Present Continuous Tense

I am singing

We often use the present continuous tense in English. It is very different from the simple present tense,
both in structure and in use.

In this lesson we look the structure and use of the present continuous tense, follwed by a quiz to check
your understanding:

 Structure: how do we make the present continuous tense?

 Use: when and why do we use the present continuous tense?
 Spelling: how do we spell verbs with -ing for the present continuous tense?
 Present Continuous Tense Quiz

Continuous tenses are also called

progressive tenses. So the present
progressive tense is the same as the
present continuous tense.
How do we make the Present Continuous Tense?
The structure of the present continuous tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

be base + ing

Look at these examples:

subject auxiliary verb main verb

+ I am speaking to you.

+ You are reading this.

- She is not staying in London.

- We are not playing football.

? Is he watching TV?

? Are they waiting for John?

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How do we use the Present Continuous Tense?

We use the present continuous tense to talk about:

 action happening now

 action in the future

Present continuous tense for action happening now

a) for action happening exactly now

I am eating my lunch.
past present future

The action is happening now.

Look at these examples. Right now you are looking at this screen and at the same time...

...the pages are turning. ...the candle is burning...................the numbers are spinning.

b) for action happening around now

The action may not be happening exactly now, but it is happening just before and just after now, and it
is not permanent or habitual.

John is going out with Mary.

past present future

The action is happening around now.

Look at these examples:

 Muriel is learning to drive.

 I am living with my sister until I find an apartment.

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Present continuous tense for the future

We can also use the present continuous tense to talk about the future—if we add a future word!! We
must add (or understand from the context) a future word. "Future words" include, for example,
tomorrow, next year, in June, at Christmas etc. We only use the present continuous tense to talk
about the future when we have planned to do something before we speak. We have already made a
decision and a plan before speaking.

I am taking my exam next month.

past present future

!!!
A firm plan or programme exists
The action is in the future.
now.

Look at these examples:

 We're eating in a restaurant tonight. We've already booked the table..

 They can play tennis with you tomorrow. They're not working.
 When are you starting your new job?

In these examples, we have a firm plan or programme before speaking. The decision and plan were
made before speaking.

How do we spell the Present Continuous Tense?

We make the present continuous tense by adding -ing to the base verb. Normally it's simple—we
just add -ing. But sometimes we have to change the word a little. Perhaps we double the last letter,
or we drop a letter. Here are the rules to help you know how to spell the present continuous tense.

Basic rule Just add -ing to the base verb:

work > working

play > playing

assist > assisting

see > seeing

be > being

Exception 1

s t o p
If the base verb ends in consonant + stressed vowel + consonant, double the last letter:
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stressed
consonant consonant
vowel
(vowels = a, e, i, o, u)

stop > stopping

run > running

begin > beginning

Note that this exception does not apply when the last syllable of the base verb is not
stressed:

open > opening

Exception 2 If the base verb ends in ie, change the ie to y:

lie > lying

die > dying

Exception 3 If the base verb ends in vowel + consonant + e, omit the e:

come > coming

mistake > mistaking

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Present Perfect Tense

I have sung

The present perfect tense is a rather important tense in English, but it gives speakers of some languages
a difficult time. That is because it uses concepts or ideas that do not exist in those languages. In fact,
the structure of the present perfect tense is very simple. The problems come with the use of the tense.
In addition, there are some differences in usage between British and American English.

In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the present perfect, followed by a quiz to check your
understanding:

 Structure: how to make the present perfect tense

 Use: when and why to use the present perfect tense
 For and Since with the present perfect tense. What's the difference?
 Present Perfect Quiz

The present perfect tense is really a very

interesting tense, and a very useful one. Try
not to translate the present perfect tense
into your language. Just try to accept the
concepts of this tense and learn to "think"
present perfect! You will soon learn to like
the present perfect tense!

How do we make the Present Perfect Tense?

The structure of the present perfect tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

have past

participle Here are some examples of the present

perfect tense:

subject auxiliary verb main verb

+ I have seen ET.

+ You have eaten mine.

- She has not been to Rome.

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- We have not played football.

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? Have you finished?

? Have they done it?

