There are several different ways to talk about the future in English. However, it is important to remember that we express more than the time of an action or event.
Obviously, any future tense will relate to the moment, which can be described as "later than now." However, it can also express our attitude to a future event. Let's find out how the future tense is formed in English.
Main way
To get started, ask yourself: what are you doing this weekend? Think about the answer in English. Does he include the word will? For example, you answered:
- I will go shopping this weekend.
- I will visit my family this weekend.
- I will see a movie.
Transfer:
- I'll go shopping this weekend.
- This weekend I will visit my family.
- I'll watch a movie.
So we were taught to talk about upcoming school activities. To talk about the future, we use the auxiliary verb will + verb. For instance:
- I will visit my grandmother today.
- She will go to the movie theater with her friends this evening.
Transfer:
- Today I will go to my grandmother.
- In the evening, she will go to the cinema with her friends.
English learners often wonder about how the future tense is formed in English with irregular verbs. In constructions, a verb in a position behind the auxiliary is placed in the infinitive, that is, in its initial form.
Or maybe you are familiar with the construction, to be going to + a verb, for example:
- They're going to go to a restaurant for dinner tonight (Tonight they will go to the restaurant for dinner).
Grammatically, what you know is true, but there is one big problem ... Despite the fact that these rules about the future tense in the English language are still relevant, in reality no one uses them! Sounds provocative, right?
In everyday life, the British use 4 different methods to talk about future events, plans, intentions, wishes, expectations and forecasts. And the construction of will + verb is rarely used to express the future. So, how is the future formed in English?
What are you doing tonight after work? What are your plans for the weekend? What are you planning to do this summer? How are you going to celebrate your birthday? What are the sales forecasts for this company for next year? These are very common questions both in everyday conversation and in professional situations. Try to answer them! This will serve as a kind of exercise for the future tense in the English language.
How to talk about the future?
The good news: in order to figure out how the future tense is formed in English, we will not focus only on the rules of grammar. Instead, you should think about real life situations and how we can talk about them using the grammar we already know!
Scheduled Events and Schedule
When do you work? Are you traveling by bus or metro? What time does your bus leave on Friday? Is your friend's birthday party planned for this weekend? What time does it start?
You can see that in these matters we are talking about planned events that can no longer be changed. For example, you cannot change the schedule of trains or buses. And if your friend has a birthday party scheduled for Saturday, you probably won’t be able to change the date and time.
Now think about how you could answer these questions. Did you know that native English speakers often don’t use will when talking about the future? Then, how is the future tense formed in English in this case? When it comes to planned actions that are exactly going to happen, you need to use a simple present. For instance:
- The train leaves at 8:45 am on Friday (The train leaves at 8:45 am on Friday).
- The next bus arrives in 12 minutes.
- Susan's party starts at 8:00 pm on Saturday evening (Susan's party starts at 8 pm on Saturday).
- My next meeting is right after lunch and then I have another at 3:30 pm (My next meeting is right after lunch, and then another at half past three).
- He has a dental appointment scheduled for this afternoon (He has an appointment with the dentist for this day).
- Classes start next Monday (Classes start next Monday).
- We have to hurry! The movie starts in 5 minutes (We have to hurry up! The movie starts in 5 minutes).
- The grocery store closes in just a few minutes.
Now look at your calendar. Do you have any plans or arrangements?
Plans
Think about these questions:
- What are you doing this weekend?
- Where are you going for your summer vacation?
- Where will you meet your friend tomorrow at lunchtime?
These are general questions that relate to your plans or arrangements. This means something that you were thinking about, and you agreed, for example, made reservations, bought tickets, booked a hotel, talked with someone else.
We usually use the present continuous to talk about our future plans and arrangements. This method also includes the familiar construction to be going to + verb.
It is worth mentioning that present continuous is also used to talk about what you are doing at the moment of speech, so let's look at two examples to understand the difference:
- A: What are you doing?
- B: I'm working on the agenda for tomorrow's meeting.
- A: What are you doing tomorrow?
- B: I'm meeting Sue for lunch to discuss the contract.
Transfer:
- A: What are you doing? (the question is focused on the moment of speech).
- Q: I am working on the agenda for tomorrow's meeting.
- A: What are you doing tomorrow? (the question is focused on the future).
- B: I meet with Sue at lunch to discuss the contract.
We offer even more examples of future tense in the English language, expressed through the present long time.
- We're working in the garden most of the weekend to get it ready to plant and then we're having dinner with some friends Saturday night. What about you?
- We're going to Corsica for a couple of weeks in August. I just booked our tickets. I'm SO excited!
