Future in the Past
The future in the past places an event after a past reference point: A spus că va veni, Avea să vină, Urma să vină.
How It Works
The future in the past describes an event that lay ahead of an earlier reference point.
Keep a future form in reported speech: A spus că va veni means 'He/she said that he/she would come'. Romanian does not automatically replace the future with a conditional just because English uses 'would'.
Avea să: Imperfect a avea plus să and the subjunctive gives a future viewed from the past: Aveam să plec a doua zi (I was to leave the next day).
Urma să: Urma să plece can mean 'He/she was going to leave' or 'was due to leave'. Context determines whether the event happened.
Conditional: A conditional can occur when the statement is hypothetical or carries another modal meaning. It is not the default mechanical translation of English reported 'would'.
Time expressions: Words such as a doua zi (the next day) make the past viewpoint clear. Adapt 'tomorrow' or 'today' when the reporting context changes.
Examples (5)
- Ea a spus că ne va suna mai târziu.
She said she would call us later.
Word by Word: She has said that us will call more late.
Romanian often retains the original future tense (va suna) in reported speech, unlike English which requires a shift to 'would'.
- Mi-a promis ieri că va veni la petrecere dacă poate.
He promised me yesterday that he would come to the party if he can.
Word by Word: To-me has promised yesterday that will come to party if can.
Va veni retains a future form after the past reporting verb. Dacă poate states the open condition on the promise.
- Trenul urma să plece la ora opt, dar a avut întârziere.
The train was going to leave at eight, but it was delayed.
Word by Word: Train-the was-following to leave at hour eight, but has had delay.
'Urma să plece' indicates a scheduled action that was future relative to the past context.
- Nimeni nu știa atunci că el avea să schimbe lumea.
No one knew then that he was to change the world.
Word by Word: Nobody not knew then that he had to change world-the.
Avea să schimbe presents a later event from the past narrator viewpoint and here foreshadows what happened.
- A zis că o să vină mâine.
He said he's going to come tomorrow.
Word by Word: Has said that will to come tomorrow.
In casual speech, the popular future (o să vină) is frequently used even when reporting past statements.
Common Mistakes
Using a participle after the future auxiliary.
A spus că va venit.A spus că va veni.The future uses va + infinitive veni. Venit is a participle and does not form this future.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Learn ordinary future forms in reported speech, such as A spus că va veni, and the past-viewpoint constructions avea să and urma să. The imperfect supplies the earlier viewpoint in those constructions; a conditional has its own hypothetical or modal uses.
- The Present Conditional
The present conditional expresses hypothetical or modal 'would'; contrast that with ordinary reported future va veni rather than automatically substituting a conditional.
Level 3 - Reported Statements With căReported Statements
This pattern is most commonly used in reported speech contexts where a past-tense main verb introduces a subordinate clause describing a future event.
Level 3 - The Imperfect
The imperfect supplies the earlier viewpoint in avea să and urma să, which take a subjunctive in the constructions taught here.
Level 2
Related Patterns
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Future in the Past in Bubblegum
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