Contractions with the present perfect tense

When we use the present perfect tense in speaking, we usually contract the subject and auxiliary verb.
We also sometimes do this when we write.

I have I've

You have You've He's or he's??? Be careful! The 's

contraction is used for the auxiliary verbs
He has He's have and be. For example, "It's eaten"
She has She's
can mean:
It has It's
John has John's
The car has The car's
 It has eaten. [present perfect
We have We've tense, active voice]
 It is eaten. [present tense,
They have They've passive voice]

Here are some examples:

 I've finished my work.

 John's seen ET.
 They've gone home.

How do we use the Present Perfect Tense?

This tense is called the present perfect tense. There is always a connection with the past and with the
present. There are basically three uses for the present perfect tense:

1. experience
2. change
3. continuing situation

1. Present perfect tense for experience

We often use the present perfect tense to talk about experience from the past. We are not interested in
when you did something. We only want to know if you did it:

I have seen ET.

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He has lived in Bangkok.

Have you been there?
We have never eaten caviar.
past present future

!!!
The action or state was in the In my head, I have a memory
past. now.
Connection with past: the event was in the past.
Connection with present: in my head, now, I have a memory of the event; I know something about
the event; I have experience of it.

2. Present perfect tense for change

We also use the present perfect tense to talk about a change or new information:

I have bought a car.

past present future

- +
Last week I didn't have a car. Now I have a car.

John has broken his leg.

past present future

+ -
Yesterday John had a good leg. Now he has a bad leg.

Has the price gone up?

past present future

+ -
Was the price $1.50 yesterday? Is the price $1.70 today?

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The police have arrested the killer.

past present future

- +
Yesterday the killer was free. Now he is in prison.
Connection with past: the past is the opposite of the present.
Connection with present: the present is the opposite of the past.

Americans do not use the present perfect

tense so much as British speakers.
Americans often use the past tense instead.
An American might say "Did you have
lunch?", where a British person would say

3. Present perfect tense for continuing situation

We often use the present perfect tense to talk about a continuing situation. This is a state that started
in the past and continues in the present (and will probably continue into the future). This is a state
(not an action). We usually use for or since with this structure.

I have worked here since June.

He has been ill for 2 days.
How long have you known Tara?
past present future

(It will probably continue into

The situation started in the past. It continues up to now.
the future.)
Connection with past: the situation started in the past.
Connection with present: the situation continues in the present.

For & Since with Present Perfect Tense

We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.

 We use for to talk about a period of time—5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years.

 We use since to talk about a point in past time—9 o'clock, 1st January, Monday.
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for since
a period of time a point in past time

x------------
20 minutes 6.15pm

three days Monday

6 months January

4 years 1994

2 centuries 1800

a long time I left school

ever the beginning of time

etc etc

Here are some examples:

 I have been here for 20 minutes.

 I have been here since 9 o'clock.
 John hasn't called for 6 months.
 John hasn't called since February.
 He has worked in New York for a long time.
 He has worked in New York since he left school.

For can be used with all tenses. Since is

usually used with perfect tenses only.

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Present Perfect Continuous Tense

I have been singing

How do we make the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?

The structure of the present perfect continuous tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb + auxiliary verb + main verb

have
has been base + ing

Here are some examples of the present perfect continuous tense:

subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main verb

+ I have been waiting for one hour.

+ You have been talking too much.

- It has not been raining.

- We have not been playing football.

? Have you been seeing her?

? Have they been doing their homework?

Contractions

When we use the present perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and the
first auxiliary. We also sometimes do this in informal writing.

I have been I've been

You have been You've been

He has been He's been
She has been She's been
It has been It's been
John has been John's been
The car has been The car's been
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We have been We've been

They have been They've been

Here are some examples:

 I've been reading.

 The car's been giving trouble.
 We've been playing tennis for two hours.

How do we use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?

This tense is called the present perfect continuous tense. There is usually a connection with the
present or now. There are basically two uses for the present perfect continuous tense:

1. An action that has just stopped or recently stopped

We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started in the past and stopped
recently. There is usually a result now.

I'm tired because I've been running.

past present future

!!!
Recent action. Result now.

 I'm tired [now] because I've been running.

