The Future Tense

The future can be expressed in several ways in English. Here are the different possibilities:
1.

Future Simple: will + base form of the verb

2.

Be Going To: am, is, are + going to + base form of the verb

3.

Shall: Shall + subject + base form of the verb?

4.

Future Progressive: will be + verbing

5.

Present Simple and Present Progressive with Future Meaning

Time expressions in the Future Tense

There are several time expressions that are used in all of the different forms of the future tense.
They are generally used at the end of the sentence or question. The most common are:
tomorrow, next week (Sunday/month/year), in two days (weeks, months years), the day after
tomorrow.
Future Simple: Will + Base Form of the Verb
This form is used to:
Describe a simple action in the future:
1.

Shell write the e-mail after lunch.

2.

Alice wont help us decorate for the party.

Make a prediction or give a warning:

1.

Dont lift that. Youll hurt yourself

2.

If you dont finish the bid, the boss wont give you a raise.

Make a spontaneous decision:

1.

You dropped your purse. Ill get it.

Subject
I / You / We / They
He / She / It

will or wont +verb

Positive
Negative

rest of sentence

will see

you tomorrow night

wont see

Contractions
In general, use the contracted forms of the pronoun + will:
I will > Ill / he will > hell / she will > shell / you will > youll / we will > well /they will > theyll

Ex. Ill see you tomorrow. / Youll get the answer by post.
Try to use the short form wont instead of will not
Ex. I wont see you tomorrow.
Save the long forms for when you want to create emphasis in spoken Englsih or when writing
formal texts.
Ex. You will not do that again! / His hypothesis will not stand up to their criticism.
Yes/No Questions in the Future Simple
To create a question that will be answered with a yes or no, use Will (or Wont) + subject + base
form of the verb.
Will

subject
I / You / We / They

Will (Wont)

He / She / It

1.

Will Dave burn the CD for you?

2.

Wont the girls be late for the party?

base form of the verb

rest of sentence

send

that fax for me

Wh- Questions in the Future Simple

Wh- questions are questions that require more information in their answers. Typical wh- words
are what, where, when, why, who, how, how many, how much.
To form a Wh-question use: Wh-word + will (or wont) + subject + base form of the verb.
Wh word
What
Why

Will
subject
will
I / You / We / They
wont He / She / It

1.

When will he give you an answer?

2.

Why wont you tell him the truth?

base form of the verb

tell
finish

rest of sentence
him tonight
the project

Future Be Going To
We usually use am, is or are + going to + the base form of the verb to talk about actions in the
future that have already been decided on.
Subject
I
He / She / It
You / We / They

Form of be + going to
Positive
Negative
am going to am not going to
is going to isnt (is not) going to
are going arent (are not) going
to

base form of the

verb
buy

to

1.

Dans going to take the order over to the customer.

2.

The girls are going to sing Amazing Grace now.

rest of sentence
some clothes
tomorrow

3.

They arent going to buy the house.

4.

I am not going to make dinner tonight. Were going out to a restaurant.

Yes/No Questions Be going to

To ask a question that will be answered with either a yes or no, start with Am, Is or Are (or
isnt/arent for negative questions), then choose a subject (the person or thing doing the action),
followed by going to + the base form of the verb.
A form of be
Am
Is / Isnt
Are/ Arent

subject
I
he / she / it
you / we / they

going to + verb

rest of sentence

going to eat

lunch today

1.

Am I going to feel bad about my decision?

2.

Is he going to watch the film tonight?

3.

Are you going to participate in the race tomorrow?

Wh-Questions Be Going To
Wh- questions are questions that require more information in their answers. Typical wh- words
are what, where, when, which, why, who, how, how many, how much.
To create a wh-question, start with the wh-word, then add am, is or are, then the subject (a
person or thing that will be doing the action), going to and the base form of the verb.
Wh- word

A form of be
am
is / Isnt
are/ arent

Why

subject
I
he / she / it
you / we / they

1.

How much is the computer going to cost?

2.

Why arent you going to buy that car?

going to + verb

rest of sentence

going to watch

the news

Future: Shall
Shall is used with the subjects I and we to make suggestions or to offer to do something for
someone. It is always used in the form of a question.
Will
Shall

subject
I / We

base form of the verb

send

1.

Shall we go for a walk?

2.

Shall I help you with that?

rest of sentence
out for pizza

The use of shall to mean will is formal English and is not commonly used today.

