The Future Tense PDF

The Future Tense 1-Simple Future The simple future verb tense has two different forms in English, will and be going to. Although the two forms can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often express two very different meanings: will is used for offers and be going to is used for plans. Read on for...

The Future Tense 1-Simple Future The simple future verb tense has two different forms in English, will and be going to. Although the two forms can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often express two very different meanings: will is used for offers and be going to is used for plans. Read on for detailed descriptions, examples, and simple future exercises. Simple Future Forms Form “Will” The will form of simple future is made with will + verb. Questions are indicated by inverting the subject and will. Negatives are made with not. Statement: You will help him later. Question: Will you help him later? Negative: You will not help him later. Form “Be Going To” The be-going-to form of simple future is made using am/is/are + going to + verb. Questions are indicated by inverting the subject and am/is/are. Negatives are made with not. Statement: You are going to meet Jane tonight. Question: Are you going to meet Jane tonight? Negative: You are not going to meet Jane tonight. Complete List of Simple Future Forms Using "Will" Positive Negative Question I will help. I will not help. Will I help? You will help. You will not help. Will you help? We will help. We will not help. Will we help? They will help. They will not help. Will they help? He will help. He will not help. Will he help? She will help. She will not help. Will she help? It will help. It will not help. Will it help? Using "Be Going to" Positive Negative Question I am going to leave. I am not going to leave. Am I going to leave? You are going to leave. You are not going to leave. Are you going to leave? We are going to leave. We are not going to leave. Are we going to leave? They are going to leave. They are not going to leave. Are they going to leave? He is going to leave. He is not going to leave. Is he going to leave? She is going to leave. She is not going to leave. Is she going to leave? It is going to leave. It is not going to leave. Is it going to leave? 1 Simple Future Uses The simmple future (also ( calledd future simp mple or futurre indefinitee) is a verb ttense which h is used to showw that an acttion will tak ke place at a specific tim me in the fuuture. The ssimple futurre is also used to talk aboutt future hab bits and futture generaalizations. In I many waays, the veerb tense behavess like the sim mple past. Howeveer, the simpple future haas two differrent forms will w and be going to. Sttudy the usees below to learn how to chooose betweeen the two fo forms. USE 1 Will to Exp press a Volu untary Acttion Will often suggestss that a speaaker will doo something voluntarily y. A voluntaary action iss one the speakerr offers to do for som meone elsee. Often, we w use will to t respond to someon ne else's complaiint or requeest for help p. We also use will wh hen we req quest that soomeone heelp us or volunteeer to do soomething fo or us. Simil arly, we usse will not or o won't whhen we refu use to do somethiing voluntarrily. Examplles: I will send you the info ormation whwhen I get it.. I will transslate the em mail, so Mr. Smith can read r it. W Will you heelp me mov ve this heavyy table? W Will you make m dinner? I will not do d your hom mework for yyou. I won't do all the houssework mysself! A A: I'm reallly hungry. B B: I'll make some sand dwiches. A A: I'm so tirred. I'm abo out to fall assleep. B B: I'll get you y some co offee. A A: The phone is ringin ng. B B: I'll get itt. USE 2 Will to Exp press a Prom mise Will is uusually usedd in promisees. Examplles: I will call youy when I arrive. a IIf I am elec cted Presideent of the Un United Statess, I will make sure eveeryone has access a to iinexpensivee health insu urance. I promise I will not telll him aboutt the surprisse party. D Don't worryy, I'll be carreful. I won't telll anyone you ur secret. USE 3 BBe going too to Express a Plan Be goingg to expressses that sommething is a plan. It exppresses the idea i that a pperson inten nds to do somethiing in the fuuture. It doees not matterr whether th he plan is reealistic or no not. Examplles: H He is goingg to spend his h vacationn in Hawaii. She is not going g to speend her vaccation in Haawaii. A A: When arre we going g to meet eaach other to onight? B B: We are going g to meet at 6 PMM. II'm going to t be an acto or when I ggrow up. M Michelle is going to beegin medicaal school neext year. 2  They are going to drive all the way to Alaska. Who are you going to invite to the party? A: Who is going to make John's birthday cake? B: Sue is going to make John's birthday cake. USE 4 Will or Be Going to to Express a Prediction Both will and be going to can express the idea of a general prediction about the future. Predictions are guesses about