 Why is the grass wet [now]? Has it been raining?
 You don't understand [now] because you haven't been listening.

2. An action continuing up to now

We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started in the past and is
continuing now. This is often used with for or since.

I have been reading for 2 hours.

past present future

Action started in past. Action is continuing now.

 I have been reading for 2 hours. [I am still reading now.]

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 We've been studying since 9 o'clock. [We're still studying now.]
 How long have you been learning English? [You are still learning now.]
 We have not been smoking. [And we are not smoking now.]

For and Since with Present Perfect Continuous Tense

We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.

 We use for to talk about a period of time—5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years.

 We use since to talk about a point in past time—9 o'clock, 1st January, Monday.

for since
a period of time a point in past time

20 minutes 6.15pm

three days Monday

6 months January

4 years 1994

2 centuries 1800

a long time I left school

ever the beginning of time

etc etc

Here are some examples:

 I have been studying for 3 hours.

 I have been watching TV since 7pm.
 Tara hasn't been feeling well for 2 weeks.
 Tara hasn't been visiting us since March.
 He has been playing football for a long time.
 He has been living in Bangkok since he left school.

For can be used with all tenses. Since is

usually used with perfect tenses only.

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Simple Past Tense

I sang

The simple past tense is sometimes called the preterit tense. We can use several tenses to talk about
the past, but the simple past tense is the one we use most often.

In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the simple past tense, followed by a quiz to check
your understanding:

How do we make the Simple Past Tense?

To make the simple past tense, we use:

 past form only

or
 auxiliary did + base form

Here you can see examples of the past form and base form for irregular verbs and regular verbs:

V1 V2 V3
base past past participle

work worked worked

regular The past form for all
explode exploded exploded
verb regular verbs ends in -
like liked liked
ed.
The past form for
go went gone
irregular irregular verbs is
see saw seen
verb variable. You need to
sin sang sung
learn it by heart.
g
You do not need the past participle
form to make the simple past tense. It
is shown here for completeness only.

The structure for positive sentences in the simple past tense is:

subject + main verb

past

The structure for negative sentences in the simple past tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb

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did base

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The structure for question sentences in the simple past tense is:

auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

did base

The auxiliary verb did is not conjugated. It is the same for all persons (I did, you did, he did etc). And
the base form and past form do not change. Look at these examples with the main verbs go and
work:

subject auxiliary verb main verb

I went to school.
+
You worked very hard.

She did not go with me.

-
We did not work yesterday.

Did you go to London?

?
Did they work at home?

Exception! The verb to be is different. We conjugate the verb to be (I was, you were, he/she/it was,
we were, they were); and we do not use an auxiliary for negative and question sentences. To make a
question, we exchange the subject and verb. Look at these examples:

subject main verb

I, he/she/it was here.

+
You, we, they were in London.

I, he/she/it was not there.

-
You, we, they were not happy.

Was I, he/she/it right?

?
Were you, we, they late?

How do we use the Simple Past Tense?

We use the simple past tense to talk about an action or a situation—an event—in the past. The
event can be short or long.

Here are some short events with the simple past tense:

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The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday.

She went to the door.
We did not hear the telephone.
Did you see that car?
past present future

The action is in the past.

Here are some long events with the simple past tense:

I lived in Bangkok for 10 years.

The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years.
We did not sing at the concert.
Did you watch TV last night?
past present future

The action is in the past.

Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the past,
or millions of years in the past. Also it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a few
milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period). We use the simple past tense when:

 the event is in the past

 the event is completely finished
 we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event

In general, if we say the time or place of

the event, we must use the simple past
tense; we cannot use the present perfect.
Here are some more examples:

 I lived in that house when I was young.

 He didn't like the movie.
 What did you eat for dinner?
 John drove to London on Monday.
 Mary did not go to work yesterday.

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 Did you play tennis last week?
 I was at work yesterday.
 We were not late (for the train).
 Were you angry?

Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the simple past tense. We may use the past continuous
tense to "set the scene", but we almost always use the simple past tense for the action. Look at this
example of the beginning of a story:

"The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold. The door
opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet, and ordered a drink at
the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drank his..."

This page shows the use of the simple past

tense to talk about past events. But note
that there are some other uses for the
simple past tense, for example in
conditional or if sentences.

