Future Tenses

HOW TO USE FUTURE TENSES IN ENGLISH

When talking about the future in English, many students use WILL for
everything – because it’s so easy! However, there are various future
tenses, and each one is used in a specific situation
#1 – For Predictions: Use WILL /
WON’T Or GOING TO
Predictions, projections, and other ways of guessing or imagining the
future can all use WILL/WON’T or GOING TO (with no difference):
The economy will recover quickly.
= The economy is going to recover quickly.
That team won’t win the game.
= That team‘s not going to win the game.
In the case of first conditional sentences (using IF) we usually use
WILL / WON’T:
If you practice every day, your English will improve fast.
If you don’t study, you won’t pass the test.
#2 – For Intentions: Use GOING
TO
What’s an “intention”? It’s when you want to do something, but you
have not yet taken any definite action.
You can use going to or other phrases for New Year’s resolutions (I hope
to, I’d like to, I’m planning to, I might, I’m thinking of):
I’m going to join a gym.
I’m going to read more books.
I’m going to get out of debt this year.
I’m going to start doing some volunteer work.
#3 – For Plans And
Arrangements, You Can Use 3
Verb Tenses:means you have already taken some definite
“Plans and arrangements”
action to make this plan a reality in the future.
Here’s the difference:
Plan / Arrangement:
Intention:
I’m meeting with Barbara tomorrow.
I’d like to meet with
I’m going to meet with Barbara tomorrow.
Barbara tomorrow.
I’ll be meeting with Barbara tomorrow.
(but Barbara and I
(Barbara and I have scheduled a time to
haven’t decided on a meet, so the meeting will definitely happen)
time yet)
As you can see from the example above, there are 3 verb tenses that
are commonly used:
Going to: We’re going to visit him next week.
Present Continuous: We’re visiting him next week.
Future Continuous: We’ll be visiting him next week.
#4 – For Decisions In The
Moment, Promises, And Offers,
Use
One of theWILL:
most common decisions made in the moment is when
ordering at a restaurant:

Ordering at a restaurant:
“Would you
I’ll have the salmon with a side order of vegetables. like coffee or
tea?” – “I’ll
I’ll have the chicken salad. have coffee.”

I’ll have a slice of apple pie with ice cream.

Also use WILL when you are offering to help someone, or making a
promise:
•
I’ll help you with your homework.
= I am offering to help you with your homework.
•
We’ll give you a ride to the train station.
= We are offering to take you to the train station.
•
I’ll call you at 5:00.
= I promise to call you at 5:00.
•
I’ll always love you.
= I promise to love you forever.
#5 – For Scheduled Events, Use
The PRESENT SIMPLE:
“Scheduled events” are things like:
•
Transportation schedules (flights, trains, etc.)
Our flight leaves at 8:00.
•
Conferences and events (meetings, lectures, classes)
The conference starts next Thursday.
•
Things that operate on a regular schedule (bank or store opening /
closing)
The supermarket closes in 15 minutes.
These are different from “plans and arrangements” because in general,
they are things we have no control over.
#6 – For Actions That Will Be
Completed Before A Specific
Time In The Future, Use The
Here’s an example:
FUTURE
Imagine PERFECT:
that right now it is 12:00 PM.
I will leave work at 5:00 PM.
Before I leave work, I am definitely going finish a project.
So I can say: “By 5:00 PM, I will have finished the project.”
Or: “By the time I leave work, I will have finished the project.”
MARIA FERNANDA GARCIA LOPEZ
•
MARIA DE JESUS
•
JOSE MANUEL CABRERA BALDERAS