Future

In English, there are several tenses which can be used in order to express future time.

Will Future:
The will-future is composed of the auxiliary verb will and the infinitive of the verb. However, sometimes the short forms ‘ll (will) and won’t (will not) are used.

Forms:
Affirmation:
[I, He/She/It, We/You/They] + will + infinitve

Negation:
[I, He/She/It, We/You/They] + will not + infinitve

Note:
In formal English, the term ‘I/we will‘ is sometimes replaced by ‘I/we shall’ and shan’t (shall not).

Use:
1) The will-future is used to talk about predictions and assumptions referring to the future. In most cases, it is impossible to influence the outcome of those events (for example the weather). There are some common verbs and adverbs being often used in combination with suppositions and predictions.

Among these are: I believe, I think, I expect, I hope, I suppose, I’m sure, probably, maybe and perhaps

Examples:
1.1) I’m sure the weather will be quite bad in London tomorrow.
1.2) I think she will like her new home.
1.3) Perhaps you will like the new book I bought for you.


2) The will-future is also used if someone decides to do something spontaneously.

Example:
2.1) Oh my God, you are badly injured. I’ll call an ambulance.

Going to-future:
The going to-future is composed of a form of to be + going to + infinitive

Forms:
Affirmation:
[I am, He/She/It is, We/You/They are] + going to + infinitive

Negation:
[I am not, He/She/It is not, We/You/They are not] + going to + infinitive

Use:
1) The going to-future is used to talk about plans and intentions in the future.

Examples:
1.1) Just imagine. My elder sister is going to study music in Paris.
1.2) I’m going to celebrate my birthday in October.

2) The going to-future is used if there already indications of events which are very likely to happen.
Example:
2.1) Look at that cloudless sky. It’s going to be a wonderful summer’s day.

Present Progressive:
Use:
The present progressive can be used to describe projects and scheduled activities taking place in the future. Those sentences, however, require certain signal words like ‘this afternoon’, ‘on Saturday’, etc.
in order to underscore their relation to future events.

Examples:
1) I’m throwing a party on Friday. Are you coming?
2) Could you drive me to the mall this afternoon?
- Sorry, I’m playing squash with Max.

Simple Present:
Use:
The simple present is used to describe future events being determined by a timetable, a calendar, etc.
Especially verbs like start, stop, arrive, open and close are often used in this way.

Examples:
1) The next plane from New York arrives at 6:30.
2) We should hurry. The new action movie starts at 8 pm.

Future Progressive:
The future progressive is composed of the auxiliary will + be +ing-form of the verb.

Forms:
Affirmation:
[I, He/She/It, We/You/They] + will be + ing-form


Negation:
[I, He/She/It, We/You/They] + will not be + ing-form

Use:
1) The future progressive is used for actions and occurrences which will be taking place at a particular time in the future. Furthermore, the action has already begun at that point of time.

Example:
1.1) A week today I’ll be driving to Paris with my brand new car.
2) The future progressive is used to express that it is common for somebody to do something regularly.

Example:
2.1) I’ll be visiting my grandmother on Saturday, as usual.

Future Perfect:
The future perfect is composed the auxiliary will + have + past participle.

Forms:
Affirmation:
[I, He/She/It, We/You/They] + will have + past participle

Negation:
[I, He/She/It, We/You/They] + will not have + past participle

Use:
The future perfect is used to talk about actions and occurrences which will already have happened before a particular point of time in the future. In most cases, signal words like ‘by tomorrow’ or ‘when we arrive at...’ are required in a sentence to emphasize their relation to future events.

Example:
1) The last ship will have left when we arrive at the port.
2) I’m afraid she won’t have made a decision by tomorrow.

The synonym alphabet

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