what might happen in the future. In prediction sentences, the subject usually has little control over the future and therefore USES 1-3 do not apply. In the following examples, there is no difference in meaning. Examples: The year 2222 will be a very interesting year. The year 2222 is going to be a very interesting year. John Smith will be the next President. John Smith is going to be the next President. The movie "Zenith" will win several Academy Awards. The movie "Zenith" is going to win several Academy Awards. IMPORTANT In the simple future, it is not always clear which USE the speaker has in mind. Often, there is more than one way to interpret a sentence's meaning. No Future in Time Clauses Like all future forms, the simple future cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of simple future, simple present is used. Examples: When you will arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Not Correct When you arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Correct ADVERB PLACEMENT The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc. Examples: You will never help him. Will you ever help him? You are never going to meet Jane. Are you ever going to meet Jane? ACTIVE / PASSIVE Examples: John will finish the work by 5:00 PM. Active The work will be finished by 5:00 PM. Passive Sally is going to make a beautiful dinner tonight. Active A beautiful dinner is going to be made by Sally tonight. Passive 2-Future Continuous Future continuous has two different forms: "will be doing " and "be going to be doing." Unlike simple future forms, future continuous forms are usually interchangeable. 3  FORM Future Coontinuous with w "Will" " [will bee + present participle] p Examplles: Y You will bee waiting foor her whenn her plane arrives a tonig ght. W Will you bee waiting foor her whenn her plane arrives a tonig ght? Y You will noot be waitinng for her w when her plaane arrives tonight. t FORM Future Coontinuous with w "Be G Going To" [am/is/aare + going to be + pressent participple] Examplles: Y You are gooing to be waiting w for hher when heer plane arriives tonightt. A Are you gooing to be waiting w for hher when heer plane arriives tonightt? Y You are noot going to beb waiting for her wheen her planee arrives tonnight. Compleete List of Future F Con ntinuous Foorms Using " "Will" Positivee Negative Question I will bee waiting. I will nott be waitingg. Will I be w waiting? You willl be waitin ng. You will not be waiting. Will you bbe waiting? We willl be waitingg. We will n not be waiting. Will we bee waiting? They wiill be waitin ng. They willl not be wa aiting. Will they bbe waiting?? He will be waitingg. He will n not be waitiing. Will he be waiting? She willl be waitingg. She will n not be waitting. Will she bee waiting? It will b be waiting. It will noot be waitin ng. Will it be w waiting? Using " "Be Going To"T Positive Negative N Question I am going tto be waitin ng. I am not goin ng to be waiiting. Am I going to be waitin ng? You are goiing to be waaiting. You Y are not going to be waiting. Are you goiing to be wa aiting? We are goin ng to be waiiting. We W are not ggoing to be waiting. w Are we goinng to be waiiting? They are gooing to be waaiting. They T are nott going to bee waiting. Are they gooing to be wa aiting? He is going to be waitin ng He H is not goiing to be waiting. Is he going to be waitin ng? She is goingg to be waitiing. She S is not gooing to be wa aiting. Is she goingg to be waitiing? It is going too be waitingg. Itt is not goin g to be waitting. Is it going tto be waiting g? USE 1 IInterrupted d Action in n the Futurre Use the future conttinuous to in ndicate thatt a longer acction in the future willl be interrup pted by a shorter action in thhe future. Reemember thhis can be a real interru uption or jusst an interru uption in time. Examplles: I will be wa atching TV V when she aarrives toniight. I will be wa aiting for yo ou when yoour bus arrivves. I am going g to be stay ying at the MMadison Hotel, if anything happeens and you u need to ccontact me.. H He will bee studying at the libbrary tonigh ht, so he will not ssee Jennifeer when sshe arrives.. 4 Notice in the exaamples abo ove that thhe interruptions (marrked in itaalics) are in simple present rather than simple futu ure. This is bbecause thee interruptio ons are in tim me clauses, and you cannot uuse future teenses in tim me clauses. USE 2 S Specific Tim me as an In nterruption n in the Futture In USE 1, describeed above, th he future conntinuous is interrupted by a short aaction in th he future. In addittion to usinng short acctions as intterruptions,, you can also a use a sspecific tim me as an interrupption. Examplles: T Tonight at 6 PM, I am going to b e eating din nner. I will be in the processs of eating ddinner. A At midnighht tonight, we w will still b be driving through thee desert. We will be ini the proceess of drivinng through the t desert. REMEM MBER In the ssimple futurre, a specifiic time is u sed to show w the time ana action w will