What is future-in-past tense?

Definition
	Future-in-past tense is an absolute-relative tense that refers to a time located in the future, relative to a contextually determined temporal reference point that itself must be located in the past relative to the moment of utterance.

Example (English)
	John left for the front; he would never return.

Generic
	Future-in-past tense is a kind of
	What is absolute-relative tense?

Source
	Comrie 1985b 75

Context for this page:

Concept module: future-in-past tense
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): F
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004

© 2004 SIL International