Future Tenses - English Grammar Concepts with Examples
What is Future Tense?
- Simple Future Tenses
- Future Continuous Tenses
- Future Perfect Tenses
- Future Perfect Continuous Tenses
1. Simple Future Tense
The simple future refers to a time later than now, and expresses facts or certainty. It indicates that an action is in the future relative to the speaker or writer.
General form:
- Subject + shall/will + root verb
- I/we -shall + root verb
- He/She/It/all singular subjects -will + root verb
- You/They/all plural subjects
Rule 1:
The simple future tense is used to express an action that will take place in the future time.
Example:
- We shall buy a TV next month.
- You will know the result in a week.
- The novelist will complete his book next month.
- She will finish her studies next year.
- They will leave for Delhi tonight.
- The population of our country will increase in the next ten years.
Rule 2:
The simple future tense is used to predict a future event.
Example:
- It will rain tomorrow.
Rule 3:
- The simple future tense is used to express willingness.
Example:
- I'll do the washing-up.
- He'll carry your bag for you.
Rule 4:
Usage of 'Shall' in the interrogative sentence, 'shall' is usually used:
- to make an offer
- to ask for an advice or instructions
- to make a suggestion
Examples:
- Shall I open the window?
- Shall we go to the cinema tonight?
- What shall I tell the boss about this money?
Rule 5:
Usage of 'Will' In an affirmative sentence, 'will' is usually used:
- in promises
- to do something voluntarily
- to respond to someone else's complaint or request for help
- to request that someone help us or volunteer to do something for us
Examples:
- I will send you the information when I get it.
- I will translate the email, so Mr. Smith can read it.
- Will you help me move this heavy table?
- Will you make dinner?
- In a negative sentence, 'Will' is usually used to refuse to voluntarily do something.
- I will not do your homework for you.
- I won't do all the housework myself
Keywords:
- Tomorrow
- In future
- Next week
- Early
- Next month
- Next year
- On next Monday
- Soon
- In a few minutes
- Shortly
- In the coming days
- ln2005
- Later
- Here after
- Today evening
- In a little time
- In the years to come
- Within a week
2. Future Continuous Tense
The future continuous tense relates one action in the future to another specific action or time. It is used to express an action that will continuously occur in future. It is to indicate that in the middle of doing something in a specified time in the future.
General form:
Subject + shall / will + be + verb + ing
Rules 1:
The future continuous tense is used to the completion of an action before a given time in the future. It is also used to express future action in progress.
Examples:
- He will be traveling all the morning tomorrow.
- My sister will be reading the newspaper at 6 p.m tomorrow.
- We will be practicing in the game during this week.
- We will be having a geography lesson next period.
- My brother will be playing with his friends from 6 p.m to 7 p.m. tomorrow. +I shall be sitting in the train tomorrow at this time.
Rule 2:
The future Continuous tense is used to indicate that a longer action in the future will be interrupted by a shorter action in the future.
Examples:
- He will be watching TV when she arrives tonight.
- I will be waiting for you when your bus arrives.
- I am going to be staying at the Madison Hotel, if anything happens and you need to contact me.
- He will be studying at the library tonight, so he will not see Jennifer when she arrives.
Rule 3:
The Future Continuous tense is used to expresses the ideas of two parallel actions will be happening in the same sentence at the same time.
Examples:
- He is going to be studying and she will be going to be making breakfast.
- Tonight, she will be eating dinner, and discussing her plans.
- While Ram is studying, Raj will be watching the match.
Rule 4:
The future continuous tense is used to describe an environment at a specific point in the future in a series of Parallel Actions.
Example:
- When she arrives at the home, her children are going to be studying.
- Her father will be reading the newspaper. Other family members are going to be talking.
Rule 5:
It is used to make presumption about something in the present or future.
Example:
- She won't be coming on time. She is still at the home.
- Siva will be getting married very soon.
Rule 6:
It is used is to make polite questions about something or somebody.
Example:
- Will he be coming home before or after 10 AM?
- Will you be going to the shop? He has something to buy.
- Keywords:
- By this time tomorrow next week/Next year at this time tomorrow
- By this time tomorrow
- By this time next week
- By this month next year/At this time tomorrow
- During July and august
- By 3'o clock tomorrow.
3. Future Perfect Tense
The Future Perfect Tense indicates that an action will have been completed or finished or perfected at some point in the future.
General form:
Subject + shall/will + have + past participle
Rule 1:
The Future perfect tense is used to indicate the completion of as action before a give time in the future. It can also show that something will happen before a specific time in the future.
Examples:
- By April next year; I shall have completed the 10th standard.
- The classes will have begun by the time reach school.
- My cousins will have arrived by the time you go home from school.
- By June next year they will completed this bridge.
- I shall have studied five lessons by December this year.
Rule 2:
The Future Perfect tense is used to express the idea that something will occur before another action in the future.
Example:
- By next November, She will have received her promotion.
- Will he have studied enough English to communicate before he moves to London?
- By the time she finishes this course, I will have taken five tests.
Rule 3:
The Future Perfect tense is used to show that something will continue up until another action in the future.
Example:
- I will have been in German for three months by the time I leave.
- Keywords:
- By the end of this year
- By this time tomorrow
- In two year time
- in July next yea
- in another five months
4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense
It is used to express a continued or ongoing action that will start in future and is thought to be continued till sometime in future. A sense of time reference is found which gives an idea that action will start at some time in future and will continue for some time. Future Perfect Continuous has two different forms "will have been doing" and "be going to have been doing. Its forms are usually interchangeable.
General form:
Subject + shall / will + have + been + verb + ing
Rule 1:
The Future Perfect Continuous is used to show that something will continue up until a specific event or time in the future. "For ten minutes:' "for three weeks," and "since Monday" are the words which are associated with the Future Perfect Continuous. These words are also related to the Present Perfect Continuous and the Past Perfect Continuous. However, with Future Perfect Continuous, the event stops at or before a reference point in the future.
Examples:
- He will have been talking for over two hours by the time Raja arrives.
- James will have been teaching at the university for more than a year by the time he leaves for Asia.
- How long will he have been studying when he graduates?
- We are going to have been driving for over three days straight when we get to Anchorage.
Rule 2:
The Future Perfect Continuous is to be used to show cause and effect of an action before another action in the future.
Examples:
- Jai will be tired when he gets home because he will have been walking for an hour.
- Ram's English will be perfect when he returns to Mumbai because he will have been studying English in the London for two years.