FUTURE FORMS (1): WAYS TO TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE

We can use different forms to talk about the future in English. Here are the main future forms and their uses:

Form Meaning/Use Example

Future simple: will + infinitive

decisions made at the moment of speaking

OK, I’ll stay with you, then. / OK, I’m going-to stay with you, then. X

predictions, often with I think/ believe / expect / hope / etc.

I think it will be a difficult game.

offers I’ll give you a lift if you like. requests Will you do me a favour? promises I’ll love you forever. threats Leave
now or I’ll call the police! facts about the future Christmas Day will fall on Tuesday this year. be going to + infinitive
intentions I’m going to phone him tomorrow.

predictions based on present evidence

Look! It’s going to rain. / Look! It-will mim X

shall + infinitive (usually offers Shall I help you with those bags? with I or we) suggestions Shall we go for a walk?
asking for advice What shall I say if he calls?

Future continuous: will be + -ing

actions in progress at a particular time in the future

I’ll be working at six.

events that are fixed or expected to happen

We’ll be going by bus, as usual.

things that will happen in the normal course of events

I’ll be staying in this evening.

Present continuous: be + -ing

arrangements, often with a time expression

I’m having my hair cut today.

be + to-infinitive official arrangements, especially when announced

The President is to visit Brussels next week.

Present simple events that are part of a timetable or schedule

The boat leaves the island on Friday.

in future time clauses, after when, as soon as, until, etc.

I’ll phone you when I arrive.

Q Match 1-14 with a-o to make short exchanges.

0 ‘Look at all those dark clouds.’ n

1 ‘Our train leaves at six, doesn’t it?’

2 ‘The meeting will be held at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.’

3 ‘What time did she say she’s going to get here?’

4 ‘I told her to tidy her room but she won’t.’ 5 ‘How much longer are you going to be?’

6 ‘I feel awful. I think I’m going to faint.’

7 ‘I’ll come and help you clear the attic.’

8 ‘Tessa seems to have gained a lot of weight.’

9 ‘Shall we go now? It’s getting late.’

10 ‘Will you shut the door, please?’

11 ‘What shall I get for dinner?’

12 ‘When am I going to see you again?’

13 ‘What do you think you’ll do when you finish?’

14 ‘I’m going shopping this afternoon.’

a ‘Shall I have a word with her?’

b ‘I’ll be with you in just a minute.’

c ‘I’m going to get a job, of course.’

d ‘Thanks! I’ll need all the help I can get!’

e ‘That’s because she’s going to have a baby.’

f ‘Yes, it does, so hurry yp or we’ll be late!’

g ‘I’m not sure I’ll be able to come.’

h ‘9.30. But I’m sure she’ll be late, as usual!’

i ‘I’ll call the doctor right away!’

j ‘Shall we have fish and chips?’

k ‘Perhaps I’ll see you tomorrow.’

l ‘No, I won’t! Do it yourself!’

m ‘Are you? I’ll come with you.’

n ‘Yes, there’s going to be a storm.’

Q Read the conversation and choose the correct answer.

кате Hi! What (0)(are you doing/ shall you do) this evening? (1) Will /Shall I come round?

Brigittet No, not this evening. I (2) ’ll be /’m being busy till late.

кате When do you think it (3) will / is going to be convenient for me to pop round?

brigit Have you got your diary handy? (4)Are we going to / Shall we check the dates? I’m not busy tomorrow -
Wednesday the twenty-first. What about you?

кате I (5)’m seeing / will see my dentist tomorrow. Is Thursday OK? brigit Yes, I think that{6)’s being / ’ll be fine.

кате Great! What time (7) am I going to / shall I come round?

brig it I (8)’m not I won’t be leaving the house at all on Thursday, so I don’t think it (9) will be I is being a problem
whatever time you come. (10) Will / Shall you bring the manuscript with you, please?

кате Yes, don’t worry. I (11) ’m not forgetting / won’t forget. Anything else? brig it No, we (12) aren’t / won’t be
needing anything else - just the manuscript.

кате OK. See you on Thursday, then.

