Practical Grammar I

TENSE FORMS 6
FUTURE CONTINUOUS & FUTURE PERFECT & FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS

FUTURE CONTINUOUS
Form
Affirmative : I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they will be working
I’ll/you’ll/he’ll/she’ll/it’ll/we’ll/you’ll/they’ll be working
Negative: I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they will not (won’t) be working
Interrogative: Will I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they be working?

Use
• actions in progress at a stated future time: This time next year she’ll be running her own business.
• events which are fixed or decided, or which are the result of a routine (It does not suggest the idea of
personal intention.): Sting will be performing in Moscow in June. I’ll be playing tennis on Saturday.
• when we ask politely about people’s arrangements to see if they can do something for us or because we
want to offer to do something for them: Will you be going shopping at the supermarket today? Can you buy
me some milk?

Time expressions usually used with the future continuous tense: tomorrow, tonight, next week/month, this time
next year, etc.

1 Put the verb in brackets into the future continuous.

a) At 10 o’clock tomorrow Sally …………………………… (work) in her office.
b) …………………………… (you/pass) the post office when you’re out? I need some stamps.
c) I …………………………… (not/see) Julie today, so I can’t pass the message on.
d) …………………………… (you/use) the photocopier for long? I need to make some photocopies.
e) …………………………… (many people/come) to your birthday party?
f) Don’t phone me between 7 and 8. We …………………………… (have) dinner then.

Future Continuous & Present Continuous

I am seeing Tom tomorrow. (Tom or the speaker has deliberately arranged the meeting.)
versus
I’ll be seeing Tom tomorrow. (Tom and the speaker will meet in the ordinary course of events. Perhaps they
work together.)

This difference is not always very important, and very often either tense can be used.
He won’t be coming to the party on Saturday. (The present continuous can only be used with a definite
time and for the near future.)
or
He isn’t coming to the party on Saturday. (The future continuous can be used with or without a definite
time or for the near or distant future.)

Future Continuous & Future Simple

The future simple expresses future with intention while the future continuous expresses future without intention.

I’ll write to Mr Jones and tell him about Tom’s new house. (The speaker announces a deliberate future
action in accordance with his own wishes.)
versus
I’ll be writing to Mr Jones and I’ll tell him about Tom’s new house. (This sentence is a mere statement of
fact and implies that this letter will be written either as a matter of routine or for reasons unconnected with
Tom’s new house.)

Tom won’t cut the grass (Tom refuses to cut it.)

versus
Tom won’t be cutting the grass (The sentence is a mere statement of fact, giving no information about
Tom’s feelings.)

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2 Put the verb in brackets into the future simple or the future continuous.
a) He says he …………………………… (meet) us at the bus station, but I’m sure he ……………………………
(forget) to turn up.
b) Don’t ring at 8; she …………………………… (watch) her favourite TV programme.
All right. I …………………………… (ring) at 8.30.
c) I wonder what I …………………………… (do) this time next year.
I expect you …………………………… (still work) at the same office.
d) What are you doing next weekend?
Oh, I …………………………… (work) as usual. I’m always on duty at weekends.
e) ‘I …………………………… (get) you some aspirins if you like. The chemist’s ……………………………
(still be) open.’ ‘No, don’t bother. The office boy …………………………… (go) out in a minute to post the
letters; I …………………………… (ask) him to buy some.’
f) This time next month the snow …………………………… (melt) and skiing will be over.
g) …………………………… (you/use) your dictionary this afternoon?
No, You can borrow it if you like.
Thanks very much. I …………………………… (put) it back on your desk this evening.

FUTURE PERFECT
Form
Affirmative : I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they will have worked/written
I’ll/you’ll/he’ll/she’ll/it’ll/we’ll/you’ll/they’ll have worked/written
Negative: I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they will not have worked/written
won’t
Interrogative: Will I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they have worked/written?

Use
• actions finished before a stated future time: They will have emigrated to Canada by Christmas.

Time expressions usually used with the future perfect tense: before, by, by then, by the time, till/until (only in
negative sentences).

Until/till are normally used with the future perfect only in negative sentences: He won’t have arrived until tonight.

3 Complete the sentences using the future perfect.

a) She ……………………………………… (deliver) all the newspapers by 8 o’clock.
b) I ……………………………………… (not/finish) cleaning the house until you come back.
c) ……………………………………… (the film/already/start) by the time they get to the cinema?
d) They ……………………………………… (finish) the report by tomorrow.

FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Form
Affirmative : I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they will have been working
I’ll/you’ll/he’ll/she’ll/it’ll/we’ll/you’ll/they’ll have been working
Negative: I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they will not have been working
won’t
Interrogative: Will I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they have been working?

Use
• duration of an action up to a certain time in the future: By his sixtieth birthday he will have been teaching
for 35 years.