begin orr end. In the futuure continuoous, a speciffic time inteerrupts the action. a Examplles: T Tonight at 6 PM, I am going to eaat dinner. I am going to start eatiing at 6 PMM. T Tonight at 6 PM, I am going to b e eating din nner. I am going to start earrlier and I wwill be in thee process off eating dinnner at 6 PM M. USE 3 P Parallel Acctions in the Future When yyou use the future conttinuous witth two actio ons in the same sentennce, it expreesses the idea thaat both actioons will be happening h aat the same time. t The actions are pparallel. Examplles: I am going to be study ying and hee is going to o be making dinner. T Tonight, theey will be eating e dinneer, discussin ng their plaans, and havving a good d time. W While Ellenn is readingg, Tim will b be watching television n. N Notice "is reading" r beccause of thee time clausse containing "while." USE 4 A Atmospherre in the Fu uture In Engliish, we ofteen use a seriies of Paralllel Actions to describe atmospherre at a specific point in the fuuture. Examplle: W When I arrrive at the party, eveerybody is going to be b celebratting. Somee will be ddancing. Others O are going g to b e talking. A few peo ople will bee eating pizzza, and sseveral peopple are goin ng to be drrinking. Theey always dod the same thing. REMEM MBER No Future in Time Clau uses Like alll future tennses, the futture continuuous cannott be used in n clauses bbeginning with w time expressiions such as: when, wh hile, before,, after, by th he time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of future continuouus, present continuous c iis used. 5 Examples: While I am going to be finishing my homework, she is going to make dinner. Not Correct While I am finishing my homework, she is going to make dinner. Correct AND REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs It is important to remember that non-continuous verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for mixed verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using future continuous with these verbs, you must use simple future. Examples: Jane will be being at my house when you arrive. Not Correct Jane will be at my house when you arrive. Correct ADVERB PLACEMENT The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc. Examples: You will still be waiting for her when her plane arrives. Will you still be waiting for her when her plane arrives? You are still going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives. Are you still going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives? ACTIVE / PASSIVE Examples: At 8:00 PM tonight, John will be washing the dishes. Active At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will be being washed by John. Passive At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to be washing the dishes. Active At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes are going to be being washed by John. Passive 3-Future Perfect Future perfect has two different forms: "will have done" and "be going to have done." Unlike simple future forms, future perfect forms are usually interchangeable. FORM Future Perfect with "Will" [will have + past participle] Examples: You will have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S. Will you have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S.? You will not have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S. FORM Future Perfect with "Be Going To" [am/is/are + going to have + past participle] Examples: You are going to have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S. Are you going to have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S.? You are not going to have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S. NOTE: It is possible to use either "will" or "be going to" to create the future perfect with little or no difference in meaning. 6 Compleete List of Future F Perrfect Formss Using " "Will" Positive Negative Question I will haave stopped. I will not have stoppeed. Will I have stopped? You willl have stopp ped. You will n not have stopped. Will you haave stopped?? We will have stoppeed. We will noot have stoppped. Will we havve stopped? They willl have stopp ped. They will not have sto opped. Will they haave stopped? He will h have stoppeed. He will noot have stopped. Will he havve stopped? She will have stoppeed. She will nnot have stoppped. Will she havve stopped?? It will haave stopped d. It will nott have stopped. Will it havee stopped? Using "B Be Going Too" Positive Negative Question I am goin ng to have stoopped. I am not goiing to have stopped. Am I going to have stopp ped? You are ggoing to havee stopped. You are not going to hav ve stopped. Are you goin ing to have stopped? We are ggoing to have stopped. We are not ggoing to havee stopped. Are we goinng to have sto opped? They aree going to havve stopped. They are nott going to hav ve stopped. Are they goiing to have sttopped? He is goin ng to have stoopped. He is not goiing to have sttopped. Is he going tto have stoppped? She is going to have