FUTURE TENSES
– future simple (will + inf)
FORM
Affirmative: I will play / You will play / He/she/it will play / We will play / You will play
(pl.) / They will play
Negative: I will not play / You will not play / He/she/it will not play / We will not play /
You will not play / They will not play (will not: won’t)
Question: Will I play? / Will you play? / Will he/she/it play? / Will we play? / Will you
play? / Will they play?
USES
We can use 'will' to talk about future events we believe to be certain.
The sun will rise over there tomorrow morning.
• Next year, I'll be 50.
• That plane will be late. It always is.
• There won't be any snow. I'm certain. It's too warm
Often we add 'perhaps', 'maybe', 'probably', 'possibly' to make the belief less certain.
I'll probably come back later.
• He'll possibly find out when he sees Jenny.
• Maybe it will be OK.
• Perhaps we'll meet again some day
We often use 'will' with 'I think' or 'I hope'.
• I think I'll go to bed now.
• I think she'll do well in the job.
• I hope you'll enjoy your stay.
• I hope you won't make too much noise.
We use 'will' at the moment we make a new decision or plan. The thought has just come
into our head.
• Bye. I'll phone you when I get there.
• I'll answer that.
• I won't tell him. I promise.
PREDICTIONS
I think it will rain tomorrow.
• PROMISES / THREATS
I will call you when I arrive. (promise)
I promise I will not tell him about the surprise party. (promise)
If you don’t comply, we will be forced to take measures! (threat)
If you don’t do as I say, I will have to kill you! (threat)
BE GOING TO (be (is, am are) going to + inf)
FORM
Affirmative: I am going to play / You are going to play / He/she/it is going to play / We
are going to play / You are going to play / They are going to play
Negative: I am not going to play / You are not going to play / He/she/it is not going to
play / We are not going to play / You are not going to play / They are not going to play
Question: Am I going to play? / Are you going to play? / Is he/she/it going to play? / Are
we going to play? / Are you going to play? / Are they going to play?
USES
We use 'going to' when we want to talk about a plan for the future.
• I'm going to see him later today.
• They're going to launch it next month.
• We're going to have lunch first. • She's going to see what she can do.
• I'm not going to talk for very long.
Notice that this plan does not have to be for the near future.
• When I retire, I'm going to go back to Barbados to live.
• In ten years’ time, I'm going to be boss of my own successful company.
We use 'going to' when we want to make a prediction based on evidence we can see now.
• Look out! That cup is going to fall off.
• Look at those black clouds. It's going to rain soon.
• These figures are really bad. We're going to make a loss.
• You look very tired. You're going to need to stop soon.
future continuous (will +be + ing)
FORM
Affirmative: I will be doing / You will be doing / He/she/it will be doing / We will be
doing / You will be doing (plural) / They will be doing
Negative: I will not be doing / You will not be doing / He/she will not be doing / We will
not be doing / You will not be doing / They will not be doing
Question: Will I be doing? / Will you be doing? / Will he/she/it be doing? / Will we be
doing? / Will you be doing? / Will they be doing?
USES
We can use 'future continuous' to talk about something that will be in progress at a
particular moment in the future.
• This time next week, I'll be sitting on the beach in Barbados.
• I'll be thinking about you all back in the office – and I'll be laughing.
• We'll be enjoying ourselves too, boss. We won't be doing any work while you are not
here.
To talk about future events that are fixed or decided.
• I'll be visiting your country on a regular basis. In fact, I'm going to be coming next
month.
• He'll be looking after the factory until we can appoint a new manager.
• They'll be thinking about this very carefully over the next few months.
To predict what is happening now.
• Try phoning his hotel. He'll probably still be having breakfast.
• They'll be deciding who gets the contract at this very moment. I'm very nervous.
• She's not in her office. She'll be having lunch in the canteen.
To ask extremely politely, and with no pressure, about future plans.
• Will you be eating with us this evening? • Will you be needing anything else? Will they
be joining us for dinner?
future perfect simple (will + have + p/p)
FORM
Affirmative: I will have done / You will have done / He/she/it will have done / We will
have done / You will have done (plural) / They will have done
Negative: I will not have done / You will not have done / He/she/it will not have done /
We will not have done / You will not have done / They will not have done
Question: Will I have done? / Will you have done? / Will he/she/it have done? / Will we
have done? / Will you have done? / Will they have done?
USES
We can use 'future perfect simple' to talk about what will have been achieved by a certain
moment in time.
• We'll have been in these offices for eight years next month.
• She'll have visited ten countries in twelve days by the time she gets back.
• I'll have finished this project by Friday.
If we want to emphasise the continuity of the activity, we can use the continuous form.
FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS: I WILL HAVE BEEN WORKING
• ACTION BEFORE ANOTHER ACTION IN THE FUTURE + STRESS ON THE DURATION.
• I'll have been working here for 35 years by the time I retire.
• She'll have been driving for more than fifteen hours straight by the time she gets here.
• They'll have been working with us for 15 years by the end of this year.
We can also use 'future perfect simple' to predict what we think has already happened at
present.
• He'll have already read the report by now. Too late to change it.
• She'll have boarded her plane. It's too late to contact her.
• They'll have decided by now. We should hear the result today or tomorrow
The Present Continuous
a) Form:
I AM WORKING.
b) Use.
• DEFINITE ARRANGEMENTS / ARRANGED FUTURE.
She's flying to Cameroon tomorrow at 5:00 am. She already has her boarding pass. I’m
leaving for Toronto tomorrow.
The Present Simple.
a) Form:
I WORK.
b) Use.
• SCHEDULED ACTIONS / TIMETABLE FUTURE.
The plane to Moscow takes off at 7 am every morning next month.
The train leaves at 2 pm next Thursday.
