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Agata Sobieraj

Agata Sobieraj

Language Tutor/Translator

Foreign languages have always been my true passion which I devote myslef to every single day. Professionally, I work as a translator and interpreter, English language tutor and an author of language blog. Personally, I pursue my passions through travelling, reading and learning other foreign languages (Italian ♥)

At the beginning of the New Year we make some plans, we think about changes, have high hopes as for the time we have been given. It all comes down to thinking about the future. Do you know that in English you can express the future in at least 7 ways? You have at your disposal not only the future, but also present tenses and the form be going to, but first things first.

Future Simple, i.e. the future simple tense, is one of the easiest tenses due to its form. To build a sentence in this tense, we need an auxiliary word will and the basic form of the main verb, e.g. Wait here, I will carry these suitcases for you. In the negative sentence, it is enough to add the particle not to the word will, which can be abbreviated to won't, e.g. Sorry, I won't come to your party, I have other plans. The interrogative sentence obviously starts with the tense operator will, the main verb remains in the first form: Will you help me with these bags, please?

When do we use Future Simple tense? The answer may be surprising. Well, we use it when talking about our plans for the future, but not in relation to these ones that will surely come to fruition! So these will be plans for the distant future, or ideas that we have not yet started to implement, e.g. Maybe I'll go to Barcelona next year.

Another example of the use of this tense are the so-called spontaneous decisions about the future. So, for example, activities that we've just decided about, and which we will perform in a moment or in a more distant time, e.g. Someone's knocking at the door. Don't worry, I'll open it.

Of course, if we are talking about activities that will always take place, that will always repeat in the future, we also use Future Simple: They will always quarrel about nothing.

However, we have a number of situations where we are not sure whether something happens and we express them by means of Future Simple. Those are:

- promises: I promise, I'll do shopping tomorrow

- predicting the future: It will rain on Sunday

- our opinions: I think he will win the competition, he's the best!

Other examples of using Future Simple include

- invitations: Will you come with me to the ball?

- refusals: I won't come with you to the ball

- suggestions: Shall I wait for you outside? (in this case, in everyday language we use shall instead of will)

- requests: Will you help me, please?

Future Continuous, i.e. future continuous tense. To help you understand the continuous tenses in advance, remember that they always refer to the active performance of something, and by using them we convey information about what we are doing, were doing or will be doing at a specific moment or in a longer period of time. So the Future Continuous tense informs on what we will be doing at any given moment in the future, e.g. Tomorrow at this time I'll be having a dinner with my family. Unlike Future Simple, we use it for activities that will surely take place, such as: I can't meet you tomorrow, I'll be working in the garden the whole afternoon.

Be going to is a grammar form by which we express our intention, we inform what we intend to do in the near or distant future. Most often, when we have already taken some steps to do this, e.g. I've bought some vegetables, I'm going to make a salad, or we just know something is about to happen: Come over here, Tom's going to take a photo!! It should be noted that this phrase is not used interchangeably with Future Simple, because the future simple tense is used to express plans or predict the future, and in case of be going to we know that a given action or event will be taking place for sure.

And one more thing, in colloquial language, we often hear 'gonna' instead of going to, e.g. I'm gonna make dinner tonight.

Present Continuous, i.e. the present continuous tense. Yes, we also use the present tenses to express the future. Present Continuous has a very specific application in this case. It always refers to our plans for the near or more distant future, which have already been arranged and are going to be implemented by us, e.g. We're going to the cinema on Saturday. I've already booked tickets. / We're moving to the mountains next month! We've sold our house in the city. Compared to the 'be going to' structure, Present Continuous always describes our leisure or other sorts of plans at a specific point in the future (according to a plan).

Present Simple, i.e. the present simple tense. We use Present Simple when talking about activities or events happening according to a schedule, i.e. in case of something repetitive, e.g. My train leaves at 6 a.m. on Sunday or The concert starts on 9 p.m.

Other ways of expressing the future include, among others, Future Perfect and Future Perfect Continuous tenses. Although you can come across them less often, it is worth knowing when they are useful :)

We use these tenses when we talk about a future event or activity "with a due date", for example: I'll have finished this essay by Friday or We'll have been renovating our bathroom till the end of summer. In both cases, we have a given deadline for completing the activities (by Friday and till the end of summer). At this point, we can also mention an activity or an event instead of the exact date, e.g. I'll have sent these letters before my boss comes back to the office.

We use Future Perfect tense when talking about a one-off activity or when we want to emphasize the end of an activity, e.g. The mechanic will have repaired my car by next week. Whereas Future Perfect Continuous is used to emphasize that an activity will last before another future event happens, e.g .: I will have been looking for a new flat for two more weeks before I find acceptable one.

As you can see, it's not just Future Simple that is helpful when expressing the future in English. We have a wide range of other possibilities that should not be confused. I hope this article will help you understand the differences in applying these grammar rules and will greatly contribute to improving your communication :)