sttopped. She is not gooing to have stopped. s Is she goingg to have stoppped? It is goingg to have stop pped. It is not goin ng to have sto opped. Is it going too have stoppeed? USE 1 C Completed d Action Beefore Sometthing in thee Future The futuure perfect expresses the t idea thaat somethin ng will occu ur before annother actio on in the future. IIt can also show s that so omething w will happen before b a speecific time inn the futuree. Examplles: B By next Noovember, I will w have reeceived my promotion. B By the timee he gets hom me, she is ggoing to hav ve cleaned the entire hhouse. I am not go oing to have finished tthis test by 3 o'clock. W Will she haave learned d enough Chhinese to co ommunicate before she moves to Beijing?B Sam is prob bably going g to have completed the propossal by the time he lea aves this aafternoon. B By the timee I finish this course, I w will have taaken ten tessts. H How many countries are a you goin ng to have visited v by the time youu turn 50? Notice in the exam mples abov ve that the reference points (ma arked in itaalics) are in simple present rather than simple futu ure. This is bbecause thee interruptio ons are in timme clauses, and you cannot uuse future teenses in timme clauses. USE 2 D Duration Before B Something in th he Future (Non-Conti ( inuous Verrbs) With noon-continuoous verbs an nd some nonn-continuou us uses of mixed m verbss, we use th he future perfect tto show thaat something g will continnue up untill another acction in the ffuture. Examplles: I will have been in London for six x months by y the time I leave. B By Mondayy, Susan is going g to haave had my book for a week. Althouggh the abovee use of futuure perfect iis normally y limited to non-continu n uous verbs and a non- continuoous uses off mixed verbbs, the wordds "live," "w work," "teacch," and "stuudy" are sometimes used in this way evven though they t are NOOT non-conttinuous verb bs. 7 REMEMBER No Future in Time Clauses Like all future forms, the future perfect cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of future perfect, present perfect is used. Examples: I am going to see a movie when I will have finished my homework. Not Correct I am going to see a movie when I have finished my homework. Correct ADVERB PLACEMENT The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc. Examples: You will only have learned a few words. Will you only have learned a few words? You are only going to have learned a few words. Are you only going to have learned a few words? ACTIVE / PASSIVE Examples: They will have completed the project before the deadline. Active The project will have been completed before the deadline. Passive They are going to have completed the project before the deadline. Active The project is going to have been completed before the deadline. Passive 4-Future Perfect Continuous Future perfect continuous has two different forms: "will have been doing " and "be going to have been doing." Unlike simple future forms, future perfect continuous forms are usually interchangeable. FORM Future Perfect Continuous with "Will" [will have been + present participle] Examples: You will have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives. Will you have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives? You will not have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives. FORM Future Perfect Continuous with "Be Going To" [am/is/are + going to have been + present participle] Examples: You are going to have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives. Are you going to have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives? You are not going to have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives. NOTE: It is possible to use either "will" or "be going to" to create the future perfect continuous with little or no difference in meaning. 8  Compleete List of Future F Perrfect Contin nuous Form ms Using " "Will" Positive Negative Question I will havve been sleepiing. I will not h have been sleeeping. Will I have bbeen sleepingg? You will have been sleeeping. You will noot have been sleeping. Will you havve been sleepiing? We will h have been sleeeping. We will noot have been sleeping. s Will we havee been sleepin ng? They willl have been slleeping. They will nnot have beenn sleeping. Will they havve been sleepping? He will h have been sleeeping. He will nott have been slleeping. Will he havee been sleepinng? She will h have been sleeeping. She will noot have been sleeping. s Will she havve been sleeping? It will haave been sleep ping. It will not h have been sleeeping. Will it have bbeen sleeping g? Using " "Be Going To" T Poositive Negative Quesstion I amm going to haave been sleep ping. I am not goingg to have beeen sleeping. Am I ggoing to have been sleeping? You u are going too have been sleeping. s You Y are not gooing to have been sleeping g. Are yoou going to ha ave been sleep ping? Wee are going to have been slleeping. We W are not gooing to have been b sleeping. Are wee going to