‘Things will get worse before they get better.’ English saying . ‘Things will get worse before they get worse.’
Pessimist

Future forms (2): be going to, present continuous, present simple I Present continuous or be going to?

• We normally use the present continuous to talk about the near future rather than the distant future: I’m taking the
kids to the cinema this evening. I’m having lunch with Pete tomorrow. • We can use be going to or the present
continuous for more distant events: We’re going to sail/’re sailing round the world next year. »To talk about plans,
we can use the present continuous or be going to in the same way, sometimes with a slight change of emphasis: I’m
going to see my therapist tomorrow. (= I intend to see my therapist tomorrow.) I’m seeing my therapist tomorrow.
(= I have already arranged to see my therapist tomorrow.) » For predictions, we use be going to, not the present
continuous. Those dark clouds mean we’re going to have a storm. / Those dark clouds-mcan we’re having a storm.- X

Present continuous or present simple?

» When it is used to talk about the future, the present simple suggests that the events are part of a timetable, a
regular/fixed schedule or something similar.

We do not use the present continuous in these cases: The sun rises at six tomorrow. / The sun is rising at six
tomorrow-? X Our boat leaves at noon. / Our boat is leaving at noon. X » We use the present continuous, not the
present simple, for personal arrangements: I’m seeing Jenny this weekend. S I see Jenny this weekend. X

be going to or will?

» Compare be going to and will for predictions: ♦ we use be going to to talk about something we know will happen
because there is evidence in the present: The sky is grey - it’s going to rain. The meeting starts in jive minutes -
you’re going to be late again! ♦ we use will to talk about something we believe will happen: Don’t lift that box - you’ll
hurt your back. I’m sure he’ ll fail the exam. • Compare be going to and will for decisions: ♦ we use be going to to talk
about something we have already decided to do: I’m going to buy the car - we’ve already agreed on the price. ♦ we
use will for sudden decisions: ‘I’ll give it to you for £5,000.’ ‘OK, I’ll buy it.’
FUTURE FORMS (2): BE GOING TO, PRESENT CONTINUOUS; PRESENT SIMPLE

Complete the sentences. Use be going to, will, the present simple or the present continuous and the verbs in
brackets. Sometimes more than one answer is possible.

0 .So, what time are you leaving (you / leave) tomorrow?

1 Look! That car over there..............(crash)! 2 I ..............(not come) with you tonight. I have to stay in and finish my
project. 3 You look tired. Sit down and I ..............(make) you a cup of tea., 4 The film..............(start) at half past
eight. 5 Do you think Jim ..............(mind) if I use his computer? 6 What’s wrong? You look as if you..............(cry). 7
The library..............(close) at half past seven this evening. 8 Look - is that Harry over there?..............(go) and say
hello. 9 Hurry up! Our train..............(leave) in half an hour! 10 Laura and Ben.............(have) a party next week.

Complete the sentences. Use one word in each gap.

0 W hat are you doing this evening? 1 ..............we go to that new pizzeria tonight? 2 We’ll..............studying in the
library all evening. 3 This lesson’s really boring! When is it..............to finish? 4 Don’t worry. I’m sure
he..............forgive you if you apologise. 5 ..............your brother coming with us on Saturday? 6 I ..............be waiting
for you when you finish.

Read the text and choose the correct answer.

Aquarius

All Aquarians (0)get off / 'are getting off to a good start this month, with some good news on the home front. The
news (1)will help / is helping to relax recent tensions and give you the chance to make a fresh start. There (2)will be /
are being lots of new things on other fronts this month. It really (3) is going to be / is being a time of great
opportunity. Soon, a special person (4)will come / comes into your life - and this (5) isn't going to be / isn't being just
another friendship. At work, you (6)will need / are needing to rise to new challenges that (7)will test / are testing
your character. If you make a wrong move, you (8)will definitely regret / definitely regret it. In short, this is a month
which (9)will bring / is bringing many opportunities but there {10)will be / will being risks, too, so be careful!