- We're meeting at Lucia tomorrow for lunch. Do you want to come?
- My family's coming to my house for Thanksgiving this year. I'm cooking most of the dishes but my sister's bringing dessert and my mom's making a salad.
Transfer:
- We work in the garden most of the weekends to prepare it for the garden season, and then we have lunch with friends on Saturday night. And what about you?
- We will go to Corsica for a couple of weeks in August. I just ordered tickets. I'm so excited!
- Tomorrow we are going to Lusia for lunch. Do you want to come?
- My family is coming to me for Thanksgiving this year. I cook most of the dishes, but my sister will bring dessert, and my mother will make a salad.
What other ways are there to express the future?
Intentions or forecasts with evidence
We talked about plans above. However, an intention is something that you are going to do, but which you are still not entirely sure of. For instance:
- I'm going to start exercising after the New Year! I've been eating too much over the holidays.
- What are you going to order?
- He's going to travel around Europe or Asia after he graduates from school next year.
- What are we going to do about this customer complaint?
- When are you going to respond to Susan about the conference?
Transfer:
- I'm going to start training after the New Year! I ate too much during the holidays.
- (At the restaurant) What are you going to order?
- He is going to travel to Europe or Asia after graduation next year.
- What will we do with this customer’s complaint?
- When are you going to answer Susan about the conference?
Did you notice the pattern? To talk about intentions, we use the construction to be going to + to the infinitive verb.
It is also the form commonly used when evidence-based forecasting is needed. For instance:
- Look at the clouds coming in! It's going to rain shortly.
- Did you know Susan's pregnant? She's going to have the baby in 3 months.
Transfer:
- Look at the clouds! It will rain soon. (We forecast rain based on the large number of clouds in the sky).
- Do you know Susan is pregnant? She will give birth in 3 months.
Note the following design feature to be going to + verb.
Note
In American English pronunciation, words are often swallowed, so in speaking the construction of going to + the verb sounds like gonna. However, this does not occur in writing.
Forecasts without evidence, actual statements / immediate decisions
Now consider these final questions and consider how to answer them.
What do you think will be life in 20 years? What happens if you do not pass the exam? Think about whether it will rain while we are on vacation? Should we pack a rain cover? Can you come to the party this weekend?
Speaking of the future with desire, when you make a prediction based on something that you believe, think, or feel, then the will + verb construct is usually used. This indicates that this is your prediction, without facts or evidence. For instance:
- Cars will fly and everyone will live in glass houses by 2040.
- I don't think it will rain. That would be very unusual for August.
- I'll come to your party if I can get my project finished at work. We're under a tight deadline.
Transfer:
- By 2040, cars will fly, and everyone will live in glass houses.
- I don’t think it will rain. That would be very unusual for August.
- I will come to the party if I can finish my project at work.
We will also use this construct to talk about actual future statements. For instance:
- I'm sorry you're having a bad day. But tomorrow the sun will rise and it will be a new day.
- Wewill have a full moon tonight.
Transfer:
- I'm sorry you have a bad day. But tomorrow the sun will rise, and a new day will come.
- There will be a full moon tonight.
And finally, if you made an immediate decision at the time of the conversation, then in most cases you will use the same design. For instance:
-The phone's ringing!
-I'll get it (I'll pick up the phone).
other methods
How is the future tense formed in English? In the project, we will present more ways to express future actions. For example, you can use verbs like would, plan, want, mean, hope, expect:
- What are you going to do next year? I'd like to go to University.
- We plan to go to France for our holidays.
- George wants to buy a new car.
Transfer:
- What are you going to do next year? I would like to go to university.
- We plan to go to France for our holidays.
- George wants to buy a new car.
We use modal verbs may, might, could when we are not sure about the future:
- I might stay at home tonight, or I might go to the cinema.
- We could see Mary at the meeting. She sometimes goes.
Transfer:
- Tonight I can stay home or I can go to the cinema.
- At the meeting, we can see Mary. She sometimes goes to them.
We can use should if we think something is most likely to happen:
- We should be home in time for tea.
- The game should be over by eight o'clock.
Transfer:
- We should be home in time for tea.
- The game should end by eight o’clock.
We express the future in complex sentences with when, after, until. Moreover, the subordinate part of the proposal in most cases is put in a simple present, even if we are talking about the upcoming action.
- I'll come home when I finish work.
- You must wait here until your father comes.
- They are coming after they have had dinner.
Transfer:
- I'll be home when I'm done with work.
- You have to wait here until your father comes.
- They come after dinner.
Now we have figured out all the ways of expressing the future in English. So what are your plans for this weekend?