FUTURE TENSES

FUTURE TENSES: WILL / GOING TO

I will travel to Japan

next year → decision

I am going to study German

at school plan

WILL/GOING TO The Simple Future 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 as mentioned

before.

I will probably go to Italy next

Summer

I am going to fly to Italy next

Saturday

Future Tense: Will Form

Affirmative: I will travel to Madrid in October

Interrogative : Will you travel by bus?

Negative : I will not travel - won’t

Will you travel by train or by bus?

I won’t travel by bus I will probably travel by train

1- Instant decisions: Ok, I’ll see you on Friday

2- Predictions based in what we think: It will rain in the evening

3- Promises and offers: Don’t worry, I’ll go and buy some food for you

Future Tense: Uses of Will

Future Tense:Going to Form

Affirmative: I am going to travel

by plane

Interrogative : Are you going to travel?

by plane’

Negative : I am not going to travel

by plane because I am

going to fly in a hot air

balloon

Future Tense: Uses of Going to

1- Future plans and intentions: I'm going to buy a new laptop computer next week

2- Predictions based in what we can see at the moment: Look at that car! it is going to crash into the lamp post

FUTURE TENSES TIME EXPRESSIONS:

Tomorrow, next week, next month, next year,

I am going to travel to Copenhagen next year

FUTURE TENSES WILL/GOING TO: COMPLETE

THE SENTENCES

A: Why are you holding a piece of paper?

B: I …………………….. (write) a letter to my friends back home in

Texas

A: I'm about to fall asleep. I need to wake up!

B: I (get)………………… you a cup of coffee.

We are so excited about our trip next month to France. We

………………………. (visit) Paris, Nice and Grenoble.

I think he …………………. (be) the next British Prime Minister.

OTHER WAYS OF EXPRESSING THE FUTURE

The simple present and present progressive are also used to

express future time. These are often used used in connection

with schedules.

The train leaves at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow.

She is meeting a new client at six o’clock in the evening and she is

travelling by byke through the forest.

FUTURE PROGRESSIVE

This tense is used to describe an event or action

that will occur over a period of time at a specific

point in the future.

They will be sailing in the Atlantic ocean by the time you

arrive at the Island.

FUTURE PERFECT FORM: WILL HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE

USE: To say that something will be

finished before a particular time in the

future.

Typical time expressions used :

IN three weeks´/ two years´/ 10 hours´ time /

…

BY Saturday/ BY next year/ BY the time you

arrive / …

FUTURE PERFECT

Examples:

• By this time next month I´ll have done all the

work (i.e. the work will be finished next month at

the latest).

• In 5 years’ time I ’ll have had two children.

• By the time we get to the cinema, the film will

have started.

CAN YOU SEE THE

DIFFERENCE?

• 1 In two years´time I´ll write my novel.

• 2 In three years´time I´ll be writing my

novel.

• 3 In four years´time I´ll have written my

novel.

CAN YOU SEE THE

DIFFERENCE? • In two years´time I´ll

write my novel.

CAN YOU SEE THE

DIFFERENCE? • In three years´time I´ll be writing my novel.

CAN YOU SEE THE

DIFFERENCE? • In four years´time I´ll have written my novel.

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.

The Forms

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.

Using "Will"

Positive Negative Question

•I will have been

sleeping.

•You will have been

sleeping.

•We will have been

sleeping.

•They will have been

sleeping.

•He will have been

sleeping.

•She will have been

sleeping.

•It will have been

sleeping.

•I will not have been

sleeping.

•You will not have been

sleeping.

•We will not have been

sleeping.

•They will not have been

sleeping.

•He will not have been

sleeping.

•She will not have been

sleeping.

•It will not have been

sleeping.

•Will I have been

sleeping?

•Will you have been

sleeping?

•Will we have been

sleeping?

•Will they have been

sleeping?

•Will he have been

sleeping?

•Will she have been

sleeping?

•Will it have been

sleeping?

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.

Using "Be Going To"

Positive Negative Question

•I am going to have been

sleeping.

•You are going to have been

sleeping.

•We are going to have been

sleeping.

•They are going to have

been sleeping.

•He is going to have been

sleeping.

•She is going to have been

sleeping.

•It is going to have been

sleeping.

•I am not going to have

been sleeping.

•You are not going to have

been sleeping.

•We are not going to have

been sleeping.

•They are not going to have

been sleeping.

•He is not going to have

been sleeping.

•She is not going to have

been sleeping.

•It is not going to have been

sleeping.

•Am I going to have been

sleeping?

•Are you going to have been

sleeping?

•Are we going to have been

sleeping?

•Are they going to have

been sleeping?

•Is he going to have been

sleeping?

•Is she going to have been

sleeping?

•Is it going to have been

sleeping?

USE 1 Duration Before

Something in the Future We use the Future Perfect Continuous to show that something will

continue up until a particular event or time in the future. "For five

minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Friday" are all durations which

can be used with the Future Perfect Continuous. Notice that this is

related to the Present Perfect Continuous and the Past Perfect

Continuous; however, with Future Perfect Continuous, the duration

stops at or before a reference point in the future.

Past Present Future

X

Examples:

They will have been talking for over an hour by the time Thomas arrives.

She is going to have been working at that company for three years when it finally

closes.

James will have been teaching at the university for more than a year by the time

he leaves for Asia.

How long will you have been studying when you graduate?

We are going to have been driving for over three days straight when we get to

Anchorage.

A: When you finish your English course, will you have been living in New Zealand

for over a year?

B: No, I will not have been living here that long.

Notice in the examples above that the reference points (marked in italics) are in Simple

Present rather than Simple Future. This is because these future events are in time

clauses, and you cannot use future tenses in time clauses.

USE 2 Cause of Something in

the Future

Past Present Future

X

Using the Future Perfect Continuous before another action in the future is

a good way to show cause and effect.

Examples:

Jason will be tired when he gets home because he will have

been jogging for over an hour.

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.

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

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?

EXERCISES

Choose the correct future tense

1. The train …… at 11:20.

a. will arrive b. is going to arrive

c. will have arrived d. arrives

e. Is arriving

2. Wait! I …… you.

a. will help b. am going to help

c. will have helped d. help

e. am helping

3. As we want to get better marks in

English, we …. harder in the future.

a.will study b. are going to study

c. will have studied

d. study e. are studying

4. Josh … to the cinema with his friends

tonight.

a. Will go b. is going to go

c. Will have gone d. goes e. is going

5. I am afraid they …everything up by the

time we arrive.

a. Will eat b. are going to eat

c. Will have eaten d. eat e. are eating

Aaron is carrying two tyres- he

…(change)the tyres of a car.

Next week (be)… the beginning of

Winter and the weather forecast

says that there(be) …snow

tomorrow.

That’s why many customers of the

car shop have made an appointment

and (pass)… by today to get their

winter tyres.

By the end of the day , Aaron

(mount)… about 80 tyres.

He (be/probably)…tired after that.

It’s a lot of work for one day, but his

customers promise that next year,

they(have)…their tyres changed earlier.

That’s what they always say, but they

(forget/surely)… about it by next year

Some customers have agreed that they

(come) …for their cars tomorrow.

They have decided to go home by bus,

which(stop) …in front of the car repair

shop every hour