verb in the parenthesis ( ). As always, write your answers in the comment section and we will give you some feedback!(Husband and wife talking on the phone. Husband at football match, wife at home) Before you _____________ (go) to the footba ll match, I _________________ (make) you some lunch.2. They promised that they ______________  (come) to my birthday party, but no one came!3. By the time he   ______________(arrive), it ___________ (be)  too late.That is the end of todays class, we hope you enjoyed it! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below. If you want to continue improving  your English skills, sign up for a free 25-minute class today! Future In The Past Have you heard of future past? In todays class, your dreams are going to come true. We are going to time travel! Can you think of a time last year, and think of where you thought you would be right now? Youve just time travelled, and hopefully you thought of a sentence in the future past. Confused? Dont worry, this blog  post  will show you how to  use the  future past.We use  future in the past  to talk about something in the past that you  thought  would happen in the future (it doesnt matter if it actually happened or not). Take a  look at the diagram below:As you can see, both of the Xs are in the past, but the blue X is slightly closer to the present (now). This is because we thought the blue X would happen in the future. So how do we make a sentence to show we thought something would happen in the future?  There are two ways:Forming Future Past  1. would  + (base verb)example: I thought you would help him.meaning: I thought you  would help him (with his homework), maybe you did help him/maybe you didnt help him.example: He promised he would send a postcard from Hawaii.meaning:  He said (or he promised) that he would send a postcard to me from Hawaii, maybe he did/didnt.2. was/were  + going to + (base verb)example:  I knew you were going to the concert.meaning:  I thought that you were going to go to the concert and you DID go. (When you  use knew it is to show you were correct with your prediction).example: I thought he was going to crash the car, he was driving so fast!meaning:  He was driving dangerously, I thought he was going to crash the car, but he didnt.We use both of these forms in slightly different ways. Would + (base verb) is mostly used to show a voluntary action,  promise  or to make a  prediction:Voluntary action:  I knew Eric  would make  dinner tonight.Promise:  She promised that she would come to my party.Prediction:  I thought it  would be a disaster.When we use was/were + going to + (base verb),  we  are talking about a  plan  or a  pre diction:Plan:  David said that he  was going to bring  his camera with him, but he forgot.Prediction:  I had a feeling that it  was going to be  a disaster.Future Past Listening ExerciseNow that we have studied how to make  future in the past  sentences, lets practice  using them. First, take a  look at this video:iframe width=560 height=315 src=https://www.youtube.com/embed/czr-98yo6RU frameborder=0 allowfullscreen/iframeAs you can see, these are predictions in the past that people thought would happen in the future. I particularly like the  crazy robot that people thought would exist in 1960!Exercises for English Grammar:Now its your turn to complete some sentences. At the beginning of the sentence, I have written  either  volunteer, promise, plan  or  prediction. That indicates what type  of sentence to write (would + verb or  was/were + going to + verb).Example: (prediction)  I thought that there _would be  _ cars before the 1930s.(promise) They promised I would ______________ before 1960.(prediction) They thought  there ________________ helicopter trains in 1940.(plan) He told you there _________________ lots of cars in 2000.Great work! You may have noticed in these sentences that I placed time expressions at the end of the sentence. This is because in all future forms, time expressions cannot be at the beginning of the sentence. You must use the  past  simple  if you have a time expression at the beginning of the sentence- look below:As soon as I would  arrive  at the restaurant, I would order  a pizza.  IncorrectAs soon as I  arrived  at the restaurant, I would order pizza.  Correct (past simple)Future Past Gap Fill ExerciseYoure doing great! We just have one exercise left.  Identify if there is a  time expression, and then use either the  past simple or the Future in the Past  (would +verb or was/were going to +verb)  to complete the sentence with the verb in the parenthesis ( ). As always, write your answers in the comment section and we will give yo u some feedback!(Husband and wife talking on the phone. Husband at football match, wife at home) Before you _____________ (go) to the football match, I _________________ (make) you some lunch.2. They promised that they ______________  (come) to my birthday party, but no one came!3. By the time he   ______________(arrive), it ___________ (be)  too late.That is the end of todays class, we hope you enjoyed it! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below. If you want to continue improving  your English skills, sign up for a free 25-minute class today!