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Think about a sentence like “I was going to call you, but I lost my phone.” At some moment in the past, the call was still in the future — a plan that lay ahead of you. That is the future in the past: a future event viewed from an earlier, past standpoint.
English has no single tense for this idea. Instead it uses the past forms of several future structures: was/were going to, would, was/were about to, the past continuous, and was/were to + infinitive. This guide explains each one, when to use it, and why the future in the past so often describes plans that never came true.
Key Takeaways
- The future in the past is a future seen from a past viewpoint, not a single tense.
- Was/were going to expresses past intentions, often unfulfilled: I was going to leave, but…
- Would is the past of will, used for prediction, narrative and reported speech.
- Was/were about to shows an action on the very point of happening.
- The past continuous and was/were to + infinitive express arranged or destined future events.
What the Future in the Past Means
To understand the concept, picture a timeline with three points: a past moment, a later event that was still in the future at that past moment, and now, when we are speaking. The future in the past sits at that past moment and looks ahead.
Because we are speaking now, we usually already know whether that later event happened. This is why the future in the past so often appears with a twist: I was going to apologise, but he had already left. For a wider picture of how past tenses work together in storytelling, see our narrative tenses guide.
Was/Were Going To
The clearest way to express the future in the past is to take is/are going to and shift it back to was/were going to + infinitive. It describes intentions and plans held at a past time.
I was going to phone you, but I ran out of time.
We were going to visit Rome, but the flight was cancelled.
She was going to study law before she changed her mind.
Very often the plan was not carried out, which is why this structure carries a strong flavour of unrealised intention.
Would
As the past form of will, would + infinitive expresses a future seen from the past. It is common in narrative writing and in reported speech, and it tends to describe predictions or events that were destined to happen.
He left his village at eighteen. He would never return. (narrative)
Little did she know that she would become famous. (prediction)
They promised that they would help. (reported speech)
In reported speech, will regularly backshifts to would: “I will come” becomes He said he would come. This is part of the same family as the future continuous and the other future forms.
Was Going To vs Would
These two are easy to confuse because both look back at a future. The difference lies in intention versus prediction.
Was/were going to
- A plan or intention from a past time
- Often suggests the plan failed
- Personal decisions and arrangements
- Example: I was going to call, but I forgot.
Would
- A prediction or destined event
- Common in stories and reported speech
- Looks ahead to what later happened
- Example: He would later regret it.
Compare: I was going to win (I intended or planned to) versus I knew I would win (I predicted it). They are not interchangeable.
Was About To, the Past Continuous, and Was To
Three further structures complete the picture, each adding its own shade of meaning.
Was/were about to
This shows an action on the very point of happening — the immediate future seen from the past. It often pairs with when to introduce an interruption.
I was about to leave when the phone rang.
The match was about to start, so we hurried inside.
Past continuous for arrangements
Just as the present continuous expresses a fixed future arrangement, the past continuous can do the same from a past viewpoint.
I was meeting Tom the next day, so I went to bed early.
They were flying to Spain that weekend.
Was/were to + infinitive
This formal, often literary form describes something destined or arranged. The variant was to have + past participle shows an arrangement that did not happen.
They were to meet again many years later. (destiny)
She was to have given the speech, but she fell ill. (unrealised)
Common Mistakes
The errors below are the ones learners make most often with the future in the past.
I am going to call you, but I forgot. → say: I was going to call you, but I forgot.
He said he will help. → say: He said he would help. (backshift)
I was about to leaving. → say: I was about to leave.
We was going to visit Rome. → say: We were going to visit Rome.
In storytelling tasks, the future in the past adds drama. Try “She had no idea that she would…” to foreshadow events, or “I was going to… but…” to explain a change of plan — both show examiners that you can shift viewpoints in time.
Practise the Future in the Past
Test yourself with gap-fill exercises and get instant feedback on every answer.
Complete the SentenceExercises to Practise on LexFizz
- Complete the Sentence — fill in the correct form (was going to vs would)
- Cloze Dropdown — choose the right future-in-the-past form from a dropdown
- True or False — identify correct and incorrect usage
- Quiz — multiple-choice questions on the future in the past
- Flash Cards — review the forms with spaced repetition
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Frequently Asked Questions
The future in the past describes an action that was still in the future from a point of view located in the past. In other words, at some moment in the past we looked ahead to something that had not yet happened: I knew she was going to be late. English has no single tense for this; instead it uses past forms of future structures, such as was/were going to, would, was/were about to, the past continuous, and was/were to + infinitive. It often describes plans that were never carried out.
Take the present structure is/are going to + infinitive and shift it into the past as was/were going to + infinitive. For example, I am going to call him becomes I was going to call him. We use it for plans and intentions seen from a past viewpoint, and very often for plans that did not actually happen: We were going to visit Rome, but the flight was cancelled. The structure expresses what someone intended at an earlier time.
Would + infinitive is the past form of will and is used to report or describe a future seen from the past, especially in narratives and reported speech: She said she would help. It is also common when telling a story and looking ahead to what later happened: He left home at eighteen. He would never return. Unlike was going to, would usually describes events that were predicted or destined rather than personal plans or intentions.
Was going to expresses a plan or intention held at a past time, and it strongly suggests the plan may not have been fulfilled: I was going to phone you (but I forgot). Would expresses a prediction or a future event seen from the past, common in storytelling and reported speech: Little did he know that he would become famous. In short, was going to is about earlier intentions, while would is about predicting or narrating what came next.
Was/were about to + infinitive describes an action that was on the point of happening at a past moment — the very near future seen from the past. For example: I was about to leave when the phone rang. It emphasises that the action was just seconds away. It is frequently used with when to introduce an interruption, showing that something else happened just before the planned action could take place.
Yes. Just as the present continuous can express a fixed future arrangement (I am meeting Tom tomorrow), the past continuous can express a future arrangement seen from the past: I was meeting Tom the next day, so I went to bed early. Here was meeting refers to a planned, arranged event that was still in the future at that past moment. It typically describes diary-style arrangements rather than spontaneous decisions.
Was/were to + infinitive describes something that was destined, arranged, or expected to happen, often in a formal or literary style: They were to meet again many years later. It frequently appears in narratives to foreshadow later events. A related form, was/were to have + past participle, describes an arrangement that did not actually happen: She was to have given the speech, but she fell ill.
Because we are looking back from a present or later viewpoint, we often already know whether the planned action happened. When it did not, the future in the past becomes a natural way to express the unfulfilled intention: I was going to study medicine, but I changed my mind. The structure sets up an expectation (was going to), and the following clause usually reveals that something prevented it, which is why it so often expresses disappointment or a change of plan.
When we report a statement that used will or going to, they shift back one step in time. Will becomes would and is going to becomes was going to. For example, I will help you reported becomes He said he would help me, and I am going to leave becomes She said she was going to leave. This backshift is part of the wider rule that present and future forms move into past forms in reported speech.
Practise by: (1) Writing sentences about plans you made but did not carry out, using was going to ... but .... (2) Turning direct speech into reported speech and shifting will to would. (3) Describing interrupted moments with was about to ... when .... (4) Using LexFizz’s Complete the Sentence and Cloze Dropdown games to choose the right form. (5) Comparing was going to (intention) with would (prediction) until the difference feels natural.
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