Future Tenses in English










There is often very little difference between the future tenses. It often depends where you live (in Britain or the USA) and when you use the sentence (in spoken or written communication).
• In newspapers we often use the will-future, when the going to-future is used in oral communication.
- Newspaper:
The headmaster will close the old gym.
- Oral:
The headmaster is going to close the old gym.
- We can substitute the going to-future with the Present Progressive when using an expression of time.
- She is going to see Frank at the airport at 8.30.
- She is seeing Frank at the airport at 8.30.

* There are several different ways in English that you can talk about the future.

1- will-future (will + infinitive).
* Usage:
Prediction, assumption;
spontaneous action;
action happens without the speaker’s intention
-Example: He will carry this bag for her.

2- going to-future (to be (am, are, is) + going to + infinitive).
* Usage:
The auxiliary verb going to is used in talking about intentions. (An intention is a plan for the future that you have already thought about.)
-Example: We're going to buy a new car next month.

3- Simple Present (infinitive 3rd person singular (he, she, it) infinitive + -s).
* Usage:
future action is fixed (e.g. timetable)
-Example: Hurry up! The train departs in 10 minutes.

4- Present Progressive (to be (am, are, is) + infinitive + -ing).
* Usage:
planned action in the near future, the present continuous tense is used in talking about arrangements. (An arrangement is a plan for the future that you have already thought about and discussed with someone else.)
-Example: Our grandparents are visiting us this Christmas.

5- Future Progressive (will + be + infinitive + -ing).
* Usage:
action will definitely happen (it usually happens).
-Example: Don't call me after 11 o'clock. I'll be sleeping.

6- Future Perfect (will + have + past participle).
* Usage:
something. will already have happened before a certain time in the future.
-Example: She will have written the letter by tomorrow.
I hope my mother will have finished cooking dinner by the time I get home.

7- Future perfect continuous (will + have been+ verb + ing).
* Usage:
We use the future perfect continuous tense to talk about a long action before some point in the future.
-Example: By the time I retire I will have been working here for 45 years!
- All the previous sentences were in affirmative forms.
For negative sentences in the future tenses, we insert not between will and the rest of the rest of the sentence

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