Future Tense
by Yogi P - September 29, 2023
Future Tense
The future tense will be used to talk about events or actions that will happen in the future. It will be one of the most important verb tenses in English grammar.
Types of Future Tense
There will be four main types of future tense in English:
Simple Future Tense
The simple future tense will be used to talk about actions that will be completed in the future. It will be formed by adding “will” or “shall” before the base form of the verb OR Subject + will/shall + Base form of the verb + the rest of the sentence.
Here is an example:
I will walk to the store tomorrow.
This sentence will mean that I will go to the store tomorrow. The action of walking to the store is anticipated.
Some more examples:
- She will cook dinner tonight.
- They will play football all day.
- I will watch a movie tonight.
- She will read a book before she goes to bed.
- I will walk to the store tomorrow.
Future Continuous Tense
The future continuous tense will be used to talk about actions that will be in progress at a specific time in the future. It will be formed by using the helping verb “will be” or “shall be” and the base form of the main verb + ing OR Subject + will be/shall be + verb+ing + the rest of the sentence.
Here is an example:
I will be walking to the store when I see you.
This sentence will mean that I will be in the middle of walking to the store when I see you. The action of walking will be in progress at the time of the other action (seeing you).
Some more examples:
- She will be cooking dinner when I arrive.
- They will be playing football when it starts to rain.
- I will be working on my homework when you call.
- I will be walking to the store when I see you.
Future Perfect Tense
The future perfect tense will be used to talk about actions that will happen before another action in the future. It will be formed by using the verb “will have” and the base form of the main verb OR Subject + will have + base form of the main verb + the rest of the sentence along with the time frame.
Here is an example:
I will have eaten dinner before you arrive.
This sentence will mean that I will finish eating dinner before you come to my house. The action of eating dinner will happen before the action of you arriving.
Some more examples:
- She will have studied for her test before she goes to bed.
- They will have played football all day before they come home.
- I will have finished my homework before my parents get home from work.
- I will have already finished my homework when you arrive.
Future Perfect Continuous Tense
The future perfect continuous tense will be used to talk about actions that will be in progress before another action in the future. It will be formed by using the verb “will have been” and the base form of the main verb OR Subject + will have been + Verb+ing + the rest of the sentence.
Here is an example:
I will have been walking for an hour before I arrive at the destination.
This sentence will mean that I will start walking an hour before I arrive at my destination. The action of walking will be in progress before the action of arriving.
Some more examples:
- She will have been working late all week.
- They will have been playing football for hours when they get tired.
- The train will have been delayed for an hour before it finally arrives.
- I will have been waiting for my friend for over an hour when I finally give up and go home.
Structures of Future Tense
To easily understand the structure of the future tense, see the table below.
| Simple Future Tense | Future Continuous Tense | Future Perfect Tense | Future Perfect Continuous Tense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject + will/shall + First form of main verb (Base form of the verb) + the rest of the sentence | Subject + will be/shall be + verb+ing + the rest of the sentence | Subject + will have + base form of main verb + the rest of the sentence along with the time frame | Subject + will have been + Verb+ing + the rest of the sentence |
| Examples:
I will visit the museum tomorrow. They will buy a new car next month. She will finish her work by evening. |
Examples:
You will be working when she arrives. We will be traveling during December. He will be studying all night for the exam. |
Examples:
They will have completed the project by next week. She will have read the book by the end of this month. I will have lived here for two years by December. |
Examples:
By next year, she will have been working here for a decade. They will have been playing football for an hour by the time it gets dark. We will have been traveling for two days straight by tomorrow afternoon. |
Let us learn the different ways to use the future tense in sentences. Let us see how the structure of a sentence will change when using the future tense form of the verb in the positive, negative, interrogative, or negative interrogative formats.
| Positive | Negative | Interrogative | Negative Interrogative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject + will + First form of verb | Subject + will not / won’t + First form of main verb | Will + Subject + First form of main verb | Will not / won’t + Subject + First form of main verb |
| For example:
I will walk to the store tomorrow. She will cook dinner tonight. They will play football all day. |
For example:
I will not walk to the store tomorrow. She will not cook dinner tonight. They will not play football all day. |
For example:
Will you walk to the store tomorrow? Will she cook dinner tonight? Will they play football all day? |
For example:
Will not you walk to the store tomorrow? Will not she cook dinner tonight? Will not they play football all day? |
Conclusion
The future tense will be an important verb tense in English grammar. It will be used to talk about events or actions that will happen in the future. There will be four main types of future tense: simple future tense, future continuous tense, future perfect tense, and future perfect continuous tense. The structure of the future tense will depend on the type of future tense and the subject of the sentence.
Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) of future tense:
1. What is the correct simple future tense form of the sentence: “She studies English”?
a) She will studied English
b) She will study English
c) She study English
d) She studying English
Answer: b) She will study English
2. Which of the following sentences is in the future continuous tense?
a) He will have finished his homework.
b) He will be finishing his homework.
c) He will finished his homework.
d) He will finishing his homework.
Answer: b) He will be finishing his homework.
3. Complete the sentence: By the time you arrive, they _____ the meeting.
a) will have been starting
b) will have started
c) will start
d) will be started
Answer: b) will have started
4. Which sentence is in the future perfect continuous tense?
a) She will have been teaching for five years next month.
b) She will teach next month.
c) She will have taught for five years next month.
d) She will teaches next month.
Answer: a) She will have been teaching for five years next month.
5. In which sentence is the future tense used incorrectly?
a) They will goes to the market.
b) He will be running a marathon.
c) They will have completed the task.
d) She will be singing a song.
Answer: a) They will goes to the market.
6. Which sentence is in the future perfect tense?
a) She will have cooked dinner.
b) She will cook dinner.
c) She will be cooking dinner.
d) She will cooking dinner.
Answer: a) She will have cooked dinner.
7. In the sentence “They will be living in Paris”, what is the verb in its base form?
a) Live
b) Living
c) Lived
d) Lives
Answer: a) Live
8. Which of the following sentences is in the simple future tense?
a) I will be playing tennis.
b) I will play tennis.
c) I will have played tennis.
d) I will playing tennis.
Answer: b) I will play tennis.
9. Choose the future perfect continuous tense sentence:
a) He will have been reading for two hours.
b) He will read for two hours.
c) He will have read for two hours.
d) He will be read for two hours.
Answer: a) He will have been reading for two hours.
10. Which is the correct future continuous form of the sentence: “She sings a song”?
a) She will be singing a song.
b) She will sings a song.
c) She will sang a song.
d) She will have sung a song.
Answer: a) She will be singing a song.
Fill in the blanks
1. Next year, they ______ (travel) to Japan.
2. By 6 PM, I ______ (finish) my work.
3. At this time tomorrow, we ______ (sit) on the beach.
4. In 2025, scientists ______ (likely discover) a new planet.
5. They ______ (not be) at the meeting tomorrow.
6. In July, he ______ (complete) his master’s degree.
7. How many books you ______ (read) by the end of the year?
8. This time next week, they ______ (fly) to Paris.
9. She ______ (not attend) the concert next Saturday.
10. By next month, I ______ (be working) at the new company for one year.
Answers: 1. will travel, 2. will have finished, 3. will be sitting, 4. will likely discover, 5. will not be, 6. will have completed, 7. will have read, 8. will be flying, 9. will not attend, 10will have been working
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