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Past Continuous Tense

I was singing

The past continuous tense is an important tense in English. We use it to say what we were in the
middle of doing at a particular moment in the past.

In this lesson we look at the structure and the use of the past continuous tense, followed by a quiz to
check your understanding:

How do we make the Past Continuous Tense?

The structure of the past continuous tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb BE + main verb

conjugated in simple past tense present participle

was
base + ing
were

For negative sentences in the past continuous tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main
verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example
sentences with the past continuous tense:

subject auxiliary verb main verb

+ I was watching TV.

+ You were working hard.

- He, she, it was not helping Mary.

- We were not joking.

? Were you being silly?

? Were they playing football?

The spelling rules for adding ing to make the past continuous tense are the same as
for the present continuous tense.

How do we use the Past Continuous Tense?

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The past continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The action started
before that moment but has not finished at that moment. For example, yesterday I watched a film on
TV. The film started at 7pm and finished at 9pm.

At 8pm yesterday, I was watching TV.

past present future
8pm

At 8pm, I was in the middle of

watching TV.

When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are
talking about. Look at these examples:

 I was working at 10pm last night.

 They were not playing football at 9am this morning.
 What were you doing at 10pm last night?
 What were you doing when he arrived?
 She was cooking when I telephoned her.
 We were having dinner when it started to rain.
 Ram went home early because it was snowing.

Some verbs cannot be used in

continuous/progressive
We often use the past continuous tense to "set the scene" in stories. We use it to describe the
background situation at the moment when the action begins. Often, the story starts with the past
continuous tense and then moves into the simple past tense. Here is an example:

" James Bond was driving through town. It was raining. The wind was blowing hard. Nobody was
walking in the streets. Suddenly, Bond saw the killer in a telephone box..."

Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense

We often use the past continuous tense with the simple past tense. We use the past continuous tense to
express a long action. And we use the simple past tense to express a short action that happens in the
middle of the long action. We can join the two ideas with when or while.

In the following example, we have two actions:

1. long action (watching TV), expressed with past continuous tense

2. short action (telephoned), expressed with simple past tense

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past present future

Long action.

I was watching TV at 8pm.

8pm

You telephoned at 8pm.

Short action.

We can join these two actions with when:

 I was watching TV when you telephoned.

(Notice that "when you telephoned" is also a way of defining the time [8pm].)

We use:

 when + short action (simple past tense)

 while + long action (past continuous

tense) There are four basic combinations:

I was walking past the car when it exploded.

When the car exploded I was walking past it.

The car exploded while I was walking past it.

While I was walking past the car it exploded.

Notice that the long action and short action are relative.

 "Watching TV" took a few hours. "Telephoned" took a few seconds.

 "Walking past the car" took a few seconds. "Exploded" took a few milliseconds.

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Past Perfect Tense

I had sung

The past perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and to use. This tense talks about the "past
in the past".

In this lesson we look at:

How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?

The structure of the past perfect tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb HAVE + main verb

conjugated in simple past tense past participle

had V3

For negative sentences in the past perfect tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and
main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these
example sentences with the past perfect tense:

subject auxiliary verb main verb

+ I had finished my work.

+ You had stopped before me.

- She had not gone to school.

- We had not left.

? Had you arrived?

? Had they eaten dinner?

When speaking with the past perfect tense, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:

I had I'd

you had you'd

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he had he'd
she had she'd
it had it'd

we had we'd

they had they'd

The 'd contraction is also used for the

auxiliary verb would. For example, we'd can
mean:

 We had
or
 We would

But usually the main verb is in a different

form, for example:

How do we use the Past Perfect Tense?

The past perfect tense expresses action in the past before another action in the past. This is the past in
the past. For example:

 The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the train had left.

The train had left when we arrived.

past present future

Train leaves in past at 9am.

We arrive in past at 9.15am.

Look at some more examples:

 I wasn't hungry. I had just eaten.

 They were hungry. They had not eaten for five hours.
 I didn't know who he was. I had never seen him before.

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 "Mary wasn't at home when I
arrived." "Really? Where had she
gone?"

