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Future in the past; Narrative tenses - Coggle Diagram
Future in the past; Narrative tenses
Future in the past
We use past tenses of future forms to say what plans, intentions or predictions we had at a point in the past.
be to / be about to / be set to
Grace
was about to get
on the plane when she got an urgent text message.
be going to
Last summer I
was going to visit
my sister but I went to Italy instead.
be + verb + -ing
I
was leaving
for Mexico that morning and I was worried about the long flight.
modal + be + verb + -ing
I knew I
might be staying
there for a while so I made myself comfortable.
would/ might/ could
One day I
would find out
the truth, although I didn 't know it yet.
Tip 1
We use be + to + infinitive for events or situations that came true
I had to leave France and I
was never to return
.
We use be + to + have + past participle when things did not happen as planned
The present
was to have been
a surprise but Sandra knew all about it.
Tip 2
There are different meanings of would in the past
She
would
not discuss the matter. = refused to
She
’d
generally keep her ideas to herself. = habit
One day he
would
be famous. = future in the past
But for a lack of talent he
would
have been famous. = hypothetical past
Narrative tenses
Setting the scene
We use the past perfect, past perfect continuous and past continuous to give the background to events in the past
We set off at dawn. Everyone
had slept well
despite the unfamiliar environment.
The sun
had just been creeping
over the horizon when we packed up camp.
We
were
all
looking forward to
what the day ahead might hold. Or so I thought at the time
We use the past perfect or past perfect continuous to say how long something continued until a time in the past
By the time we got to Rio we
had been travelling
for 16 hours. NOT were travelling
Sequence of events
We use the past simple for actions in sequence in a narrative. We use the past continuous for background actions or actions that are interrupted
By the time we
reached
the top of the mountain the sun
was sinking
fast. I started to panic. I
was looking around
hopefully for a place we could set up camp when somebody
screamed
.
We use the past perfect to refer back to an earlier time in the sequence
Sarah
fell
ill and
was taken
to hospital
as soon as she (had) arrived.
Past perfect and past perfect continuous often explain the main action or give relevant background
There was a large swelling where he
’d been bitten.
I
’d been hearing
noises off to the left of the path so I decided to investigate.
Nobody
had warned me
of the dangers I was now facing.