Future in the past + but

[BrunaBC]

Hello,

According to my understanding, after a sentence using the future in the past, it is necessary a connective of contrast, such as "but", like in the example below:

- He was going to travel to Canada, but he changed his mind and ended up going to Australia.

One of my students asked me if the cennective "so" could be used instead of "but". I said no because "so" does not introduce an idea of contrast. However she was not convinced because in our mother language (portuguese) it would be possible.

Am I right?

Thank you.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Hello,

According to my understanding, after a sentence using the future in the past, it is necessary to use a connective of contrast, such as "but", as in the example below:

- He was going to travel to Canada, but he changed his mind and ended up going to Australia.

One of my students asked me if the cennective "so" could be used instead of "but". I said no because "so" does not introduce an idea of contrast. However she was not convinced because in our mother language (Portuguese) it would be possible.

Am I right?

Thank you.

Yes, you are correct. Please see my corrections to your question.

 

[BrunaBC]

Thanks for your reply. But why can't I say "It is necessary a connective"?
And Why is "like" wrong in my sentence? I understand that they are interchangeable: like I said = as I said.

thank you.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Thanks for your reply. But why can't I say "It is necessary a connective"?
And Why is "like" wrong in my sentence? I understand that they are interchangeable: like I said = as I said.

thank you.

You can say "a connective is necessary" or "it is necessary to use a connective", but not "it is necessary a connective". The why is that it is not idiomatic English. The other is a common mistake. "Like" is a preposition, not a conjunction. "As" is a conjunction.

 

[5jj]

According to my understanding, after a sentence using the future in the past, it is necessary a connective of contrast, such as "but", like in the example below:

- He was going to travel to Canada, but he changed his mind and ended up going to Australia.

One of my students asked me if the cennective "so" could be used instead of "but". I said no because "so" does not introduce an idea of contrast. However she was not convinced because in our mother language (portuguese) it would be possible.

It is possible in English:

He was going to Canada, so he ordered some Canadian dollars.
He was emigrating to Canada, so he sold his car.

 

[BrunaBC]

Thanks 5jj!

But the examples you gave do not show contrasting ideas, which was my doubt.

I believe it would be incorrect if I said:

He was going to Canada, so he decided to stay home.

My point is that in Portuguese it is possible to use the connective "so". That's why my student wasn't much convinced.
The thing is that, when it comes to languages, there are things you just have to accept, and do not question (At least that was my final comment to her question)

 

[MikeNewYork]

Thanks 5jj!

But the examples you gave do not show contrasting ideas, which was my doubt.

I believe it would be incorrect if I said:

He was going to Canada, so he decided to stay home.

My point is that in Portuguese it is possible to use the connective "so". That's why my student wasn't much convinced.
The thing is that, when it comes to languages, there are things you just have to accept, and do not question (At least that was my final comment to her question)

In English, the conjunction "so" is used to mean "with the result that" or "in order that". The following clause must be a logical result of the first clause. That is why it doesn't work with your first question: He was going to travel to Canada, so he changed his mind and ended up going to Australia. The second clause does not follow logically from the first.

 

[emsr2d2]

He was going to travel to Canada but he discovered it was minus 25 degrees sohe decided to go to Australia instead.

I think the confusion over "It is necessary a connective" stems from the fact that that is the correct word order in Portuguese (well, it's the correct word order in Spanish so I'm taking a punt on it being right in Portuguese too). You just have to remember that that construction can't be directly translated.