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⏱ 12 Mins • C1 Mastery Unit: Intellectual Property & Copyright Online

Past plans: was to, about to, due to, would later, was going to have

Learn five small ways to say what people planned in the past, and what happened next.

👩‍🏫 For the Teacher

Spend 12 minutes in total letting students work through the rules and items individually. Check the answers together through open class discussion at the end.

🎯 For the Learner

First, read the 4 rules in the table carefully and look at the sample sentences. Next, complete all 12 practice tasks from start to finish.

📋 Four patterns to learn

was / were to + verb

Pattern 1: a plan

Use was to (or were to) for a plan that people made before. It says what was supposed to happen later. After to, use the short verb: say "was to come", not "was to came".

• The young artist was to get a special licence for her song.

• The album was to come out in March, but a court order delayed it.

about to / due to

Pattern 2: very soon / set time

Use was about to when something was going to start in the very next moment. Use was due to when something had a set time, like noon or Friday. Use the short verb after both: say "due to arrive", not "due to arriving".

• The lawyer was about to send the letter, which was due the next day.

• The licence letter was due to arrive on Friday morning.

would later + verb

Pattern 3: what really happened

Use would later to look back and say what really happened after that. It tells a true story, not a plan. Say "would later regret it", not "would later regretted it". Do not use it for something that did not happen.

• She sold her first design for very little and would later regret it.

• The boy shared the song and would later break some important rules.

was going to have + done form

Pattern 4: a plan that did not happen

Use was going to have when people wanted to finish a job before a time in the past. After have, use the "done" form of the verb, like recorded. It often comes with but, because the job did not get done. Say "was going to have recorded", not "was going to have record".

• The studio was going to have recorded the song by June, but the singer fell ill.

• The team was going to have finished the work by noon, but the power went out.

Practice Arena

Apply the 4 patterns across 12 graded challenges.

12 Questions

Section A: Choose the Correct Sentence

Pick the sentence that accurately uses the target grammar structure.

Question 1 (immediate)

Which sentence correctly expresses an action that was right on the verge of taking place?

____ a. The engineer was about to delete the leaked patent file ____ b. The engineer was due to deleting the leaked patent file ____ c. The engineer was going to have delete the leaked patent file

Question 2 (outcome)

Which sentence correctly describes a later event that truly happened in the real world?

____ a. The musician uploaded the remix and was about to win an award but lost ____ b. The musician uploaded the remix and would later win an award ____ c. The musician uploaded the remix and was to have win an award

Question 3 (schedule)

Which sentence correctly expresses a planned event set for a specific calendar time?

____ a. The legal counsel would later reviewing the licence at noon ____ b. The legal counsel was about to review the licence at noon yesterday ____ c. The legal counsel was due to review the licence at noon

Section B: Fill in the Gaps

Complete each sentence with the correct future-in-the-past structure.

Question 4 (plan)

Under the terms agreed in court, the enterprise [ ___ ] (gain) exclusive rights to the algorithm.

____ (Type verb phrase...)

Question 5 (deadline)

The compliance officers [ ___ ] (close) the licensing loophole before the audit began, but unexpected delays occurred.

____ (Type verb phrase...)

Question 6 (immediate)

The investigator [ ___ ] (send) an urgent takedown request when the server crashed.

____ (Type verb phrase...)

Section C: Rewrite the Sentences

Rewrite the prompt sentence using the exact grammatical pattern signaled by the clue.

Question 7 (plan)

Original: The startup arranged to sell the patent to a major rival.

Complete the rewrite:

The startup ____ (Type your rewrite...) the patent to a major rival.

Question 8 (outcome)

Original: At that point nobody knew that the platform would ultimately infringe digital copyright.

Complete the rewrite:

The platform ____ (Type your rewrite...) digital copyright.

Question 9 (deadline)

Original: Authorities expected to complete the seizure of counterfeit goods before dawn, but the shipment route changed.

Complete the rewrite:

Authorities ____ (Type your rewrite...) the seizure of counterfeit goods before dawn but the shipment route changed.

Section D: Correct the Error in a Short Message

Read each workplace chat message, spot the single grammar error, and type the correct verb phrase.

Question 10 (schedule)

💬 Slack Message from Trademark Lawyer:

"Hi Team! Quick reminder that our trademark renewal was about to expire at 5:00 PM yesterday according to the court schedule."

Replace the highlighted error with the correct future-in-the-past structure for fixed schedules:

____ (Type correct form...)

Question 11 (outcome)

💬 Email Note from Record Producer:

"She distributed the online remix without permission and was going to have faced serious legal sanctions two years later."

Replace the highlighted error with the structure showing what genuinely transpired later:

____ (Type correct form...)

Question 12 (deadline)

💬 Teams Chat from Anti-Piracy Squad:

"Our team was to dismantled the entire piracy website before midnight, but the server was mirrored overseas."

Replace the highlighted error with the structure for an unfulfilled deadline:

____ (Type correct form...)

Future in the Past: Was To, Was About To, Was Due To

Past plans: was to, about to, due to, would later, was going to have

📋 Four patterns to learn

Practice Arena

Section A: Choose the Correct Sentence

Section B: Fill in the Gaps

Section C: Rewrite the Sentences

Section D: Correct the Error in a Short Message

Related lessons

Class activity: Plan and Outcome Files (Intellectual Property Game)

IELTS Speaking: Intellectual Property and Copyright

Intellectual Property and Copyright Online

IELTS Writing: Intellectual Property and Copyright

Inversion and Cleft Sentences

Mixed Conditionals: Past Condition, Present Result