Explore future tenses in a practical way so (instead of memorising rules) you can express yourself clearly and confidently by focussing on what you want to say.
So, what is there to the future? Read these sentences and look below to see what they really mean. They all refer to the time ahead, but what is different in them?
“We will have self-driving cars everywhere by 2050.”
“We’re going to call Stan in a few minutes.”
“We’re leaving now!”
“We will finish this project by Friday!”
“We will have graduated before they start their new job.”
Here’s what’s different. Each sentence refers to a particular time with a particular objective.
The Far Future: “We will have self-driving cars everywhere by 2050.”
Use the simple future with “will” + infinitive for general predictions and long-term plans, as in these cases: “Our company will become multinational before the end of this century” or “They will launch the new product the year after next.”
The Near Future: “I’m going to call Stan in a few minutes.”
If you wish to talk about what’s near you can use “going to”. “I’m going to visit Gregory this evening” or “The machine is going to reach full capacity soon.”
This tense is made with “going to” plus an infinitive: “I am going to travel to London next week.”
The Immediate Future: “I’m leaving now!”
Are you about to do something? You can use the present continuous for the very near future: “I’m arriving in two minutes”; “You’re speaking next so get ready now” or “I’m starting my project immediately.”
The present continuous is built with the verb to be plus the -ing form. “I’m finishing right now” or “She’s joining the meeting in a moment.”
Making Promises: “We will finish this project by Friday!”
We sometimes say what we will do, as in a promise. We use “will” for these cases, as in “I will study harder for my next test, mum” or “We’ll beat our competitors no matter what”.
Different Times in the Future: “She will have graduated before I start my new job.”
Use the future perfect (“will have” + past participle) to show that one action will be completed before another.
See these examples: “They will have sold all the tickets by tonight”; “We will have finished phase one before we start phase two” or “John will have retired by the time we open the Bonn factory”.
Andrew’s comment:
The notion of the future is not the same for everyone. Therefore, you can tell people whether you believe something is near or far by choosing one verbal form. If you say “They will find a solution” you think the solution will take longer than if you say “They are going to find a solution”.
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