Skulle + infinitive

Level 5

Use skulle + a verb in its base form (infinitive) to say 'was going to' or 'would' do something.

How It Works

The 'future in the past' tense, formed with skulle + infinitive, is used to describe an action or event that was in the future from a specific point in the past. It's essential for storytelling and reported speech.

Structure:
Subject + skulle + Verb (infinitive)

Think of it as a time shift. What was once a future plan becomes a past intention when you narrate it later.

  • Present/Future perspective: Jag ska resa imorgon. (I will travel tomorrow.)
  • Past perspective (narrating later): Jag sa igår att jag skulle resa idag. (I said yesterday that I would travel today.)

This construction is very common in reported speech. When you report what someone said about their future plans, ska commonly becomes skulle when the report adopts the earlier time perspective. If the event is still future from the speaker’s present perspective, ska can remain.

  • Direct quote: Han sa: "Jag ska ringa dig." (He said: "I will call you.")
  • Indirect speech: Han sa att han skulle ringa mig. (He said that he would call me.)

It's important not to confuse this with the conditional 'skulle', which expresses hypothetical situations ('I would do it if...'). While they use the same word, the context makes the meaning clear. The future in the past describes something that was a real plan or expectation at a past time.

Was Going To Does Not Mean Did Not
Skulle locates the event after a past reference point; it does not by itself say whether the event happened. In Vi skulle åka till Frankrike, men vi ändrade oss, the second clause tells you the plan changed.

A report may keep the speaker’s current viewpoint: Igår sa hon att hon ska komma i morgon is valid when her coming is still future now. Skulle is not required merely because sa is past tense.

Examples (4)

  1. Jag visste att du skulle komma.

    I knew that you would come.

    Word by Word: I knew that you would come.

    From the past perspective of 'knowing' (visste), the 'coming' was a future event.

  2. Vi skulle åka till Frankrike, men vi ändrade oss.

    We were going to go to France, but we changed our minds.

    Word by Word: We would go to France, but we changed us.

    This describes a past plan that did not happen.

  3. Hon lovade att hon skulle hjälpa mig med flytten.

    She promised that she would help me with the move.

    Word by Word: She promised that she would help me with the-move.

    This is a classic example of reported speech. Her promise to help was for a future time relative to when she made the promise.

  4. När jag var liten trodde jag att vi skulle ha flygande bilar nu.

    When I was little, I thought we would have flying cars by now.

    Word by Word: When I was little thought I that we would have flying cars now.

    This expresses a past belief about what the future (which is now the present or past) would be like.

Common Mistakes

  • Confusing 'skulle + infinitive' with the pluperfect 'hade + supinum'.

    Jag trodde att du hade kommit nästa dag.
    Jag trodde att du skulle komma nästa dag.

    The pluperfect ('hade kommit' - had come) describes an action that was already completed before the past point of reference. 'Skulle komma' describes an action that was still in the future from that past point.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Skulle + infinitiveLevel 5

Learn This First

To understand the 'future in the past' (skulle + infinitive), you need to be familiar with the basic future tense using 'ska'. Since this pattern is primarily used to report past intentions or predictions, you also need to understand how reported speech (indirect speech) works in Swedish and how verb tenses shift when moving from a present to a past perspective.

Words in This Pattern

skulleska