Future in the past/condizionale passato

[Paulfromitaly]

Come vedete il "Future in the past" è stato già lungamente trattato. Troverete sicuramente la risposta alla vostra domanda leggendo le vecchie discussioni, quindi non apritene una nuova, grazie.

Future in the past

Il futuro nel passato è usato quando, parlando del passato, vengono descritte frasi o azioni che, in quel momento, dovevano ancora avvenire.

Simple present -> She says she will go to London next Monday.
Simple past -> She said she would go to London the following Monday.

Simple Present -> They know that you will be leaving tomorrow.
Simple Past -> They knew that you would be leaving the following day.

Nei due esempi sopra si vede come cambiando il verbo della preposizione principale (dal presente al passato), il verbo della subordinata da futuro si trasforma in futuro nel passato (da will diventa would).
Si noti anche che le espressioni temporali cambiano next Monday diventa the following Monday, così come tomorrow diventa the following day.
Allo stesso modo per esprimere l'idea di futuro nel passato si utilizzano le stesse costruzioni usate per esprimere il futuro volgendole, però, al passato.
​

Futuro​		Futuro nel passato​
Present simple/present continuous​	-> ​	past continuous​
will​	->​	would​
is going to​	->​	was going to​
Future​	Future in the past​
Impegno definitivo​	Impegno definitivo​
They're going to Mario's next Saturday​	They said they were going to mario's the following Saturday​
Decisione immediata​	Decisione immediata​
I'll answer it​	I decided I would answer it​
Intenzione​	Intenzione​
Paul is going to see some friends next week​	Paul said he was going to see some friends the following week​

Express the future from the past
for good luck in the future and good memories of the past
future in the past
Future in the past
Periodo ipotetico + future in the past
Time concepts: Past, Present, Future

Mi aveva detto che se anche avessi sentito dei rumori strani non avrei dovuto scappare
Ho scoperto che avrei potuto farlo
Non sono quello che avrei voluto essere
Presi tempo e gli assicurai che avrei parlato
questa è la faccia che avrei dovuto avere
questo è il messaggio che avrei dovuto inviare ieri
Sai che avrei dovuto pensare anche alle tue spese in America
sapevo che avrei dovuto
Sapevo che avrei dovuto cucinare qualcosa di semplice
So che avrei dovuto parlartene qualche mese fa
Sono io che avrei dovuto essere senza parole, arrabbiato
tutte quelle cose che avrei voluto dirle prima che morisse

abbiamo promesso che avremmo inviato il documento
che avremmo passato

Qual è il campione che avresti voluto vedere nel campionato
Sapevo che avresti scelto quell'opzione

che avrebbe avuto la sua base logistica
che avrebbe consumato di notte lungo le Calabrie
che avrebbe lavorato a quel progetto
che avrebbe potuto aver eseguito il ritratto
Disse che avrebbe potuto fare a meno di prendere tutti quei vestiti (...)
Lei mi ha detto che avrebbe voluto imparare un po' di italiano.
Mi disse che avrebbe scritto ....
mi ha detto che avrebbe voluto che

che sarebbe arrivato primo
che sarebbe partita
Da piccolo mio figlio diceva sempre che sarebbe diventato pilota
disse che sarebbe arrivato nel giro di un'ora
ero a conoscenza che sarebbe andato la
Ha detto che sarebbe stata impegnata tutta la mattina
Ho riflettuto a lungo su ciò che sarebbe dovuto succedere
mi ha assicurato che sarebbe venuto a metà mattinata
Non avrebbe mai potuto pensare che sarebbe stato
Non pensavo assolutamente che sarebbe venuto all'appuntamento
Non potevo pensare che sarebbe stato arrabbiato con te a lungo
Pensavo che sarebbe accaduta la stessa cosa per me, ma alla fine non fu così.
Pensavo che sarebbe venuto
Perchè lei potrebbe aver pensato che sarebbe stato un pericolo
Sapevo che sarebbe successo
Se avessi saputo che sarebbe stato così costoso
sembrava che sarebbe finito male

 

[Paulfromitaly]

Future in the Past

Like Simple Future, Future in the Past has two different forms in English: "would" and "was going to." Although the two forms can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often express two different meanings.
FORM Would

[would + VERB]
Examples:

• I knew you would help him.
• I knew you would not help him.

FORM Was/Were Going To

[was/were + going to + VERB]
Examples:

• I knew you were going to go to the party.
• I knew you were not going to go to the party.

