Future Continuous
The future continuous tense is used by native English speakers quite often and this is your chance to learn and understand this tense so you can start using it.
What Is Future Continuous Tense?
The future continuous (also called the future progressive) tense is often used in English as a way to talk about an action or event happening at a given point in the future. It indicates that something will occur in the future and continue for an expected length of time.
Future Continuous: Structure
We form the future continuous with the modal verb 'will,' the auxiliary verb 'be' and the present participle of the main verb.
Future Continuous: Negation
For negative sentences we put 'not' between the modal verb 'will' and the auxiliary verb 'be':
She will be using the car. → She will
We will be having dinner. → We will
When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and will:
I
In negative sentences, you can contract 'will not' as won't, like this:
I
Future Continuous: Questions
For yes/no question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these examples with the future continuous tense:
He
For wh- questions, do the exact thing you do for yes/no questions and add the proper wh- question word at the beginning of the sentence and omit the part that is the answer.
He will be cooking dinner this evening. →
Tip!
If you want to learn more about spelling rules of adding -ing to the base form of verbs, see here.
Future Continuous: Uses
Using Future Continuous to Talk about Ongoing Actions in the Future
When someone uses the future continuous, they are thinking about:
Ongoing Actions in the Future
We use the 'future continuous tense' to talk about an unfinished action that will be in progress at a time later than now. When we talk about unfinished actions, it means they have started earlier and continued until a particular point in the future, and they may continue. For example:
At 4 p.m. tomorrow, I
They
We use the 'future continuous tense' to talk about an action in progress in the future that is interrupted by a shorter action. By a shorter action, we mean that the action which interrupts the future continuous tense does not last for a long time. Check out these examples:
She
I
We use the 'future continuous tense' to project ourselves into the future. In this case, we have already made our minds to do something. For example:
By Christmas Jane and I
This time next month I
We use the 'future continuous tense' with 'still', to talk about events that are already happening now and that we expect to continue until some time into the future. It means that the event started in the past, is still ongoing, and may happen in the future as well. For example:
In one year he
Sadly, prices
Predictions about Future
We use the 'future continuous tense' to predict future events. It means we are not totally sure whether it happens or not, but we think it is going to happen. check out the following examples:
I expect that she
You
We can use the 'future continuous tense' to talk about continuous events that we expect to happen in the future. This means that we predict that they are about to happen.
I
When James is in Germany, he
Changes
We use the 'future continuous tense' to talk about future actions that we see as new, different, or temporary. It means that they might not last long or they will be in a different situation.
They're taking the bus today, but tomorrow they
I
Fixed Arrangements
We use the 'future continuous tense' to talk about arrangements, often as a reminder, or warning. For example:
We
We
Polite Enquiries
We use the 'future continuous tense' in the interrogative form to make polite enquiries about someone's plans for the future. You use this structure to ask someone's intention to do something, or ask for their plans. For example:
When Not to Use Future Continuous Tense
We do not normally use the continuous tense with stative verbs (also called non-continuous verbs). Action verbs describe activities like running, thinking, and seeing. Stative verbs describe states of existence, for example be, seem, and know.
When you see him tomorrow, he will be seeming) like a different person.
You
Review
Future continuous tense is used to talk about actions that are supposed to be in progress at a particular time in the future.
Structure, Affirmative, Negative, Contraction, and Question Form
| structure | Subject + will + be + -ing form |
|---|---|
| affirmative |
He |
| contraction |
He |
| negative |
He |
| contraction |
He |
| yes/ no question |
|
| -wh question |
|
Future Continuous Tense Is Mainly Used for
- Ongoing actions in the future
- Predictions about future
- Changes
- Fixed arrangements
- Polite enquiries
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