FUTURE TENSES- Talking about the future

• making a prediction,
• expressing an intention
• talking about an arrangement
PREDICTION – future forms

❑We use will/won't (the future simple) to talk about predictions which
are based on guesswork, analysis or judgement.
• The laptop battery will give you about two hours' continuous use. (This is
what previous batteries have done.)

❑We also use be going to + infinitive to make a prediction, especially if

there is evidence in the present to justify the prediction:
• Look at those black clouds. It's going to rain.
PREDICTION – future forms
❑We use will/won't be + verb -ing (the future continuous) for a temporary action in
progress at a particular point in the future:
• This time next Tuesday afternoon I'll be lying on the beach!

❑ We do not use the verb ‘be’ in the continuous:

• Shelley will be being in Morocco this time tomorrow. (Wrong)

Shelley will be in Morocco this time tomorrow.
PREDICTION – future forms
❑We use will/won't have + past participle (the future perfect) to make
predictions about actions which we expect to be completed by a particular
time in the future:

• He’ll have had the operation by May and should be a lot fitter then.

❑We use will/won't have + been + verb -ing to talk about an action which
is still ongoing at a point in the future, to focus on the duration of the
action:

▪ We’ll have been living in this house for twenty years in December
PREDICTION – future forms
❑With verbs such as live, work, stay, which contain the idea of continuity,
we can also use will/won't have + past participle:

• We'll have lived in this house for twenty years in December

DECISIONS AND INTENTIONS
❑We often use will/won't + infinitive (the future simple) to talk about a
decision made at the time of speaking:

▪ Oh, our guests are here. I'll go and sort out some drinks for them.
▪ You look tired. I'll cook dinner tonight.

❑We use be going to + infinitive for intentions (i.e., for actions that have
already been decided on):

▪ He is going to study environmental law next year.

Decisions and Intentions
❑We can use be going to for impersonal intention, e.g., of an authority:

▪ The Government is going to increase VAT in the budget.

❑We usually avoid be going to with the verbs go and come:

▪ I'm going to go home now. Are you going to come? (wrong)

▪ I'm going home now. Are you coming?
Arrangements
❑ We use the present continuous to describe an event in the future which has
already been arranged by the time of speaking:

▪ We're seeing a musical at the theatre next week. (We've got the tickets.)
▪ We're going to see a musical at the theatre sometime next week. (not arranged
yet; the focus is on our intention)

❑ We can also use will/won't be + verb -ing (the future continuous) to talk about
events that are a result of or part of an arrangement made in the past:

▪ 'How about joining us at the cottage this Sunday?'

▪ 'Oh, we can't. We'll be coming back from Edinburgh on Sunday. We're visiting
Julianne.
Other Future Meanings
❑We can use the present simple to talk about timetabled events:
▪ The tour departs on October 11th for 15 days and costs £495.
▪ The car comes at eleven to collect the guest speakers and they arrive at the hall
at eleven thirty

❑We use will/won't be + verb -ing for future events we see as certain
because they are part of a routine, especially when the event continues for
a period of time, e.g., a festival, a meeting:

▪ Winston will be performing with his steel band every night of the music festival.
▪ We'll be having our weekly meeting tomorrow so I'll present your proposal then.
Other Future Meanings
❑ We use will/won't to express statements of fact about the future:
▪ Next week I’ll be 21.
▪ The sun will rise at 5.30 tomorrow morning.

❑ Qualifying future forms: We can make predictions, intentions or decisions stronger or

weaker by using certain adverbs, for example definitely, certainly, probably, possibly
▪ The lecture probably won't start on time - they rarely do here.
▪ I'm definitely going to look for another job now!
▪ I certainly won't give you a lift to the station - it's only down the road!
Other Future Meanings

❑We can show our attitude to the future event by using an introductory verb,
for example think, expect, hope, doubt, suppose, promise, guarantee:

▪ I expect she’ll call us from the airport.

▪ The Association guarantees that 500 tickets will be available on the day.
Expressions with Future Meaning

❑ We use be to in formal English to talk about official arrangements in the future:

The President is to hold an official reception for the visitors.

❑ This construction is common in writing, especially in news articles:

Crash investigators are to release their findings to the press later today.

❑ We can also use be (not) to + infinitive for formal commands and instructions:
You are not to disturb the head teacher while the inspectors are here next
week.
Expressions with Future Meaning
❑ We can use ‘be due to’ to talk about an event which forms part of a timetable,
usually with a time phrase:
▪ Carriageway repairs on this stretch of the motorway are due to start on 26th May.
▪ New measures to contain asylum seekers are due to come into force on 1st
August but a case currently before the European court may delay this until the
autumn.