You can sometimes think of the past perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of the time
being now the time is past.

past perfect tense present perfect

tense
have |
had done |
| done >|
|
>|

past now future past now future

For example, imagine that you arrive at the station at 9.15am. The stationmaster says to you:

 "You are too late. The train has left."

Later, you tell your friends:

 "We were too late. The train had left."

We often use the past perfect tense in reported speech after verbs like said, told, asked,
thought, wondered:

Look at these examples:

 He told us that the train had left.

 I thought I had met her before, but I was wrong.
 He explained that he had closed the window because of the rain.
 I wondered if I had been there before.
 I asked them why they had not finished.

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Past Perfect Continuous Tense

I had been singing

How do we make the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?

The structure of the past perfect continuous tense is:

auxiliary auxiliary verb

subject + + + main verb
verb BE
HAVE
conjugated in simple past present
past participle
tense participle

had been base + ing

For negative sentences in the past perfect continuous tense, we insert not after the first auxiliary verb.
For question sentences, we exchange the subject and first auxiliary verb. Look at these example
sentences with the past perfect continuous tense:

subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main verb

+ I had been working.

+ You had been playing tennis.

- It had not been working well.

- We had not been expecting her.

? Had you been drinking?

? Had they been waiting long?

When speaking with the past perfect continuous tense, we often contract the subject and first auxiliary
verb:

I had been I'd been

you had been you'd been

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he had he'd been

she had been she'd been

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it had been it'd been

we had been we'd been

they had been they'd been

How do we use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?

The past perfect continuous tense is like the past perfect tense, but it expresses longer actions in the
past before another action in the past. For example:

 Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at 11am. When I arrived, Ram had been waiting for
two hours.

Ram had been waiting for two hours when I arrived.

past present future
Ram starts waiting in past at
9am.

9 11

I arrive in past at 11am.

Here are some more examples:

 John was very tired. He had been running.

 I could smell cigarettes. Somebody had been smoking.
 Suddenly, my car broke down. I was not surprised. It had not been running well for a
long time.
 Had the pilot been drinking before the crash?

You can sometimes think of the past perfect continuous tense like the present perfect continuous tense,
but instead of the time being now the time is past.

past perfect continuous tense present perfect continuous tense

had | | | have |
been | | | been |
doing | | | doing |
>>>> | | | >>>> |

past now future past now future

For example, imagine that you meet Ram at 11am. Ram says to you:

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 "I am angry. I have been waiting for two hours."

Later, you tell your friends:

 "Ram was angry. He had been waiting for two hours."

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Simple Future Tense

I will sing

The simple future tense is often called will, because we make the simple future tense with the
modal auxiliary will.

How do we make the Simple Future Tense?

The structure of the simple future tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb WILL + main verb

invariable base

will V1

For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main
verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example
sentences with the simple future tense:

subject auxiliary verb main verb

+ I will open the door.

+ You will finish before me.

- She will not be at school tomorrow.

- We will not leave yet.

? Will you arrive on time?

? Will they want dinner?

When we use the simple future tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:

I will I'll

you will you'll

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he will he'll
she will she'll
it will it'll

we will we'll

they will they'll

For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we contract with won't, like this:

I will not I won't

you will not you won't

he will not he won't

she will not she won't
it will not it won't

we will not we won't

they will not they won't

How do we use the Simple Future Tense?

No Plan

We use the simple future tense when there is no plan or decision to do something before we speak. We
make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking. Look at these examples:

 Hold on. I'll get a pen.

 We will see what we can do to help you.
 Maybe we'll stay in and watch television tonight.

In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision is made at the time
of speaking.

We often use the simple future tense with the verb to think before it:

 I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow.

 I think I will have a holiday next year.
 I don't think I'll buy that car.

Prediction

We often use the simple future tense to make a prediction about the future. Again, there is no firm
plan. We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples:

 It will rain tomorrow.

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 People won't go to Jupiter before the 22nd century.

 Who do you think will get the job?

Be

When the main verb is be, we can use the simple future tense even if we have a firm plan or decision
before speaking. Examples:

 I'll be in London tomorrow.

 I'm going shopping. I won't be very long.
 Will you be at work tomorrow?