USE 1 Future in Past


Future in the Past is used to express the idea that in the past you thought something would happen in the future. It does not matter if you are correct or not. Future in the Past follows the same basic rules as the Simple Future. "Would" is used to volunteer or promise, and "was going to" is used to plan. Moreover, both forms can be used to make predictions about the future.
Examples:

• I told you he was going to come to the party. plan
• I knew Julie would make dinner. voluntary action
• Jane said Sam was going to bring his sister with him, but he came alone. plan
• I had a feeling that the vacation was going to be a disaster. prediction
• He promised he would send a postcard from Egypt. promise

REMEMBER No Future in Time Clauses

Like all future forms, Future in the Past cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of using Future in the Past, you must use Simple Past.
Examples:

• I already told Mark that when he would arrive, we would go out for dinner. Not Correct
• I already told Mark that when he arrived, we would go out for dinner. Correct

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

• I knew John would finish the work by 5:00 PM. Active
• I knew the work would be finished by 5:00 PM. Passive

• I thought Sally was going to make a beautiful dinner. Active
• I thought a beautiful dinner was going to be made by Sally. Passive

 

[Paulfromitaly]

4. The "future in the past"
The modal auxiliary would is the past form of the modal auxiliary will. For this reason, the auxiliary would can be used to form what is sometimes called a future in the past.

The future in the past is used in reporting statements and questions which pertained to the future at the time they were made. In the following examples, the verbs in the main clauses are printed in bold type, and the verbs in the subordinate clauses are underlined.

Tense of Verb in Main Clause	Complete Sentence
Simple Present	I think you will succeed.
Simple Past	I thought you would succeed.

In the sentence I think you will succeed, the verb of the main clause, think, is in the Simple Present, and the verb of the subordinate clause, will succeed, is in the Simple Future. If the verb think is changed to the Simple Past, then the verb will succeed must also be put into the past, by using the auxiliary would instead of will.

The following are other examples of the use of the future in the past:

Tense of Verb in Main Clause	Complete Sentence
Simple Present	She says she will visit us next week.
Simple Past	She said she would visit us the following week.
Simple Present	They know that we will be arriving tomorrow.
Simple Past	They knew that we would be arriving the next day.

In both pairs of examples, when the verb in the main clause is changed from the Simple Present to the Simple Past, the verb in the subordinate clause is changed from a future tense to the future in the past, by changing the auxiliary will to would.

It should be noted that adverb and adverb phrases such as tomorrow, yesterday and next year can be used only with reference to present time. When used with reference to past or future time, as in reported speech, these adverbs and adverb phrases must be changed.

For instance, tomorrow must be changed to an expression such as the next day or the following day; and next year must be changed to an expression such as the next year or the following year. Other examples are given in the table below.

Used with Reference to Present Time	Used with Reference to Past or Future Time
tomorrow	the next day or the following day
today	that day or the same day
yesterday	the day before or the previous day
next week	the next week or the following week
this week	that week or the same week
last week	the week before or the previous week
next year	the next year or the following year
this year	that year or the same year
last year	the year before or the previous year

 

[Paulfromitaly]

Reported speech: indirect speech - English Grammar Today - Cambridge Dictionaries Online

Direct and indirect speech
Introduction.
There two ways to convey a message of a person, or the words spoken by a person to other person.

1. Direct speech
2. Indirect speech

Suppose your friend whose name is John tells you in school, “I will give you a pen”. You come to home and you want to tell your brother what your friend told you. There are two ways to tell him.

Direct speech: John said, “I will give you a pen”.
Indirect Speech: John said that he would give me a pen.

In direct speech the original words of person are narrated (no change is made) and are enclosed in quotation mark. While in indirect speech some changes are made in original words of the person because these words have been uttered in past so the tense will change accordingly and pronoun may also be changed accordingly. In indirect speech the statement of the person is not enclosed in quotation marks, the word “that” may be used before the statement to show that it is indirect speech. Indirect speech is also called reported speech because reported speech refers to the second part of indirect speech in which something has been told by a person.

Reporting verb: The verb first part of sentence (i.e. he said, she said, he says, they said, she says,) before the statement of a person in sentence is called reporting verb.

Examples. In all of the following example the reporting verb is “said”.
He said, “I work in a factory” (Direct speech)
He said that he worked in a factory. (Indirect speech)
They said, “we are going to cinema” (Direct speech)
They said that they were going to cinema. (Indirect speech)


Reported Speech. The second part of indirect speech in which something has been told by a person (which is enclosed in quotation marks in direct speech) is called reported speech. For example, a sentence of indirect speech is, He said that he worked in a factory. In this sentence the second part “he worked in a factory” is called reported speech and that is why the indirect speech as a whole can also be called reported speech.


Fundamental rules for indirect speech.