hav ve been sleeping? Theey are going tto have been sleeping. They T are not ggoing to havee been sleepin ng. Are theey going to ha ave been sleeeping? He is going to haave been sleeping. He H is not goin ng to have beeen sleeping. Is he gooing to have been sleepingg? Shee is going to hhave been sleeeping. She S is not goin ng to have beeen sleeping. Is she ggoing to havee been sleepinng? It iss going to havve been sleeping. Itt is not going to have beenn sleeping. Is it gooing to have been b sleeping?? USE 1 D Duration Before B Something in th he Future We usee the futuree perfect continuous c to show th hat someth hing will coontinue up p until a particular event or time in the future. "Foor five minu utes," "for twwo weeks,"" and "sincee Friday" are all durations which w can be b used witth the futurre perfect continuous. c Notice thaat this is related tto the preseent perfect continuous c aand the pastt perfect con ntinuous; hoowever, witth future perfect continuous,, the duratio on stops at oor before a reference r po oint in the fu future. Examplles: They wwill have been talking g for over ann hour by thhe time Thoomas arrivess. She is going to ha ave been working w at th that compan ny for three years whenn it finally closes. James will have been b teachiing at the unniversity for more than n a year by tthe time he leaves for Asiaa. How long will yoou have beeen studyingg when you graduate? g We arre going to have been driving forr over three days straighht when wee get to Anchorage. A: Whhen you finiish your Eng glish coursee, will you have h been living l in Neew Zealand for over a year? B: No, I will not have been living here thhat long. Notice in the exam mples abov ve that the reference points (ma arked in itaalics) are in simple present rather than simple futu ure. This is because th hese future events e are iin time clau uses, and you cannnot use futuure tenses in n time clausses. USE 2 C Cause of Soomething in the Futurre Using thhe future peerfect contin nuous beforre another action a in thee future is a good way to show cause annd effect. Examplles: Jason will be tired d when he gets g home bbecause he willw have beeen joggingg for over an n hour. 9  Claudia's English will be perfect when she returns to Germany because she is going to have been studying English in the United States for over two years. Future Continuous vs. Future Perfect Continuous If you do not include a duration such as "for five minutes," "for two weeks" or "since Friday," many English speakers choose to use the future continuous rather than the future perfect continuous. Be careful because this can change the meaning of the sentence. Future continuous emphasizes interrupted actions, whereas future perfect continuous emphasizes a duration of time before something in the future. Study the examples below to understand the difference. Examples: He will be tired because he will be exercising so hard. This sentence emphasizes that he will be tired because he will be exercising at that exact moment in the future. He will be tired because he will have been exercising so hard. This sentence emphasizes that he will be tired because he will have been exercising for a period of time. It is possible that he will still be exercising at that moment OR that he will just have finished. REMEMBER No Future in Time Clauses Like all future forms, the future perfect continuous cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of future perfect continuous, present perfect continuous is used. Examples: You won't get a promotion until you will have been working here as long as Tim. Not Correct You won't get a promotion until you have been working here as long as Tim. Correct AND REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs It is important to remember that non-continuous verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for mixed verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Future perfect continuous with these verbs, you must use future perfect. Examples: Ned will have been having his driver's license for over two years. Not Correct Ned will have had his driver's license for over two years. Correct ADVERB PLACEMENT The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc. Examples: You will only have been waiting for a few minutes when her plane arrives. Will you only have been waiting for a few minutes when her plane arrives? You are only going to have been waiting for a few minutes when her plane arrives. Are you only going to have been waiting for a few minutes when her plane arrives? 10 ACTIVE / PASSIVE Examples: The famous artist will have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished. Active The mural will have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished. Passive The famous artist is going to have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished. Active The mural is going to have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished. Passive References: http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/ 11