Future with WILL / Future Simple/ Simple Future Tense

FORM 
Will ('ll) + short infinitive I/we shall
Short form of will not: won't 

USES:

1. To make a statement of fact - certitudini

Mary will be here tomorrow.
She will be 30 tomorrow.
The sun will rise at 6 on Thursday.

2. To make formal announcements of future plans and to present weather forecasts. It is therefore
often used in newspapers and on the television and radio. 
The new President will move into the White House tomorrow. 
Rain will continue throughout the day.

3. Predictions - To express hopes, expectations, thoughts about the future. Used after
 verbs: assume, believe, doubt, expect, hope, reckon, suppose, think
 phrases: be sure/afraid/in, all probability
 adverbs: perhaps, possibly, probably, definitely
I expect they'll be here soon. 
Do you think she'll bring her boyfriend with her? 

4. To express an intention when the decision is made at the time of speaking . - Decisions made on the
spot - No premeditation
A: There isn't any milk left.
B: Oh, isn't there? I'll get some in town. I'm going there later on.
The phone is ringing. I'll answer it!

5. Modal meanings (subjective attitudes)

I'll do it for you. I promise. (promise) 
Will you open the window, please? (request) 
I'll look after the children for you. (offer)
He won't come with me. (refusal)
Yes, I'll come with you. (agreement)
I'll definitely tell him the truth this time. (determination) 
Stop that or I'll call the police. (threat) 

6. To make offers or suggestions or to ask for suggestions, advice, instructions

Use Shall I/we ... in the question form.
Shall I help you with that? (offer) 
Shall we invite them round for dinner? (suggestion) 
What shall I do? 
Shall we come round after dinner? 

7. Typical behaviour
Boys will be boys!

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 8. In sentences containing clauses of condition or time (in the main clause): 
If I get that job, I'll go out and celebrate. 
I'll phone you when I get there. 

Contrast: be going to versus will: 

Intention 

The be going to and will futures can both be used to express an intention about the future. 
 Be going to: the intention is premeditated. The decision was made before the time of speaking or writing
and plans have probably already been made. 
A: You know it's Emily's birthday on Friday, don't you? 
B: Yes, I'm going to buy her a present this afternoon. 
 Will: the intention is unpremeditated. The decision is made at the time of speaking or writing. 
A: You know it's Emily's birthday on Friday, don’t you? 
B: Actually. I'd forgotten. Thanks for reminding me. I'll buy her a present this afternoon. 

Prediction 

The be going to and will futures can both be used to make predictions about the future. 
 Be going to: the prediction is based on some form of evidence that exists in the present. It is often used
to predict something that is about to happen but it can be used to predict something that is not in the
immediate future. 
Oh look! That car is going to crash! 
That child eats too much. He's going to be really overweight one day. 
 Will: to express beliefs, hopes, thoughts, assumptions and doubts about the future:
It'll be a difficult year for the new Prime Minister. 
I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself there.

Statement of future fact 

The be going to and will futures can both be used to make statements about the future but the emphasis is
slightly different. 
a) The number of students will fall over the next five years. 
b) The number of students is going to fall over the next five years. 
Sentence a) is a statement of future fact or of the speaker's beliefs. 
Sentence b) is also a statement of future fact but it emphasizes that the speaker is thinking of present trends. It
makes the speaker seem more involved and is thus more informal. 

Expression of willingness 

Will is often used to express willingness. 

Be going to doesn't have this meaning. 
I'll help you as much as I can. (expression of willingness, a promise) 
I'm going to help you as much as I can. (expression of intent) 

Practice

Put the verbs into the be going to future or the shall/will future. If both tenses are possible, choose the one that
is most appropriate for the context. 
With the verbs to go or to come use the present continuous as future instead of the be going to future. 

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Two friends, Jack and Dave are talking 
J: Have you decided what you (do) this weekend? 
D: Yes, we (have) a quiet day on Saturday and then on Sunday we (take) a bus into the mountains and do some
walking. And we (probably book into) a hotel there for the night. What about you? (You/do) lots of work
as usual? 
J: Well, no. Mark phoned last night about coming down this weekend. 
D: Really? 
J: Yes, he (come) on Friday. 
D: Oh, I'd like to see him. I think I (phone him up) tonight and arrange something. 
J: Well, we're planning to spend the day on the beach on Saturday. We (do) some swimming and sunbathing. I
just hope the weather (be) warm enough. And then on Saturday night we (see) that new film with Tom
Cruise. 
D: Well, as I've got nothing planned, I (join) you at the beach on Saturday then if that's O.K. 
J: Of course it is, I (pick you up) from your flat some time after breakfast. 
D: Oh, thanks, (I/bring) a picnic? 
J: Yes. Why not? I tell you what: Mark and I (make) some sandwiches and you (bring) some salad and fruit? 
D: Yes, fine. I (do) that. Good. That (save) us the cost of eating out. And what about the film? What time
(yow/see) that? 
J: We (see) the early showing at 6.00 and then we (try out) that new disco in town. 
D: Right. Well. I think I (spend) the evening at home with Sarah. 
J: O.K. So I (see) you on Saturday morning, probably at around 10 o'clock. 
D: Fine. 

