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ESL forum >
Ask for help > future in the past
future in the past
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jg574
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future in the past
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hi!!please I need your help!!I cannot understand the difference between "was going to " and "was about to"/was on the verge of". i think both refer to intentions in the past so that �s why i cannot explain it to my students. please can anybody help me?
thanks in advance
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6 Sep 2010
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paugyg
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I believe "was going to" implies that you had a plan, but then you changed your mind or something happened that prevented you from doing it.
For example, "I was going to tell her the truth, but I couldn �t do it".
"was about to" implies some kind of action that was interrupted.
For example, "I was about to leave for the party when Joan arrived". (meaning your action of leaving for the party was interrupted by the arrival of Joan).
I don �t know if I �m right here, let �s see what the others say.
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7 Sep 2010
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Apodo
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paugyg has given a good explanation.
I was going to explain, then just as I was about to send my message I realised that a good explanation had already been given, so my explanation was unnecessary.
(not quite true, but I used it as an example 8-) |
7 Sep 2010
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