7/25/2019 Spotlight 0712 50 Grammar

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50 Spotlight 7|12

Every month in this section, ROBERT PARR uses noteson a short dialogue to present and explain a key point

of grammar.

Exercise

The future seen from the past

LANGUAGE | The Grammar Page

Reply to the questions (ad). Use was/were going to

and an appropriate ending.

a) Did you play tennis with John yesterday?

I __________________________________, but then

____________________________________________.

b) Did your brother apply for that job he saw in the

paper?

He __________________________________, but then

____________________________________________.

c) Did you watch that programme about the Olympics

on TV last night?

We __________________________________, but then____________________________________________.

d) Did your parents go to Spain for their holiday?

They __________________________________, but then

____________________________________________.

Answersa)Iwasgoingto(playtenniswithhim),butthenhehurthisfinger,andwe

hadtopostpone(verschieben)it.

b)Hewasgoingto(applyforit),butthenhewasofferedajobsomewhereelse.

c)Weweregoingto(watchit),butthenwewentoutfordinnerinstead.

d)Theyweregoingto(gotoSpain),butthentheydecidedtogotoGreece

again.

(Otheranswersare,ofcourse,possible.)

To talk about future

events seen from the

past, we use the past

tense of the verb we

would use in the pres-

ent to talk about the

future. Here, Anna

uses the past tense of

be going to.

1. Anna is talking to her sister, Laura, on the phone.

Laura: Did you see Mum yesterday?Anna: Yes. We were going to 1 have lunch somewhere in

town, but in the end we decided not to.Laura: Did Mum cook?Anna: No, I did. We knew the weather would2 be good in

the afternoon and wed2 be able to sit outside.Laura: ats nice. I bet Mum liked that.Anna: She did. She was visiting 3 Margaret in the evening,

so actually it was good she didnt go out in themorning as well.

Laura: I see.Anna: She said shed4 take a taxi to Margarets, but I drove

her over. Its only five minutes down the road.

4.

Remember!

The form was/were going to + the infinitive often ex-

presses what someone planned to do but did not do

(see 1 above). Sentences of this kind with was/were

going to usually include a different or surprising idea

and have but in them:

We were going to drive to London, but in the end we

took the train.

Often, was/were going to is used to say one is sorry

or to make an excuse (Ausrede):

I was going to reply to your e-mail, but then I

thought Id ring you instead.

The words was going to and were going to can be

pronounced separately, but in fast natural speech,

people often run them together and pronounce them

as weak forms: was [wEz], were [wE] and going to

[(gEnE]. The first sentence from the dialogue could

sound like this:

We were going to go out for lunch. [wE (gEnE]

Beyond the basics

Here, Anna uses

would, the past of

will, to report what

she and her mother

thought: The weather

will be good, Well be

able to...

2.

In direct speech,

Annas mother would

have used the pres-

ent continuous: Im

visiting Margaret.

Here, to report her

mothers plans, Anna

uses the past form:

She was visiting.

3.

Annas mothers ac-

tual words were: Ill

take a taxi... Anna

uses would (d) to

report what her

mother said.