Le futur dans le passé : was going to, would, was about to

Dans un récit au passé, comment parler de ce qui allait se passer ensuite ? L'anglais met simplement les formes du futur au passé.

Forme	Sens	Exemple
was / were going to + base	intention passée (souvent non réalisée)	I was going to call you, but I forgot.
would + base	futur dans un récit ou au discours indirect	He said he would come. / She knew she would succeed.
was / were about to + base	sur le point de	We were about to leave when it started to rain.
was / were to + base	destin (style littéraire)	He was to become president ten years later.
was / were + -ing	projet organisé dans le passé	She was leaving the next day, so she packed.

Au discours indirect

« I will help you. » → He said he would help me. / « I'm going to move. » → She said she was going to move.

Il a dit qu'il m'aiderait. / Elle a dit qu'elle allait déménager.

Little did she know that this meeting would change her life. / He was to die two years later.

Elle ignorait que cette rencontre allait changer sa vie. / Il devait mourir deux ans plus tard.

Mia : Weren't you going to spend the summer in Canada?

Tu ne devais pas passer l'été au Canada ?

Ben : I was going to, but my flight was cancelled. I was about to board!

C'était prévu, mais mon vol a été annulé. J'étais sur le point d'embarquer !

Mia : Oh no! The airline said they would refund you, I hope?

Oh non ! La compagnie a dit qu'elle te rembourserait, j'espère ?

Ben : Yes. And I didn't know it then, but that summer would be the best of my life: I met my girlfriend here!

Oui. Et je ne le savais pas encore, mais cet été allait être le plus beau de ma vie : j'ai rencontré ma copine ici !

À retenir