The rules of Future in the past are not fundamentally different from the laws according to which many other tenses of English are formed. Nevertheless, it must be recognized that the so-called future in the past is somewhat different from Past Simple, which translates as "past simple" or Present Continuous, which translates as "present continuous". Firstly, in terms of its structure and meaning, Future in the Past is more complicated, and secondly, it is much more interesting.
Definition
But what, exactly, does it all mean? What is the future in the past and why is it needed? Firstly, the answer without any difficulty can be found in the very name of this English tense - Future in the Past - the future is in the past. That is, a person who usesFuture in the Past, in the vast majority of cases, speaks of a certain situation in the future. Most often, the person himself speaks, thinks or feels in the past tense. Therefore, to some extent, this can be called a transition from the past to the future. Also, quite often at the beginning of a sentence built according to the rules of Future in the Past, there are phrases like he said, she felt, they thought, and so on. That is, there may well be an emotional or sensual color.
Speech rules
In general, the rules of Future in the Past are consistent with the rules of education of other times. For example, the defining system of the English language (namely, subject, predicate and object) remains the same. But instead of the already annoying auxiliary verbs to be (am, is, are - in present tenses, was, were - in past tenses, will - in future tenses), it is necessary to use the verb "would". It translates as "could", but in the context it can have many other meanings. This is quite common in English.
You can find several species that are formed according to the rules of Future in the Past. And each time the meaning of the sentence changes somewhat. One of the most important and frequently used is the Future Simple in the Past rule. Let's consider its application further.
Rules Present Future Simple Past
In the simplest version of Future in the Past, as always, the subject comes out at the beginning (I, it, you, we, she, he, they),without which not a single sentence of the English language is formed. Then comes the auxiliary verb would. And then the verb itself, which explains what action the object performs. It is important to remember that in this case the usual prefix to the infinitive to is not added. As for the meaning, everything is extremely simple here. The person is simply talking about what might happen in the future. Often he means his aspirations, desires, plans, or something similar.
When we need to say something that we think will never happen in the future, we should use the following system. The subject (for example, I, it, you, we, she, he, they), followed by the auxiliary verb would, and the particle not is added to it. We can say would not, or we can shorten it to make wouldn't. Same with should: often say or write shouldn't.
Examples
First example: Frederick was sure that you would be definitely late to the movie. Translation: Frederic thought you would definitely be late for the movie.
Second example: James knew she would definitely help her friends and family. Translation: James knew that she would no doubt help her friends and family.
Third example: Eleonora told her parents that Jon would call his friend in time. Translation: Eleanor told her parents that John would call his friend in time.
Future Continuous in the Past
Although it is not used as often, it is worth mentioning that, according to the rules of Past FutureContinuous in the Past, requires the verb ending ing. First we write or say the subject, then we add the verb would, and then things get a little more complicated. We don't just add the ending ing to the verb. No, we also have to use the long-suffering verb be. For example, the sentence "We will surely be doing it tomorrow at the same time" can be translated into English as: We would surely be doing it tomorrow at the same time. The bottom line is that according to the rules of Present Past Future Continuous, elements of the passive voice are added. With him, by the way, you need to be very careful, as he can overload the sentence extremely.
More examples
First example: I knew that my twin-brother would be doing laundry next Saturday. Translation: I knew my twin brother would be cleaning next Saturday.
Second example: My friend told me that he would be swimming next friday. Translation: My friend told me that he will swim next Friday.
Future Perfect in the Past
In the first place, which is not surprising, is the subject. It is followed by the auxiliary verb would. In third place is another link necessary to determine the time have been. And at the end, a verb is added that reveals the meaning of the sentence. If it is incorrect, then the particle ed is added, and if it is correct, then the verb is put in the third form. An example would be the sentence: "I will finish this business by next month." It's pretty easy to translate. There is nothing special about him,who already knows English well. I would have done the work by the following month.
It's really quite simple. We refer to Future in the Past, when in the past someone said something that will happen or can only happen in the future.
If we need to pay special attention to the object on which the action is performed, and not to the performer, then we need to turn to the passive voice. In this case, a completely different subject comes to the fore. For example, the proverbial sentence "I will finish this business by next week" can be restructured into a slightly different sentence: "This business will be finished by next month." In English, it would be written like this: This work would have been done by the following month.
Future Perfect Continuous in the Past
You can hardly find a tense in English that is used as rarely as the Future Perfect Continuous in the Past. The subject comes first. It is followed by the auxiliary verb would, and then have been. In conclusion, a verb with the ending ing is put. These times are used in exceptional cases. For example, if a person says that some anniversary will happen in the future. And at the same time, he even says, so to speak, in the past.
Several examples
An example would be this sentence: She said to us that he would have been doing it for three years nest October. Translation: She told usthat next October he will have been doing this for three years.
The second example is a perfect sentence: "My sister mentioned that our common friend would have been swimming for five minutes by that time". - "My sister mentioned that he will have been swimming for five minutes by then."
A third example would be another sentence with a similar theme: "My Mother told me in secret that she would have been cleaning our house for three hours next hour". - "My mother told me in confidence that in an hour it will be three hours since she was cleaning our house."
Conclusion
All English tenses are important and have their rightful place in the structure of the language. Many of them are extremely rare. Others, on the contrary, are almost nowhere to be found. Even in written sources and ancient books. But this does not negate their value, since sometimes they can still be used against all odds. Knowing the rules of Future in the Past, you can avoid many mistakes in writing and speaking that educated people would certainly notice.
