(共18张PPT)
Unit 3 Festivals and customs
Grammar and usage
Various forms of future in the past
Perceiving the rules
1
Step
Read the following sentences and focus on the tense in each of them.
Mark and I would spend a few weeks travelling after he graduated.
We were going to spend our holiday in Paris.
The journey that was to change my life started in July that year.
I was about to take a bath when the telephone rang.
was/were going to do
Future in
the past
would do
was/were to do
was/were about to do
We use would do to report an action in the past from a time when it was still in the future.
We use was/were going to do to indicate a past intention or arrangement.
We use was/were to do to mean that the future action actually happened.
We use was/were about to do to show that the action would happen very soon.
Exploring the rules
2
Step
Read the following sentences and pay attention to the words in red.
When I was a kid, I would always go to the beach.
I was going to see a documentary film about the Spring Festival with Joanna on Saturday, but she didn’t feel well, so I just stayed at home.
Colin was about to get off the camel when a child ran towards him.
When I was a kid, I would always go to the beach.
Would do can indicate the repetition of an action in the past.
I was going to see a documentary film about the Spring Festival with Joanna on Saturday, but she didn't feel well, so I just stayed at home.
Was/Were going to do can mean somebody had intended to do something but didn’t do it, or something that was supposed to happen didn’t actually happen.
Colin was about to get off the camel when a child
ran towards him.
Was/Were about to do expresses the very near future and it is usually used with the conjunction when.
I’m so sorry. I was going to prepare the reports today but I completely forgot about them.
Please accept my apologies. I thought the order would be complete by now but there’s been a delay at the factory.
Read the following sentences and pay attention to the words in red.
Was/Were going to do and would do can be used to introduce apologies. It can introduce an excuse or explanation of why an event didn’t happen as planned.
Read the following sentences and pay attention to the words in red.
Simon hurried into the carriage. The train was leaving in a few minutes.
He told me that he was going to bed because it
was too late.
The bus was coming, so he left.
Was/Were doing can also be used to describe an action in the future from the perspective of some point in the past. This happens especially with verbs such as go, come, start, leave and arrive.
Applying the rules
3
Step
Choose the best answer.
Every time they met, they ________ talk about former classmates they remembered.
A. could B. would C. should D. will
She left at 8 a.m. and ________ the airport in an hour.
A. would reach B. will reach
C. had reached D. reached
-Why didn’t you come to my party
-I’m sorry. I ________ but my teacher called and asked me to go to his office.
A. will B. would C. was going to D. was to
They ________ a basketball match when I saw them.
A. had B. would have
C. are having D. were about to have
Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the words in the brackets.
They made up their mind that they _____________
(buy) a new house at once.
This was the beginning of a civil war that _____________ (last) for nearly four years.
He told me the conference _____________ (start) in half an hour.
We could see that the fence _____________ (fall) down before long, so we had it mended.
would buy
was to last
was starting
was going to fall
I ________________ him missing when he walked through the door.
It was announced that the president _____________ (visit) Thailand in July.
When I was a teenager, I _____________ (talk) with my parents every evening .
It was his last day at school—he _____________ (leave) the next morning.
was to visit
was about to report
was to leave
would talk
Complete the following diary.
15th July
Since ________________ (我们将要看日出) in the desert early today, we decided to go to bed earlier than usual last night. Just as ________________ (我们正要进入睡袋), strong winds began to blow. We thought ________________ (大风将持续到早上), and that ________________ (我们将看不到天上任何东西) except sand. We were all upset, but my friend Mike decided that ________________ (他会早起) anyway. Luckily, when we got up this morning, we found the weather was extraordinary. The sun rose, as it always does, in the sky. We sat in total silence and looked at the beautiful pinks and yellows of the sunrise. We didn’t stayed for very long because _____________________ (我们要离开前往下一个目的地) . It was something that _____________________ (我永远不会忘记).
15th July
Since we were going to watch the sunrise in the desert early today, we decided to go to bed earlier than usual last night. Just as we were about to get into our sleeping bags, strong winds began to blow. We thought the strong winds would last until morning, and that we wouldn’t see anything in the sky except sand. We were all upset, but my friend Mike decided that he would get up early anyway. Luckily, when we got up this morning, we found the weather was extraordinary. The sun rose, as it always does, in the sky. We sat in total silence and looked at the beautiful pinks and yellows of the sunrise. We didn’t stay for very long because we were to leave for the next destination. It was something that I would never forget.
A possible sample
Task
Write a short passage about your former plan using future in the past.