Woman: I’m getting married on Saturday. We’re having a traditional wedding. Man: Are you having a white
wedding? Woman: Yes, and I’m going to wear my grandmother’s dress. Man: And what’s your grandmother going
to wear? __________________________________ __________________________________

Future forms (3): future continuous, future perfect, future in the past

Future continuous

The future continuous can refer to actions in progress at a particular time in the future:

» The future continuous often refers to events or actions that are part of a routine, or things that will happen in the
normal course of events. It emphasises that no new arrangements are necessary: I can give you a lift to the station.
I’ll be going that way anyway. • We can also use the future continuous to ask about someone’s plans: Will you be
using the library this afternoon? When will the President be arriving?

Future continuous or future simple?

• We use the future simple for a decision made at the moment of speaking: OK, I’ll see you this evening. • With the
future continuous, the activity has already been decided. Compare: We’ll be staying here until next weekend. (= W
e’ve already decided to stay.) OK, we will stay here until next weekend. (= We’ve just decided to stay.)

Future perfect

Form Affirmative: They will have finished the assignment by Saturday. Question: Will they have finished the
assignment by Saturday? Negative: They won’t have finished the assignment by Saturday.
Use We use the future perfect to talk about something that will be completed before a particular time in the future:

Today is Tuesday. Rob says, 7 will have finished this assignment by Saturday. ’ (= He will finish at any time up to
Saturday but not later.) I will have found a better job by the time I’m forty. </ I will find a better job by the time Tm-
for-ty? X

Future in the past

When we talk about the past, we often need to refer to things that were in the future at that time. To do this, we
use the forms that we normally use to talk about the future but we make the verb forms past: I thought it would be a
difficult game. I was meeting a friend later that afternoon. We were going to stay a bit longer but my brother got
sick.

FUTURE FORMS (3): FUTURE CONTINUOUS, FUTURE PERFECT, FUTURE IN THE PAST

Q Complete each pair of sentences. Use the phrases in brackets.

0 (Will you take, Will you be taking) _a •__Will you take__ us to the airport, please?^ b .WiU. . fee .ti^lb.i.'Og. Ben
to the airport tomorrow? 1 (will be, will have been) a I ....................in London next year, still doing the same job.

b I ....................in London for ten years by next June. 2 (will finish, was going to finish) a I ....................my book, but I
had to work late. b If I don’t have too much work this year, I ....................all of Marquez’s books. 3 (will sunbathe, will
be sunbathing) a This time tomorrow, Maria....................on a beach in Majorca. b I expect she....................until she
gets badly burnt! 4 (will be sleeping, will have slept) a At midnight, I ....................soundly - I hope! b Wake me up at
nine - I ....................long enough by then. 5 (will be flying, were flying) a We went to bed early as we....................to
London the next day. b W e....................to Australia later this summer. 6 (will drive, will be driving) a I’ll give you a lift
to the station. I ....................that way anyway. b You’ll be late - I ....................you to the station if you like.

Q Complete the conversation. Use the future simple, future continuous or future perfect of the verbs in brackets.

Rosa So, when shall I come round? Is Thursday still OK?

Maria Yes, but don’t come at six - I (0) Ill be working (work) then.

Rosa What time do you think you (1)....................(be) free?

Maria Let’s see. As I said, I (2)....................(work) on the manuscript all day, and I expect I (3)....................(complete)
the second chapter by about seven.

Rosa Good, because I (4)....................(be) quite busy at about six tomorrow as well. I’ve got an appointment with my
dentist and I don’t think she (5).................... (finish) much before seven.

Maria Well, we really must be getting on with the book, you know. By the end of this month, we
(6)....................(spend) a whole year on this project! It’s taking too long.

Rosa Yes. I (7)...................(jump) for joy when it’s finished!

Maria Me too! By the way, (8)....................(you / go) near the post office?

Rosa Probably. It’s not far from the dentist. maria I’ve been expecting an important parcel and I think
it(9)....................(arrive) by Thursday. Could you collect it for me?

Rosa Sure, no problem. So, I (10)....................(see) you later. Bye for now.