過去から見た未来(was going to / would)The Future Seen From the Past
時制・相 / Tense & Aspect
過去のある時点に立って、そこから先を見るときの形です。was going to は「するつもりだった」で、実際にはしなかったことを匂わせるのが普通。would は「後にそうなった」で、物語の語りに使います。同じ「過去から見た未来」でも、実現したかどうかで語が分かれます。
These are the forms for standing at a point in the past and looking forward from it. Was going to means you intended something, and it usually hints that it never happened. Would means it did happen later, which is why storytelling reaches for it. Both look ahead from the past; what separates them is whether the thing came off.
実現したか、しなかったか
Did It Happen or Not
was going to は、その時点で予定していたことを指します。ところが英語ではこの形を使うと、たいてい「それで、しなかったんだけどね」という続きが期待されます。実際にやったのなら planned to や as planned のほうが素直です。一方 would は、語り手が結末を知っている立場から先を指す形。物語や振り返りで生きます。
Was going to names what you had lined up at that moment. In practice, though, the form sets up an expectation that it didn't come off, so listeners wait for the but. If it did happen, planned to or as planned reads more straightforwardly. Would, by contrast, points forward from a narrator who already knows how things turned out, which is why it belongs to stories and retrospectives.
3つの言い方Three ways to look forward
I wasこの文の組み立て【過去における未来】was/were going to で「そうするつもりだった」。実際にはしなかった、という含みを持つことが多い。going to call you, but my phone died.
電話しようと思っていたんだけど、充電が切れて。
しなかったことを匂わせる。but が続くのが自然。Hints that it didn't happen, and a but follows naturally.
He had no idea he would never see her again.
二度と彼女に会えないとは、彼は知る由もなかった。
結末を知っている語り手の視点。物語の型。A narrator who already knows the ending. Pure storytelling.
She was to become theなぜ the なのか【最上級・序数・only】最上級や first / last / only / 序数が付くと対象が一つに決まるので the が要る。 first woman to hold theなぜ the なのか【その場で一つに決まる】話し手と聞き手のいる状況で、どれを指すか一つに決まるから the。日本語なら「（例の）」「うちの」を補って読むと感覚が近い。 post.
彼女は後にその職に就く初の女性となる。
was to は運命的な響き。伝記や歴史の記述で使う。Was to carries a note of destiny, at home in biography and history.
was going to(実現しなかった含み)
予定していたが、しなかった。言い訳や説明で使う。You intended it and didn't do it. The stuff of explanations.
We were going to move house, but the sale fell through.
引っ越すつもりだったが、売買が流れた。
would(実際にそうなった)
後にそうなったことを、先取りして示す。語りの視点。Flags what did come to pass, told from a narrator's vantage.
That decision would change the company for good.
その決定が、会社を決定的に変えることになる。
よくある間違い / Common Mistake
×I was going to submit the report on Friday, and I submitted it on Friday.
金曜に報告書を出す予定で、予定どおり金曜に出しました。(のつもりで)
○I planned to submit the report on Friday, and I submitted it as planned.
金曜に報告書を出す予定で、予定どおり金曜に出しました。
was going to は「するつもりだった(が、しなかった)」という含みを持つため、実行した話と噛み合いません。読み手は but を待って、来ないので座りの悪さを感じます。予定どおり実行したと言いたいなら planned to や as planned を使ってください。was going to が生きるのは、できなかった理由を説明する場面です。含みを持つ表現は、含みが合う場面でだけ使うのが安全です。
Was going to carries the sense of intended but didn't, which clashes with reporting that you did. The reader waits for a but that never arrives, and the sentence sits awkwardly. To say something went as intended, use planned to or as planned. Was going to earns its place when you're explaining why something fell through. An expression with an implication built in should only be used where that implication fits.
I was going to ..., but ...〜するつもりだったがbut とセットで使うのが自然。理由の説明に向く。Natural with a but attached. Built for explaining what got in the way.
would later ...後に〜することになるlater を添えて語りの視点を明示する。伝記で頻出。Later makes the narrator's vantage explicit. Common in biography.
was to become ...後に〜となる運命的な響き。歴史や人物紹介の書き言葉。Carries a sense of destiny. Written history and profiles.
had been going to ...〜するつもりでいたさらに前の時点の予定。過去完了と組んだ形で、出番は少ない。An intention from even further back, built on the past perfect. Rarely needed.
まとめ / Summary
was going to は「するつもりだった(が、しなかった)」。Was going to means intended, and usually didn't happen.
実行したなら planned to / as planned を使う。If it did happen, use planned to or as planned.
would は結末を知る語り手が先取りして示す形。Would flags what came to pass, told from a narrator who knows.
話法でずれる would も、同じ「過去から見た未来」。The would in reported speech is this same future-in-the-past.