The be going to future

verb to be + going + to-infinitive: I'm going to stay, etc.

USE
1. To express intention. The speaker had the intention before the time of speaking - Premeditated
intention
I'm going to open my own private practice after I graduate from medical school.

2. To make a prediction based on present evidence: 

The sun's going down. It's going to be dark in half an hour.
You're driving too fast! You're going to have an accident. 

Present Continuous as future

We can use the present continuous to refer to the future. A future time reference must be stated or be clear from
the context.

USE 
To describe arrangements. We use it to talk about the future when the plans have been made. It is quite
informal and is used to describe arrangements such as social activities rather than official plans. As it
refers to personal arrangements, the subject of the verb should be a person or people and not a thing.
I'm meeting Charlotte for lunch tomorrow. 

Contrast: be going to future versus present continuous as future 

a) I'm going to visit my aunt in hospital tomorrow.

b) I'm visiting my aunt in hospital tomorrow. 

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Both these sentences are correct and the difference between them is slight. Sentence (a) places more emphasis
on the intention and sentence (b) places more emphasis on the arrangement. 
We do not generally use the present continuous with activities that do not involve the making of an arrangement
or plan. We can say: "I'm going to write a letter to my parents tonight." (the intention is important) but we do
not say "I'm writing a letter to my parents tonight.” (no arrangement is required). 
We tend to avoid using verbs of motion, e.g. to go and to come in the be going to future and prefer instead to
use the present continuous with these verbs. E.g.: We're going to the theatre tonight. 

a) Look at that helicopter coming down. It's going to land in a minute. 

b) Look at that helicopter coming down. It's landing in a minute. - wrong
Sentence (a) is correct but sentence (b) is not possible. We do not use the present continuous to make a
prediction based on present evidence. 

We can use the present continuous as future with a future time reference or where the future time reference is
clear from the context. Where this is not the case, we use the be going to future. 
He's having a swim. (=now, if there is no time reference) 
He's going to have a swim. (in the future) 

Verbs not normally used in the continuous are not used in the present continuous as future. 
We cannot say: I'm needing some help next week. 

We can sometimes use verbs not normally used in the continuous with the be going to future. This does not
happen very often as these verbs do not describe events that we normally predict or intend. 
We can say: I'm going to need some help next week. 

Practice 

15. Rewrite the dialogue substituting the verbs in the be going to future with the present continuous as future
where this is possible.

A: Are you going to come to the meeting tomorrow about the proposed staff cuts? 
B: Oh yes, definitely. 
A: Have you read the report about the cuts? 
B: No, not yet. I'm going to read it tonight. What does it say? 
A: Well, there are going to be quite a few cuts in this department. 
B: Oh no. I wonder who's going to lose their jobs. 
A: I don't know. I think they're going to ask people if they want to take voluntary redundancy. 
B: Well, I certainly don't want that. We're going to move into a new flat next month and the rent's quite high. I
don't know what's going to happen if I lose my job. 
A: Oh, don't worry about it too much. I'm sure everything's going to be all right. Look, why don't we go out for
a drink after work? 
B: I can't. I'm going to meet some friends for a meal and then we're going to go to the cinema.
A: Well, what about tomorrow night? Are you going to go out then? 
B: No, I'm not going to do anything.
A: So let's go out after the meeting. 
B: Ok. Good idea.

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Future Continuous

will be + present participle: I'll be coming, etc.

USE

1. To describe an activity that will be in progress at a point in the future: 

This time tomorrow we'll be sitting on the plane.

2. To describe an activity that will cover the whole of a future time period (temporary action -
future):
I'll be working in the office all evening.

3. Neutral Future
To describe a future event without expressing deliberate intention: 

SUE: Oh dear, I haven't given Derek that book back. 

JOE: That's all right. I'll be seeing him at the music club tonight so I'll give it to him for you. (oricum)
Here, the activity of seeing Derek is not an express intention but will happen when Joe goes to the music club.
I'll be revising for my exams this weekend so I think I'll stay in on Saturday night. 
The intention expressed here is to stay in on Saturday night (The plan to revise is relevant to this decision) 
-polite questions*

4. To describe what we assume someone else is doing at this moment: 

Don't phone her now. It's 4 o'clock and she'll be collecting the children from school.

Contrast: future continuous versus will future 

will future: expresses intention, belief, hope, assumption and willingness

future continuous: indicates future activity or event but does not express intention or willingness 

I'll come and visit you tomorrow. (intention, promise) 

I'll be coming to visit you tomorrow so I can bring the magazines then. (future activity in normal course of
events)

Will you come to the meeting tonight? (request) 

Will you be coming to the meeting tonight? (casual question about future event)

Practice 

Put the verbs in brackets into the will future or the future continuous. Complete any short answers with will or
won't. 

