You will be able to describe plans, predictions and arrangements that existed in the past but did not happen, or happened differently from what was expected.
Future in the Past expresses an action or event that was planned, predicted or arranged at a point in the past, but which may not have occurred or occurred differently. It looks back from a past moment to what seemed like the future at that time. The main forms are was or were going to, would, was or were about to, and was or were to.
The board was going to approve the merger in June, but the due diligence revealed serious compliance issues.
The finance director would have forecast higher revenue if the market conditions had remained stable.
The restructuring was about to commence when the stakeholders requested a contingency review.
The contract was to be signed on Friday, but the supplier withdrew at the last moment.
We did not know that the acquisition would prove so difficult to manage.
Oliver was going to present the quarterly forecast, but he fell ill the night before.
Emma would not attend the conference because the budget had been cut.
Short form: Emma wouldn't attend the conference because the budget had been cut.
Was Priya going to submit the compliance report by the deadline?
Was James not going to restructure the department before the merger was cancelled?
Short form: Wasn't James going to restructure the department before the merger was cancelled?
Common mistake. Do not confuse was going to with would. Use was going to for a specific past plan that did not happen; use would for a habitual or predicted action in the past. For example, Sarah was going to contact the supplier (one specific plan that failed) but Sarah would contact the supplier every Monday (a repeated or predicted action).
Choose the correct form for each gap. Your answer is marked at once, with the reason.
1.The merger ___ (proceed) smoothly, but the competing bid from a rival firm derailed the negotiations.
positive2.Tom ___ (restructure) the sales team in March, yet the unexpected recruitment freeze prevented the change.
positive3.The finance team ___ (complete) the due diligence by the end of September, but the stakeholders discovered further liabilities.
positive4.According to the original plan, Aisha ___ (lead) the London office expansion in the following year.
positive5.Daniel ___ (sign) the contract with the supplier last Tuesday, but negotiations over payment terms extended into Wednesday.
positive6.The chief executive ___ (announce) the new framework at the annual conference, but the board asked him to wait.
positive7.As it turned out, the acquisition ___ (prove) far more complex than the initial contingency plan had suggested.
positive8.The project manager ___ (deliver) the final report on schedule, but unforeseen delays in the data analysis phase caused a setback.
positive9.The compliance team knew that they ___ (not / meet) the revised deadline because the documents had not arrived.
negative10.Management warned that the restructuring ___ (achieve) the desired cost savings if employee morale continued to decline.
negative11.Sarah said that she ___ (not / attend) the quarterly review because she would be overseeing a client visit.
negative12.The acquisition partner ___ (proceed) with the merger if the board raised concerns about governance standards.
negative13.___ (the team / deliver) the new database before the year end, or was the plan changed?
question14.Nobody knew whether Oliver ___ (finish) the research in time for the board meeting.
positive15.___ (Priya / present) the contingency plan at the executive meeting that was scheduled for last month?
question16.___ (the chief executive / announce) the new compliance framework at the annual conference held in Bristol in September?
question17.___ (Emma / attend) the supplier summit, or was she managing the Leeds office merger at that time?
question18.___ (you / not / call) the supplier yesterday? You told me it was your plan.
negative question19.___ (Aisha / not / lead) the Manchester project? I thought that was the plan.
negative question20.According to the project timeline, ___ (James / not / start) the system upgrade until the end of the financial year?
negative question