Simple Future Tense

The simple future is a verb tense that’s used to talk about things that haven’t happened yet.
This year, Jen will read War and Peace. It will be hard, but she’s determined to do it.

Use the simple future to talk about an action or condition that will begin and end in the future.

How to Form the Simple Future

The formula for the simple future is will + [root form of verb].
I will learn a new language. Jen will read that book. My brothers will sleep till noon if no
one wakes them up. You will see what I mean.

It doesn’t matter if the subject is singular or plural; the formula for the simple future doesn’t
change.

But…

There is another way to show that something will happen in the future. It follows the
formula [am/is/are] + going to + [root form verb].
I am going to learn a new language. Jen is going to read that book. My brothers are going
to sleep till noon if no one wakes them up. You are going to see what I mean.

The “going to” construction is common in speech and casual writing. Keep in mind though
that it’s on the informal side, so it’s a good idea to stick to the will + [root form] construction
in formal writing.

How to Make the Simple Future Negative

To make the simple future negative, the formula is will + not + [root form].
Jen will not quit before she reaches her goal. Make sure you arrive on time tomorrow
because the bus will not wait for you. He will not say anything bad about his boss. I will not
finish my homework in time for class.

Using the “going to” construction, the formula is [am/is/are] + not + going to + [root form].
Jen is not going to quit before she reaches her goal. Make sure you arrive on time tomorrow
because the bus is not going to wait for you. He is not going to say anything bad about his
boss. I am not going to finish my homework in time for class.

How to Ask a Question

To ask a question in the simple future, the formula is will + [subject] + [root form].
Will Jen finish War and Peace over the summer? Will I have the discipline to study Spanish
every day? What will you buy with the money you found?
The formula for the “going to” construction is [am/is/are] + [subject] +going to + [root
form].
Is Jen going to finish War and Peace over the summer? Am I going to have the discipline to
study Spanish every day? What are you going to buy with the money you found?

Common Verbs in the Simple Future

The “Going to” Construction

 Future Perfect

The future perfect is a verb tense used for actions that will be completed before
some other point in the future.
The parade will have ended by the time Chester gets out of bed. At eight
o’clock I will have left.
Key words: Verb, past participle, tense, preposition
The future perfect tense is for talking about an action that will be completed
between now and some point in the future. Imagine that your friend Linda asks
you to take care of her cat for a few days while she goes on a trip. She wants
you to come over today at noon so she can show you where to find the cat food
and how to mash it up in the bowl just right so that Fluffy will deign to eat it.
But you’re busy this afternoon, so you ask Linda if you can come at eight
o’clock tonight instead.

“No, that won’t work! At eight o’clock I will have left already,” she says.

What does the future perfect tell us here? It tells us that Linda is going to leave for her trip
some time after right now, but before a certain point in the future (eight o’clock tonight). She
probably shouldn’t have waited until the last minute to find a cat sitter.

The Future Perfect Formula

The formula for the future perfect tense is pretty simple: will have + [past participle]. It
doesn’t matter if the subject of your sentence is singular or plural. The formula doesn’t
change.
When to Use the Future Perfect Tense

Sometimes, you can use the future perfect tense and the simple future tense interchangeably.
In these two sentences, there is no real difference in meaning because the word before makes
the sequence of events clear:
Linda will leave before you get there. Linda will have left before you get there.

But without prepositions such as before or by the time that make the sequence of events clear,
you need to use the future perfect to show what happened first.
At eight o’clock Linda will leave. (This means that Linda will wait until 8 o’clock to
leave.) At eight o’clock Linda will have left. (This means Linda will leave before 8
o’clock.)

When Not to Use the Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect tense is only for actions that will be complete before a specified point in
the future. In other words, the action you’re talking about must have a deadline. If you don’t
mention a deadline, use the simple future tense instead of the future perfect tense.
Linda will leave.
Linda will have left.

The deadline can be very specific (eight o’clock) or it can be vague (next week). It can even
depend on when something else happens (after the parade ends). It just has to be some time in
the future.

