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20.07.2025

Tymur Levitin
Tymur Levitin
Dozent der Abteilung für Übersetzung. Professionelle zertifizierte Übersetzer mit Erfahrung im Übersetzen und Unterrichten von Englisch und Deutsch. Ich unterrichte Menschen in 20 Ländern der Welt. Mein Prinzip beim Unterrichten und bei der Durchführung von Lektionen ist es, vom Auswendiglernen von Regeln wegzukommen und stattdessen zu lernen, die Prinzipien der Sprache zu verstehen und sie auf die gleiche Weise zu verwenden wie das Sprechen und die korrekte Aussprache von Lauten durch das Gefühl, und nicht jedes Mal im Kopf alle Regeln durchzugehen, da dafür beim echten Sprechen keine Zeit sein wird. Man muss immer von der Situation und der Bequemlichkeit ausgehen.
Profil ansehen

Part 1 of the series: “Time Is Not Just Grammar”

Language is logic. But it’s also identity.

Most people think grammar is about correctness. But grammar is about clarity — of thought, of timing, of responsibility.

And sometimes, grammar has to fill a hole in logic.
That’s exactly what Future in the Past does.

The problem English faced — and how it solved it

In English, when you report something from the past, everything shifts “one step back”:

  • Present → Past
  • Past → Past Perfect
  • Future → … ???

Here’s the paradox:
If you shift Future to Present, the whole system collapses.
You can’t say:

❌ He said he will come.

Because “will” is future from the now, not from the past.

So English invented a way out:
“will” became “would”, and with it — a whole new timeline was born.

Grammar is logic — even if nobody told you that

In many schools, students are taught grammar like a list of formulas.
But no one tells them: grammar is logic.

Some people never study formal logic — no class, no textbook, no system.
When I was a student, we didn’t have a subject called “Logic” either.

But the more I studied English grammar, the more I realized:

This is logic.
Not always my logic. Not always easy.
But always structured.

If you study grammar the right way, you’re already learning to:

  • organize your thoughts
  • recognize patterns
  • move along a timeline
  • express cause and effect
  • describe possibilities, conditions, and alternatives

That’s what thinking is.
English grammar just teaches you to think — in its own coordinate system.

Why this sounds scary — but really isn’t

Let’s be honest:
“Future in the Past” sounds like some X-Men timeline paradox.
(And actually, that’s a perfect metaphor — see below.)

But in reality, all that changes is one word:
will → would
shall → should

That’s it.
The rest is just perspective.

The X-Men Paradox: Days of Future Past

Ever heard of the film X-Men: Days of Future Past?

Sounds ridiculous — until you realize:

It’s about the future,
seen from a moment in the past,
that might have already ended
or never happened.

Exactly what Future in the Past does.
It allows us to talk about a future that was once imagined — but is now over.

The ceiling metaphor: looking from the side

Imagine looking at a ceiling. Now look at that same ceiling — but from behind your shoulder.

Same object. Different angle.

Future in the Past is that angle.
It’s not a different event — it’s a different viewpoint in time.

And here’s the real point:

You are responsible for what you say.
Not for how others interpret it.

If you understand your message — you can always explain it.
But if you don’t — how will they understand you?

That’s why grammar matters. Not for perfection.
But for ownership of your words.

Final thought — for now

Most people never ask:
“Why does this tense exist?”
They memorize it. They fear it.
But they don’t stop to ask warum.

And once you ask that —
you realize that Future in the Past isn’t a tense.
It’s a timeline. A lens. A logic. A choice.

And the better you see it —
the clearer your thoughts become.

© Tymur Levitin
Founder & Lead Educator, Levitin Language School
Author’s Column — “The Language I Live”
Personal page: https://www.facebook.com/@timurlevitin

Coming up next:
“How Many Tenses Are There — Really?”
Part 2 of this series

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