Ask AI: Some examples of the future tense in the past with explanations

Using the future tense in the past is a common way to convey ideas pertaining to plans, predictions, or intentions from a past perspective. This is often done using "was/were going to" or "would". 1. Going to: - "I was going to go to the gym yesterday." In this example, it shows an intention or plan in the past that may or may not have been fulfilled. At some point in the past, you made a plan to go to the gym. 2. Would: - "We thought it would rain yesterday." This is considered future in the past because at some point in the past, we thought, or predicted, that it would rain in what was then the future. 3. Would: - "I said I would help her move the furniture." Here, in the past, you made a promise or claim about a future action. 4. Was/Were Going to: - "They were going to study last night." This implies that studying was a plan or intention at some point in the past, but it's purposefully left unclear if the studying did happen or not. 5. Other auxiliaries: - "He claimed he could finish the report by yesterday." In this case, "could" is used to denote future capability in the past. 6. Simple past for future events: - "She hoped she got the job." Here, "got" is in the simple past but denotes a future event because at the time of hoping, getting the job was a future event. These forms allow us to talk about future intentions, predictions, likelihoods, and possibilities from a past point of view.

are: 1. "I had thought I would finish the project by now." - This sentence is an example of the past perfect tense. The speaker is looking back in the past to an earlier time when they had a certain expectation (the belief that they would finish the project). However, since they have not yet finished the project, this expectation has since changed. 2. "I expected I would get the job." - This sentence is an example of the past future tense. The speaker is looking back in the past to a time when they had a certain expectation (the expectation of getting the job). However, since they did not get the job, this expectation has changed. 3. "I was going to take the train home." - This sentence is an example of the past continuous tense. The speaker is looking back in the past to a time when they were in the process of taking the train home. However, something happened to prevent them from taking the train home and their plans have since changed.