Time expressions usually used with the future perfect continuous tense: by … for.

4 Complete the sentences using the future perfect continuous.

a) By the end of this month, she ……………………………………… (work) for twenty years.
b) How long ……………………………………… (they/travel) by the time they reach York?
c) By Christmas they ……………………………………… (not/live) here for ten years, but for twelve years.

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5 Mach a beginning from (i) with an ending from (ii) to make a sentence. Use either the future perfect or the
future perfect continuous.

i ii
1) By the time you get home Jane ……………………………… a) …in this house for a year.
(clean) …
2) We’d better have a party after 14th December. Peter b) …the house from top to bottom.
……………………………… (have) …
3) Whether I’ve finished the report or not, by 9 o’clock I c) …everything.
……………………………… (work) …
4) By the time the exam begins I ……………………………… d) …the report on the survey results before
(forget) … the end of the week.
5) The weather forecast says that the rain e) …the objective we set ourselves when we
……………………………… (stop) … took over.
6) If the company is making profit by the end of the year, then we f) …by the morning and tomorrow will be
……………………………… (achieve) … dry.
7) In two years’ time he ……………………………… (act) … g) …for 12 hours without a break and I’m
going home.
8) I’m confident that I ……………………………… (finish) … h) …it for a month, and I’m still only half
way.
9) This book on Proust is really difficult. On Saturday I i) …his exams by then, so he’ll be able to
……………………………… (read) … enjoy it.
10) On Monday we ……………………………… (live) … j) …for 50 years, and shows no sign of
retiring from the theatre.

6 Future forms with time words.

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7 Underline the best verb form.
a) ’Have you decided yet?’ ‘Yes, I’ll have / I have the roast beef, please.’
b) ’How will I have known / will I know that I have won the prize?’
‘You are receiving / will receive an email giving full details.’
c) Quick, get out of the car! It’s going to burst / It’s bursting into flames at any minute!
d) Don’t come round before midday, because I’ll be cleaning / I clean the house until then.
e) Sorry, I can’t come on Thursday evening. I’m going to work / I’m working on an important project.
f) The cost of construction is almost certainly rising / will almost certainly rise before the end of the year as wage
increases begin to take effect.
g) The conference is going to begin / begins next Friday morning at 9.00.
h) Here’s the money you asked for – £1 000. What will you do / are you going to do with it?
i) Why don’t you give Helen this cheap perfume instead of the expensive one! She won’t have noticed / won’t
notice the difference.
j) I just want to remind everyone that we’ll be holding / we hold a Latin-American evening at the town hall this
Friday.

k) ’Can I talk to you for a moment?’ ‘Sorry, I’m just going to leave. / I’m just leaving. / I’ll just leave.
l) Actually, I’ll pass / I’m going to pass / I’ll be passing Sue’s house tomorrow, so if you like I could leave the
books for her.
m) We are giving / will give / will have given a party for Professor Allan on Friday evening, and we’d like you to
come.
n) My brother doesn’t do much work. He’s going to spend / He’ll spend / He’ll have spent the whole day drinking
coffee and looking out of the window.
o) Come back at about 4.30. I’ll finish / I’ll have finished / I’m finishing the report by then, and you can take the
copy.
p) Quick, run! The bomb is exploding / will explode / is going to explode!

8 Complete the text with the correct form of the verb in brackets. Use the future continuous, the future
perfect or the future perfect continuous.

What are your hopes for the future?

Anna
It’s hard to make predictions too far into the future, but I think I can say quite a lot about my life in about ten years’
time. I think I …………………………… (still live) in the same city. By that time I ……………………………
(finish) my studies, and, who knows, perhaps I …………………………… (find) a good job. And
I …………………………… (probably go out) with the same friends too!

Bernard
I’m optimistic about the future, so I think that by the time I’m 35 I …………………………… (make) a fortune.
By then I …………………………… (run) my own company for about ten years, and I ……………………………
(almost certainly become) a millionaire. So I …………………………… (drive) an expensive sports car, I hope.

Catherine
I think we should all be worried about what the world will be like in fifty years’ time. By then, I hope that the
world’s governments …………………………… (find) an answer to the problem of global warming, but perhaps
scientists …………………………… (still search) for technological solutions. It’s quite possible that we
…………………………… (still talk) about the problem, as we are now!

David
By the time I’m fifty, I expect that nearly everything …………………………… (change) and everyone
…………………………… (try) their best to adapt to new circumstances. For example, I can’t imagine that we
…………………………… (use) cars, because by then most of the oil in the world …………………………… (run
out). People …………………………… (travel) in electric cars, or perhaps we …………………………… (walk)
everywhere. I hope that scientists …………………………… (solve) the pollution problem, but who knows!
Perhaps some other worse problems …………………………… (appear) by then.