1. Reported speech is not enclosed in quotation marks.
2. Use of word “that”: The word “that” is used as a conjunction between the reporting verb and reported speech.
3. Change in pronoun: The pronoun (subject) of the reported speech is changed according to the pronoun of reporting verb or object (person) of reporting verb (first part of sentence). Sometimes the pronoun may not change.

In following example the pronoun of reported speech is “I” which will be changed in indirect speech into the pronoun (Subject) of reporting verb that is “he”.

Example.
Direct speech: He said, “I am happy”
Indirect Speech: He said that he was happy.
Direct speech: I said to him, “you are intelligent”
Indirect Speech: I said him that he was intelligent. (“You” changed to “he” the person of object of reporting verb)

1. Change in time: Time is changed according to certain rules like now to then, today to that day, tomorrow to next day and yesterday to previous day.

Examples.
Direct speech: He said, “I am happy today”
Indirect Speech: He said that he was happy that day.

1. Change in the tense of reported speech: If the first part of sentence (reporting verb part) belongs to past tense the tense of reported speech will change. If the first part of sentence (reporting verb part) belongs to present or future tense, the tense of reported speech will not change.

Examples.
Direct speech: He said, “I am happy”
Indirect Speech: He said that he was happy. (Tense of reported speech changed)
Direct speech: He says, “I am happy”
Indirect Speech: He said that he is happy. (Tense of reported speech didn’t change)

Table for change in tense of reported speech for all TENSES.


PRESENT SIMPLE changes into PAST SIMPLE

He said, “I write a letter” --> He said that he wrote a letter.
She said, “he goes to school daily” --> He said that she went to school daily.
They said, “we love our country” --> They said that they loved their country.
He said, “he does not like computer” --> He said that he did not like computer.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST CONTINUOUS

He said, “he is listening to the music” --> He said that he was listening to the music.
She said, “I am washing my clothes” --> She said that she was washing her clothes.
They said, “we are enjoying the weather” --> They said that they were not enjoying the weather.
She said, “I am not laughing” --> She said that she was not laughing.

PRESENT PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT

She said, “he has finished his work” --> She said that he had finished his work.
He said, “I have started a job” --> He said that he had started a job.
I said, “she have eaten the meal” --> I said that she had eaten the meal.
They said, “we have not gone to New York. --> They said that they had not gone to New York.

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

He said, “I have been studying since 3 O’clock” --> He said that he had been studying since 3 O’clock.
She said, “It has been raining for three days.” --> She said that it been raining for three days.
I said, “She has been working in this office since 2007” --> I said that she had been working in this office since 2007.

PAST SIMPLE changes into PAST PERFECT

He said to me, “you answered correctly” --> He said to me that I had answered correctly.
John said, “they went to cinema” --> John said that they had gone to cinema.
He said, “I made a table” --> He said that he had made a table.
She said, “I didn’t buy a car” --> She said that she had not bought a car.

PAST CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

They said, “we were enjoying the weather” --> They said that they had been enjoying.
He said to me, “ I was waiting for you” --> He said to me that he had been waiting for me.
I said, “It was raining” --> I said that it had been raining.
She said, “I was not laughing” --> She said that she not been laughing.

PAST PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT (tense does not change)

She said, “She had visited a doctor” --> She said that she had visited a doctor.
He said, “I had started a business” --> He said that he had started a business.
I said, “she had eaten the meal” --> I said that she had eaten the meal.
They said, “we had not gone to New York. -->They said they had not gone to New York.

FUTURE SIMPLE TENSE WILL changes into WOULD (NOT into WOULD HAVE!!!)

He said, “I will study the book” --> He said that he would study the book.
She said, “I will buy a computer” --> She said that she would buy a computer.
They said to me, “we will send you gifts” --> They said to me that they would send you gifts.
I said, “I will not take the exam” --> I said that I would not take the exam.

FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE WILL BE changes into WOULD BE

I said to him, “ I will be waiting for him” --> I said to him that I would be waiting for him.
She said,” I will be shifting to new home” -->She said that she would be shifting to a new home.
He said, “I will be working hard” --> He said that he would be working hard.
He said, “he will not be flying kite” --> She said that he would not be flying kites.

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE WILL HAVE changes into WOULD HAVE

He said, “I will have finished the work” --> He said that he would have finished the work.
She said, “they will have passed the examination” --> She said that they would have passed the examination.
He said, “I will have gone” --> He said that he would have gone.

Note: The tense of reported speech may not change if reported speech is a universal truth though its reporting verb belongs to past tense.

Examples.
Direct speech: He said, “Mathematics is a science”
Indirect Speech: He said that mathematics is a science.
Direct speech: He said, “Sun rises in east”
Indirect Speech: He said that sun rises in east. (Tense didn’t change because reported speech is a universal truth thought its reporting verb belongs to past tense)