Future Progressive (Continuous) will + be + verbing

Spelling Tip
Verbing (Present Participle)

Add ing to most verbs. Ex. play > playing, cry > crying, bark > barking

For verbs that end in e, remove the e and add ing. Ex: slide > sliding, ride > riding

For verbs that end in ie, change the ie to y and add ing. Ex: die > dying, tie > tying

For a verb whose last syllable is written with a consonant-vowel-consonant and is

stressed, double the last letter before adding ing. Ex: beg > begging, begin > beginning.
However: enter > entering (last syllable is not stressed)

We use will/wont + be + verbing (present participle) when we know that an action will be in
progress at some time in the future or to describe something that has been pre-arranged.
will / wont + be + verbing
Positive
I / You / We / They
He / She / It

Negative
will be waiting

rest of sentence
wont be waiting

1.

Dont phone me before 12:00. I will be meeting with a client.

2.

You can take my car tomorrow. I wont be using it.

3.

This time next year, we will be living in our new home.

for you

Yes/No Questions in the Future Progressive (Continuous)

To ask a question that will be answered with either a yes or no, start with Will or Wont, then
choose your subject (the person or thing that will be doing the action), followed by be + verbing
(present participle).
Will/Wont
Will
Wont

Subject
I
he / she / it
you / we / they

be + verbing
be exhibiting

Rest of Sentence
at the show next month

be coming

to the wedding on Sunday

1.

Will Allen be participating in the science fair next week ?

2.

Wont you be visiting your mother when Im in town?

Wh-Questions in the Future Progressive (Continuous)

Wh- questions are questions that require more information in their answers. Typical wh- words
are what, where, when, which, why, who, how,
To create a wh-question, start with the wh-word, then will +the subject (a person or thing that is
doing the action), followed by be + the ing ( present participle) form of the verb.
Wh Word

will/wont

subject
I

verbing

rest of sentence

When

will

he / she / it

be meeting

with the CEO today

you / we / they
1.

Where will he be waiting for me?

2.

How will you be travelling to the exhibition?

Some Wh-questions have a different word order:

Wh Word
How many
Who

subject
people

will
will
will

verbing
be attending
be going

rest of sentence
the show
with you

1.

How many contestants will be attempting to win the prize?

2.

Which runners will be running the race?

3.
Examples Future Tense

Positive
1.

Shell write the e-mail after lunch.

2.

Dont lift that. Youll hurt yourself.

3.

You dropped your purse. Ill get it.

4.

Ill see you tomorrow.

5.

Youll get the answer by post.

6.

Dans going to take the order over to the customer.

7.

The girls are going to sing Amazing Grace now.

8.

Ill drive you to your lesson at 4 pm.

9.

He is going to clean up his room tonight.

10.

Dont phone me before 12:00. I will be meeting with a client.

11.

This time next year, we will be living in our new home.

12.

He will be receiving his M.A. degree at the ceremony next week.

13.

Her bus leaves at 6:00 Tuesday morning.

14.

Im turning in my History assignment tomorrow morning.

Negative
1.

Alice wont help us decorate for the party.

2.

If you dont finish the bid, the boss wont give you a raise.

3.

I wont see you tomorrow.

4.

You will not do that again!

5.

They arent going to buy the house.

6.

I am not going to make dinner tonight. Were going out to a restaurant.

7.

Teddy and Sam arent going to eat at that restaurant again.

8.

You can take my car tomorrow. I wont be using it.

9.

He wont work overtime anymore.

Yes/No Questions
1.

Will Dave burn the CD for you?

2.

Wont the girls be late for the party?

3.

Am I going to feel bad about my decision?

4.

Is he going to watch the film tonight?

5.

Are you going to participate in the race tomorrow?

6.

Shall we go for a walk?

7.

Shall I help you with that?

8.

Will Allen be participating in the science fair next week?

9.

Wont you be visiting your mother when Im in town?

10.

Will Ron be visiting you today?

Wh- Questions

1.

When will he give you an answer?

2.

Why wont you tell him the truth?

3.

How much is the computer going to cost?

4.

Why arent you going to buy that car?

5.

Where will he be waiting for me?

6.

How will you be travelling to the exhibition?

7.

How many contestants will be attempting to win the prize?

8.

Which runners will be running the race?

Tag Questions
1.

John will call her tomorrow, wont he?

2.

All those girls will be sitting quietly, wont they?

3.

You are going to finish that work, arent you?

4.

That bee is going to sting me, isnt it?

5.

Carey wont report me, will she?

6.

The kids arent going to play soccer tomorrow, are they?

7.

Youre not working tomorrow, are you?