Futurum preteritum (Future-in-the-Past)

The futurum preteritum in Swedish is used to describe an action that was in the future at some point in the past, often translated in English as "would" + verb.
It expresses plans, intentions, or predictions viewed from a past perspective.

Mood:

Indicative — used for factual statements, reports, or assumptions about actions that were expected or intended to happen after a certain point in the past.

Usage:

• To talk about future plans from a past perspective:
  Jag visste att jag skulle resa till Spanien.
  (I knew I would travel to Spain.)
• To express past predictions:
  Han sa att det skulle regna nästa dag.
  (He said it would rain the next day.)
• To describe events that were supposed to happen:
  De trodde att vi skulle vinna matchen.
  (They thought we would win the match.)

Formation:

The futurum preteritum is formed with:

1. skulle (past form of ska)
2. Infinitive form of the main verb

Conjugation Examples:

Arbeta (to work):

Person	Form	Translation
Jag	skulle arbeta	I would work
Du	skulle arbeta	You would work
Han/Hon/Den	skulle arbeta	He/She/It would work
Vi	skulle arbeta	We would work
Ni	skulle arbeta	You (pl.) would work
De	skulle arbeta	They would work

Irregular example – gå (to go):

Person	Form	Translation
Jag	skulle gå	I would go
Du	skulle gå	You would go
Han/Hon/Den	skulle gå	He/She/It would go
Vi	skulle gå	We would go
Ni	skulle gå	You (pl.) would go
De	skulle gå	They would go

Common Time Expressions:

• nästa dag (the next day)
• senare (later)
• följande vecka (the following week)
• då (then)

Examples:

• Hon sa att hon skulle börja ett nytt jobb i januari.
  (She said she would start a new job in January.)
• Vi trodde att det skulle bli varmt, men det snöade.
  (We thought it would be warm, but it snowed.)
• De lovade att de skulle komma i tid.
  (They promised they would arrive on time.)

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Notes:

• Skulle is the past form of ska and does not change for person or number.
• This tense can also be used to express politeness or soften statements in the present: Jag skulle vilja ha en kopp kaffe (I would like a cup of coffee).