C2ProficiencyTenses

Tense and aspect: was to have done

He was never to return, it was to have opened in May, she would sit for hours, I was wondering.

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By C2 you know every tense. What remains are the finer choices: forms that look forward from a point in the past or back at a plan that failed, the past used for politeness rather than for time, and the continuous used for behaviour rather than for action. This page collects the uses that advanced learners most often meet in reading and want to use themselves.

Form	Use	Example
was / were to + verb	what happened later, or a fixed plan	He was never to see his family again.
was / were to have + past participle	a plan that did not happen	The bridge was to have opened in May.
would + verb	repeated actions in a story about the past	Every evening she would sit by the window.
past simple / past continuous	distance and politeness, with a present meaning	I was wondering if you could help.
be in the continuous	how someone is behaving at the time	You're being very patient.
present perfect after the first time	an experience up to now	It's the first time I've been here.

Was to: what happened later

Was / were to + verb looks forward from a point in the past to what happened later, often something important or sad. It is common in biographies and stories. It can also describe a fixed plan or arrangement in the past.

In 1845 he left Ireland. He was never to return.
He did not know it then, but he never returned.
It was a decision that was to change her life.
We were to meet at the station at six.
That was the arrangement. Was to + verb doesn't say whether it happened; we were to have met would mean we didn't.

Was to have done: a plan that did not happen

Was / were to have + past participle describes something that was planned or expected, but did not happen. The same meaning is often given by was supposed to or was going to.

The bridge was to have opened in May, but the work was delayed.
She was to have been the main speaker, but she fell ill.
The concert was to have taken place outdoors, but the rain forced it indoors.
It was planned for outdoors, but that did not happen.

Would in stories about the past

In a narrative, would + verb describes repeated actions that were typical of a period, often after a past simple or used to has set the scene. It is not used for states, as you saw at B1. Would also tells the reader what happened later, like was to.

When we were children, we spent every summer at the coast. We would get up early and would run down to the beach before breakfast.
My grandfather would sit for hours with his newspaper, saying nothing.
She left school at sixteen. Ten years later, she would become the youngest director in the company's history.
Looking forward from the past.
Incorrect: In those days, we would have a small house near the river.
Correct: In those days, we used to have a small house near the river. / we had a small house ...
Having a house is a state, so would is not possible.

The past for distance and politeness

The past simple and past continuous can describe the present when you want to sound less direct. They make a request, an offer or a question softer. The past continuous often sounds the softest.

I was wondering if you could help me with something.
I wanted to ask you about the report.
Did you want a coffee?
Do you want a coffee? said more gently.
We were hoping you might join us on Friday.

Be in the continuous: you're being silly

Be is normally a state verb. In the continuous, be + adjective describes how someone is behaving at the moment, often in a way that is not typical of them. It works with adjectives of behaviour: rude, silly, kind, patient, difficult, careful, unreasonable.

You're being very patient with him today.
Stop it, you're being silly.
He was being difficult, so we left.
Incorrect: I'm being tired after the journey.
Correct: I'm tired after the journey.
Tired is a state, not a way of behaving, so the continuous is not possible.

Other state verbs can also take the continuous when the meaning changes or is temporary: I'm thinking of moving (considering), We're having dinner (eating). In informal speech you will also hear I'm loving this weather, which stresses a present feeling.

It's the first time and it's high time

After it's the first time / the second time / the only time, use the present perfect: the experience goes up to now. For the past, use it was the first time + past perfect.

It's the first time I've been to Scotland.
It was the first time she had flown on her own.
Incorrect: It's the first time I am in Scotland.
Correct: It's the first time I've been to Scotland.
The first time counts experiences up to now, so it takes the present perfect.

It's time and it's high time + subject + past simple say that something should already be happening. The past form has a present meaning, as you saw at B2.

It's high time the government took this problem seriously.
It's about time you started revising.

The present in stories and headlines

The present simple can tell a past story, especially in speech and jokes, to make it more vivid. Newspaper headlines use it for recent events.