❑ We use ‘be about to’ to talk about an event that we intend or expect to happen in
the near future. The event mayor may not be planned, but we often use about to
when evidence in the present indicates that it will:

▪ Ladies and gentlemen. Please take your seats. The performance is about to start.
Expressions with Future Meaning
❑Other expressions used for talking about the near future are on the point
of and on the verge of. These both mean that something is about to
happen. They can be followed by either an -ing form or a noun:

▪ Don't provoke your little brother. You can see he's on the point of losing
his temper.
▪ Because of the erosion of their habitats, some species are on the verge
of extinction.
Expressions with Future Meaning
❑Some adjectives contain the idea of 'in the near future', e.g., imminent,
forthcoming, impending. We tend to use these adjectives in more formal
English:
▪ A decision from the judges is imminent. We will return to the law court as
soon as we have any further news.

❑We use impending only in attributive position, i.e. before the noun:

▪ The sensation of doom was impending. (Wrong)

▪ No one could shake off the sensation of impending doom. (Correct)
Expressions with Future Meaning
❑ Expressing probability and certainty

▪ The payment is likely to take ten days. Please contact us if it does not arrive
within that time.
▪ They're unlikely to arrive before six. The traffic is always awful on Fridays.
▪ The new timetable is sure to annoy some of the teachers when they see it.
▪ Don't worry about Dad - he's sure not to find out about the loan.
Expressions with Future Meaning
Some verbs contain an implied future in their meaning, i.e., we understand that they
relate to the future even though we do not use a future form:
Expressions with Future Meaning
was/were going to is a very common way of expressing the future in the past, it is possible to transfer
any form with future meaning to the past:
is going to jump
will be sailing
is going to shoot
will have died/will be dying
1 . 'Your son has been with his girlfriend for a long time. Any sign of wedding bells?’
'Well, I'm not sure, but I think he ... her to marry him on their holiday next week.’
A) asks B) will ask C) is going to ask

2 'Can I have your report this afternoon?’

'This afternoon? Oh, I don't think I ... by then.’
A) 'II have finished B) 'm finishing C) 'II be finishing
3. Look at the waiter. He's carrying too much. He ... all those plates.
A) 's dropping B) 's going to drop C) 'II be dropping

4 'Do you want to go to the cinema tonight?' 'No, I'm too tired. I ... an early night.’
A) 'm having B) will have had C) 'm going to have
5. Nobody supports my plan to climb Everest. But, believe me, I ... it!
A) 'm going to do B) will do C) 'II have done

6. 'I'm really worried about Susan. What do you think has happened?’
'Don't worry. She's probably just caught in traffic. I'm sure she ... here soon.’
A) will be B) is being C) will be being
7. Here's a letter from our holiday representative. They ... a reception in the bar
tonight at eight.
A) are holding B) will have held C) are going to hold

8. It ... all day on Sunday, so the party will be in the house, not in the garden.
A) will be raining B) is going to rain C) rains
Mark Rawlings and his team are still in the Andes filming Penny, a puma. They have managed to get quite
close to the big cat and gain her trust over the last summer. In this instalment of Mark's video diary, he
describes how Penny is currently spending a lot of time with a mate, so Mark and his team are sure that she is
going to have cubs in the spring. If that is the case, they (1) ... much of her over the winter. In fact, they are
unlikely to see much of her until the winter (2) ... over anyway, as pumas, like most of the large cats, tend to
hide away when the weather is bad. If Penny is pregnant, she (3) ... the cubs by early March and they (4) … the
den about three months later. Although Mark doubts whether she (5) ... out to hunt much in the next few
months, he (6) ... until she (7) .... Once the team (8) … filming Penny, they (9) ... to North America to track
down the grizzly bear, but Mark (10) ... such a pleasant assignment!

1 A) will see B) aren't seeing C) won't see

2 A) is B) will be C) is being
3 A) is having B)
v will have had C) will be having
4 A) are leaving B) will leave C) leave
5 A) will come B) is coming C) will have come
Mark Rawlings and his team are still in the Andes filming Penny, a puma. They have managed to get quite
close to the big cat and gain her trust over the last summer. In this instalment of Mark's video diary, he
describes how Penny is currently spending a lot of time with a mate, so Mark and his team are sure that she
is going to have cubs in the spring. If that is the case, they (1) ... much of her over the winter. In fact, they
are unlikely to see much of her until the winter (2) ... over anyway, as pumas, like most of the large cats,
tend to hide away when the weather is bad. If Penny is pregnant, she (3) ... the cubs by early March and they
(4) … the den about three months later. Although Mark doubts whether she (5) ... out to hunt much in the
next few months, he (6) ... until she (7) .... Once the team (8) … filming Penny, they (9) ... to North America
to track down the grizzly bear, but Mark (10) ... such a pleasant assignment!

6 A) stays B) will have stayed C) is going to stay

7 A) reappears B) will reappear C) is going to reappear
8 A) will finish B) have finished C) will have finished
9 A) are going B) are going to go C) go
10 A) thinks it is B) thinks that won’t be C) doesn’t think that will be