1. A: Would you like to come over for lunch on Saturday? 

B: Well unfortunately, I (work) all day Saturday. 
A: Oh, that's a shame. Well, you (have to come over) another day. I (talk) to Andy about it and I (phone)
you on Sunday. .... (you/be) in then? 
B: Yes, definitely. I (recover) from my week's work. 

2. A: ... (you/go) to the meeting tonight? If so, I (give) you a lift there. 
B: Oh yes please, that would be helpful. I (play) tennis until 7 o'clock but I (be) back shortly after that. 

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 A: O.K. I (pick you up) at about 7.30. ... (you be) ready by then? 
B: Yes. Don't worry. I (wait) for you when you get here. 

3. A: Do you ever think about what you (do) in ten years’ time? 
B: Oh yes. I sometimes imagine that I (do) a very important job and earning lots of money and that I
(live) in a beautiful big house. But to be honest, I think I (still work) here and I (probably do) the
same job. 
A: No, you ... . You (get) a better job soon, I'm sure you ... .
B: And so .... you. 
A: And then we (go) on wonderful foreign holidays and we (learn) to speak different languages. 
B: Perhaps. 

4. A: Oh dear, I've run out of stamps. I (not be able to post) these letters now.
B: Well, I (go) to the post office later on. I (take) the letters and post them for you. 
A: Oh thank you. I (give) you the money for the stamps. 

5. A: So I (wait) for you when you get to the station. I (not come) onto the platform but I (see) you by the
ticket office.
B: O.K., that's fine. I (carry) a heavy suitcase so I think we (have) to get a taxi from the station. 

Contrast: Future Continuous versus Present Continuous as future

present continuous as future: used for plans. The intention is not important. 

future continuous: can also be used to refer to plans. It is not generally used when we first tell someone about a
plan. It is often used to refer to a plan when this plan is relevant to the main future event in the sentence. 

We're spending the summer on the coast. (Telling someone about our plans) 
A: Have you ever been sailing? 
B: No, but we'll be spending the summer on the coast so I might try it then. 
(Referring to the arrangement to spend the summer on the coast in connection with the main idea of the
sentence - to try sailing) 

A: Will you be using your bike tomorrow? 

B: No, I won't. 
A: Well, I wonder if I could borrow it for the afternoon. 
(Asking about plans in order to make a request for the future that is connected to those plans.) 

Practice 

Put the verbs in brackets into the present continuous or the future continuous. It is often the case that either
tense is correct. Choose the tense that you think is the most appropriate. 

1. A: (you/see) Tony at work tomorrow? 

B: Yes. I will.
A: Do you think you could give him a message for me? 
2. A: Where (you/go) this summer? 
B: We (go) to the Pyrenees for a couple of weeks in July to do some walking. 
3. A: Have you read the notes for the meeting? 
B: No, not yet, but I (sit) on the train for three hours tomorrow so I can do it then. 
4. A: Can you post this letter for me on your way to work? 

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 B: I'm sorry but I (not walk) past the post box this morning because Emma (give) me a lift to work. I'll
post it for you later on though.
5. A: What (you/do) tonight? .... (you/come round) to Rita's with us?
B: No. I don't think so. I (see) quite a lot of her at our play rehearsals next week. 
6. A: I must collect my new glasses from the optician. 
B: Do you want me to collect them? I (go) past there later on anyway.

Future Perfect Simple and Continuous - anteriority in the future

 To talk about the past from a point in the future. It is the equivalent of the present perfect with the
reference point in the future. The present perfect looks back from now: the future perfect looks back
from the future.

FORM 

Future perfect simple: will have + past participle: will have done
I'll have finished, etc. 

Future perfect continuous: will have been + present participle: will have been doing
I'll have been working, etc. 

Practice 

Put the verbs in brackets into the present simple, future simple, future perfect simple or future perfect
continuous. 

1. I think she (hear) all about it by the time I (see) her. 

2. I reckon I (finish) this book by the weekend and then I (give) it to you. 
3. The children (be) hungry when they (get in) because they (run around) all afternoon. 
4. This government (be) in power for eight years soon but I don't think they (win) the next election. 
5. (you/eat) when you (get) here? If not, I (make) you something.
6. Don't phone them now. They (not get) home yet. They (probably get back) at about half-past eight. 
7. I think they (finish) building the house by the time the winter (come) and then we (move in) in the New
Year. 
8. I expect they (be) tired when you (see) them because they (work) all day. 
9. If I (come) and see the film with you on Saturday, I (see) it six times. But it is my favourite film of all
time: I think you (love) it. 
10. Why don't you come round at 9 o'clock? The children (go) to bed then so it (be) nice and peaceful.