- Use will be + V-ing for actions in progress in the future
- Use will have + V3 for actions finished before a future moment
- Use be about to, be on the point of and be due to
- Use by and until correctly, and the present tense in time clauses
Murad is flying to Istanbul tomorrow morning, and he texts a friend: This time tomorrow I'll be flying over the Black Sea. By the time you wake up, I'll have landed. The first sentence describes an action in progress at that time tomorrow; the second describes something that will already be finished before his friend wakes up. You already know will and be going to; now you will learn to talk about the future more precisely.
Five ways to look at the future
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| will be + V-ing | an action in progress at a future moment | This time tomorrow I'll be taking my exam. |
| will have + V3 | an action finished before a future moment | By Friday I'll have finished the project. |
| will have been + V-ing | how long an activity will have lasted by a future moment | By June I'll have been living here for ten years. |
| be about to + V1 | the very near future, “any second now” | Quick! The film is about to start. |
| be due to + V1 | an event expected by a timetable or plan | The plane is due to land at 18:40. |
The Future Continuous: actions in progress
The Future Continuous is formed with will be + V-ing and is the same for all persons. Think of it as taking a photo of a future moment: at that moment the action has already started but has not finished yet. It often goes with time expressions such as this time tomorrow, at 8 p.m. tonight, in two hours' time.
| Tense | Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Future Continuous | I will be working. | I won't be working. | Will you be working? |
| Future Perfect | She will have finished. | She won't have finished. | Will she have finished? |
| Future Perfect Continuous | They will have been waiting. | They won't have been waiting. | Will they have been waiting? |
- A specific future moment: At 8 p.m. tonight I'll be watching the final, so don't call.
- Something that will happen in the normal course of events: I'll be passing the post office anyway — I can send your parcel. — not a special plan, just what will happen anyway.
- Polite questions about plans: Will you be using the laptop this evening? — softer than Will you use …?, because it asks for information, not a favour.
The Future Perfect: finished before a future moment
The Future Perfect (will have + V3) looks back from the future: when we reach a certain moment, the action will already be complete. Its most loyal partner is the preposition by: by Friday, by the end of the year, by then, by the time you arrive. The Future Perfect Continuous (will have been + V-ing) stresses how long an activity will have lasted up to that moment: By September, Leyla will have been teaching for twenty years.
Be about to and be due to: the very near future
Be about to + V1 means the action will happen in a few seconds or minutes: Turn off your phone — the concert is about to begin. It also works in the past: I was about to leave when you called. Be on the point of + V-ing has the same meaning but is more formal: The company is on the point of closing. Be due to + V1 describes an event expected according to a timetable or plan: The next train is due to arrive at 10:15.
I'll call you when I will arrive.
I'll have finished it until Friday.
The bus is about to leave in an hour.
This time tomorrow I'll lie on the beach.I'll call you when I arrive.
I'll have finished it by Friday.
The bus leaves in an hour.
This time tomorrow I'll be lying on the beach.Put the verb in brackets into a suitable form:
1) Don't call me at nine — I ___ (have) dinner with my parents then.
2) By the end of the month, Aysel ___ (save) enough money for a new laptop.
3) Hurry up! The shop ___ (close) — only two minutes left! (use about to)
4) Next June my grandparents ___ (be) married for fifty years.
5) I'll text you as soon as the plane ___ (land).
6) By the time you read this message, I ___ (leave) Baku.
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2) will have saved — by the end of the month: finished before that moment.
3) is about to close — it will close any second now.
4) will have been married — be is a state verb, so the Future Perfect is used for the duration.
5) lands — a present tense after as soon as.
6) will have left — by the time + present tense; the Future Perfect in the main clause.
- 1.This time tomorrow I (fly) over the Black Sea.
- 2.By Friday I (finish) the project.
- 3.By the time you wake up, I (land) in Istanbul.
- 4.Quick, take your seats! The film (about to / start).
- 5.According to the timetable, the plane (due to / land) at 18:40.
- 6.I'll call you as soon as I (get) home.
- 7.I'll have finished the report Friday.
- 8.I'll be in Ganja Friday, and then I'll come back to Baku.
Key points
- Will be + V-ing — an action in progress at a future moment: This time tomorrow I'll be flying.
- Will have + V3 — an action finished before a future moment; it often goes with by.
- Be about to — any second now; be due to — according to a timetable; be about to takes no time expression.
- By — not later than; until — all the time up to.
- No will after when, as soon as, until or by the time: when I arrive.
Check yourself
10 questions. Every correct answer earns XP.