How to make the Future Perfect Negative

Making a negative future perfect construction is easy! Just insert not between will and have.

We will not have eaten breakfast before we get to the airport tomorrow morning. They will
not have finished decorating the float before the parade.

You can also use the contraction won’t in the place of will not. They won’t have finished
decorating the float before the parade.

How to Ask a Question

The formula for asking a question in the future perfect tense is will + [subject] + have +
[past participle]:
Will you have eaten lunch already when we arrive? Will they have finished decorating the
float before the parade?
Prepositional Phrases that Often Go With the Future Perfect

By this time next week, Linda will have left for her trip. Three days from now, we will have
finished our project. At midnight, the party will have ended. Will you have eaten already?
Chester will not have arrived by the time the parade is over. When I travel to France, I will
have been to ten countries. My sister will have cleaned the bathroom before the party. As
soon as someone buys this chair, I will have sold all the furniture I wanted to get rid of.

Common Regular Verbs in the Future Perfect Tense

Common Irregular Verbs in the Future Perfect Tense

*Be careful when using the verb “to be” in the future perfect tense. The construction is easy
to confuse with the future perfect continuous tense.
**The past participle of “to get” is gotten in American English. In British English, the past
participle is got. 

Using the Future Continuous Tense

The future continuous tense, sometimes also referred to as the future progressive tense, is a
verb tense that indicates that something will occur in the future and continue for an expected
length of time. It is formed using the construction will + be + the present participle (the root
verb + -ing).

The simple future tense is a verb tense that is used when an action is expected to occur in the
future and be completed. For example, let’s suppose you have a meeting tomorrow at five
o’clock.
I will arrive at five o’clock.

I will arrive is the simple future tense of the verb to arrive. You arrive once; beyond that, you
can’t keep on arriving. However, once you get there, you may be doing something that goes
on continuously, at least for a certain period of time.
At five o’clock, I will be meeting with the management about my raise.

Will be meeting is the future continuous tense of the verb to meet. The construction will + be
+ the present participle meeting indicates that the meeting isn’t going to happen in an instant,
all at once. It will have a duration. The will + be + present participle construction always
indicates the future continuous tense.
Michael will be running a marathon this Saturday.
Eric will be competing against Michael in the race.
I will be watching Michael and Eric race.

The Future Continuous Tense Is for Action Verbs Only

It is important to note that the future continuous tense is only used with action verbs, because
it is possible to do them for a duration. (Action verbs describe activities like running,
thinking, and seeing. Stative verbs describe states of existence, like being, seeming, and
knowing.) To use the will + be + present participle construction with a stative verb would
sound very odd indeed.
I will be being stressed tomorrow during my science test.
I will be stressed tomorrow during my science test.
When the sun comes out tomorrow, winter will be seeming like a distant memory.
When the sun comes out tomorrow, winter will seem like a distant memory.
After I study, I will be knowing all the answers for the test.
After I study, I will know all the answers for the test.
As you can see, only the simple future tense is suited to stative verbs like to be and to seem. 

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

The future perfect continuous, also sometimes called the future perfect progressive, is a verb
tense that describes actions that will continue up until a point in the future. The future perfect
continuous consists of will + have + been + the verb’s present participle (verb root + -
ing).
When we describe an action in the future perfect continuous tense, we are projecting
ourselves forward in time and looking back at the duration of that activity. The activity will
have begun sometime in the past, present, or in the future, and is expected to continue in the
future.

In November, I will have been working at my company for three years.

At five o’clock, I will have been waiting for thirty minutes.
When I turn thirty, I will have been playing piano for twenty-one years.

Nonaction Verbs Do Not Use the Future Perfect Continuous

Remember that nonaction verbs like to be, to seem, or to know are not suited to the future
perfect continuous tense. Instead, these verbs take the future perfect tense, which is formed
with will + have + past participle.
On Thursday, I will have been knowing you for a week.
On Thursday, I will have known you for a week.
I will have been reading forty-five books by Christmas.
I will have read forty-five books by Christmas.