Note that when we have a plan or intention

to do something in the future, we usually
use other tenses or expressions, such as the
present continuous tense or going to.

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Future Continuous Tense

I will be singing

How do we make the Future Continuous Tense?

The structure of the future continuous tense is:

auxiliary auxiliary verb

subject + + + main verb
verb BE
WILL
present
invariable invariable
participle

will be base + ing

For negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we insert not between will and be. For question
sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future
continuous tense:

subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main verb

+ I will be working at 10am.

+ You will be lying on a beach tomorrow.

- She will not be using the car.

- We will not be having dinner at home.

? Will you be playing football?

? Will they be watching TV?

When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and will:

I will I'll

you will you'll

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he will he'll
she will she'll
it will it'll

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we will we'll

they will they'll

For spoken negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we contract with won't, like this:

I will not I won't

you will not you won't

he will not he won't

she will not she won't
it will not it won't

we will not we won't

they will not they won't

We sometimes use shall instead of

will, especially for I and we.
How do we use the Future Continuous Tense?

The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the future. The action will
start before that moment but it will not have finished at that moment. For example, tomorrow I
will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm:

At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working.

past present future

4pm

At 4pm, I will be in the middle

of working.

When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are
talking about. Look at these examples:

 I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow.

 They won't be watching TV at 9pm tonight.
 What will you be doing at 10pm tonight?
 What will you be doing when I arrive?
 She will not be sleeping when you telephone her.
 We 'll be having dinner when the film starts.
 Take your umbrella. It will be raining when you return.

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Future Perfect Tense

I will have sung

The future perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and use. The future perfect tense talks
about the past in the future.

How do we make the Future Perfect Tense?

The structure of the future perfect tense is:

auxiliary auxiliary verb main

subject + + +
verb HAVE verb
WILL
invariable invariable past participle

will have V3

Look at these example sentences in the future perfect tense:

subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main verb

+ I will have finished by 10am.

+ You will have forgotten me by then.

- She will not have gone to school.

- We will not have left.

? Will you have arrived?

? Will they have received it?

In speaking with the future perfect tense, we often contract the subject and will. Sometimes, we
contract the subject, will and have all together:

I will have I'll have I'll've

you will have you'll have you'll've

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he will have he'll have he'll've

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she will have she'll have she'll've

it will have it'll have it'll've

we will have we'll have we'll've

they will have they'll have they'll've

We sometimes use shall instead of

will, especially for I and we.
How do we use the Future Perfect Tense?

The future perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the future. This is the
past in the future. For example:

 The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am. When
you arrive, the train will have left.

The train will have left when you arrive.

past present future

Train leaves in future at 9am.

9 9.15

You arrive in future at 9.15am.

Look at some more examples:

 You can call me at work at 8am. I will have arrived at the office by 8.
 They will be tired when they arrive. They will not have slept for a long time.
 "Mary won't be at home when you
arrive." "Really? Where will she have
gone?"

You can sometimes think of the future perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of your
viewpoint being in the present, it is in the future:

present perfect tense future perfect tense

| will |
have | have |
done | done |
>| >|

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past now future past now future

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Future Perfect Continuous Tense

I will have been singing

How do we make the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?

The structure of the future perfect continuous tense is:

auxiliary auxiliary auxiliary main

subject + + + +
verb WILL verb HAVE verb BE verb
present
invariable invariable past participle
participle

will have been base + ing

For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we insert not between will and have. For
question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future
perfect continuous tense:

subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main verb

+ I will have been working for four hours.

+ You will have been travelling for two days.

- She will not have been using the car.

- We will not have been waiting long.

? Will you have been playing football?

? Will they have been watching TV?

When we use the future perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and
auxiliary verb:

I will I'll

you will you'll

he will he'll
she will she'll
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it will it'll

we will we'll

they will they'll

For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we contract with won't, like this:

I will not I won't

you will not you won't

he will not he won't

she will not she won't
it will not it won't

we will not we won't

they will not they won't

How do we use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?

We use the future perfect continuous tense to talk about a long action before some point in the future.
Look at these examples:

 I will have been working here for ten years next week.
 He will be tired when he arrives. He will have been traveling for 24 hours.

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