Leçon 53 · Étape 4: Temps et modaux
« Was going to »
Intermédiaire“Was going to”
Forme et emploi
was/were going to + verbe — un projet passé, souvent resté sans suite
1.Formation
Was / were going to + base verbale, c'est going to transposé au passé : quelque chose que tu avais prévu de faire ou qui devait arriver, vu depuis ce moment-là.
| I / he / she / it | you / we / they | |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmation | I was going to call. | We were going to call. |
| Négation | She wasn't going to say anything. | They weren't going to come. |
| Question | Was he going to stay? | Were you going to tell me? |
| Réponse courte | Yes, he was. / No, he wasn't. | Yes, we were. / No, they weren't. |
À l'oral rapide, going to se prononce souvent gonna : I was gonna call you. C'est utile de le reconnaître, mais à l'écrit (examens, e-mails professionnels), écris going to en entier.
2.Quand l'utiliser
1. Un projet passé qui ne s'est pas réalisé — très souvent suivi de but
I was going to cook tonight, but I got home too late.
J'allais faire à manger ce soir, mais je suis rentré trop tard.
We were going to have a picnic, but it poured all afternoon.
On devait faire un pique-nique, mais il a plu à verse tout l'après-midi.
I wasn't going to buy anything, but the shoes were on sale.
Je n'avais pas l'intention d'acheter quoi que ce soit, mais les chaussures étaient en solde.
2. Une prévision faite dans le passé — à ce moment-là, ça semblait certain (ensuite, ça s'est réalisé ou non)
Everyone knew the final was going to be close.
Tout le monde savait que la finale allait être serrée.
I thought the meeting was going to finish early, but it went on until seven.
Je pensais que la réunion allait finir tôt, mais elle a duré jusqu'à sept heures.
3. Sur le point de faire quelque chose quand on a été interrompu — souvent avec just
I was just going to text you when you called!
J'allais justement t'envoyer un message quand tu as appelé !
Sorry, what were you going to say?
Pardon, qu'est-ce que tu allais dire ?
Une erreur fréquente : « I am going to call you, but I forgot. » Si le projet appartient au passé (but I forgot), going to passe lui aussi au passé : I was going to call you, but I forgot. Bonne nouvelle : c'est exactement comme en français, « je vais t'appeler » devient « j'allais t'appeler ».
3.Comparé aux formes proches
| Phrase | Sens |
|---|---|
| I'm going to call her. | un projet maintenant, pour le futur |
| I was going to call her. | j'avais prévu de l'appeler (en général, je ne l'ai pas fait) |
| I called her. | je l'ai vraiment appelée |
| I was calling her when… | j'étais en train de l'appeler quand… |
| I would have called her, but… | je l'aurais appelée si quelque chose ne m'en avait pas empêché |
| She said she would call. | une promesse ou une prévision vue depuis le passé |
Was going to insiste sur un projet ou une intention déjà là ; would après said / promised insiste sur une promesse ou une prévision. Souvent, les deux conviennent : He said he was going to fix it. / He said he would fix it.
4.Erreurs fréquentes
I was go to call you, but I forgot.I was going to call you, but I forgot.
La forme complète est was going to + verbe.
We are going to visit Hue last summer, but the flights were too expensive.We were going to visit Hue last summer, but the flights were too expensive.
Un projet dans le passé → were, pas are.
She was going to studied abroad.She was going to study abroad.
Après going to, on utilise la base verbale.
I was going to finishing my essay, but I fell asleep.I was going to finish my essay, but I fell asleep.
Pas de -ing après to ici.
My friends was going to come.My friends were going to come.
Sujet pluriel → were.
Exemples
- I was going to call you last night, but my phone died.
- We were going to eat out, but it rained, so we cooked at home.
- Sorry, I was going to tell you about the party, but I forgot.
- I was going to buy a new laptop, but then I saw the price.
