Unit 2.1
Future Continuous
Introduction
The future is the tense used to talk about future events.
The future continuous tense is used to talk about actions that will be in progress in the future.
Form
The future continuous (or progressive) has three forms: affirmative, negative and interrogative.
Affirmative
Its full structure, in the affirmative form, is:
Subject + will + be + verb + -ing + …
Affirmative short forms are made up of subject + ‘ + ll + be + verb + -ing: I’ll – you’ll – he’ll…
| SUBJECT | FUTURE SIMPLE | AUXILIARY VERB |
PRESENT PARTICIPLE |
|---|---|---|---|
| I/You/He/She/It/We/You/They | will/’ll | be | working |
Negative
Its full structure, in the negative form, is:
Subject + will + not + be + [verb + -ing] + …
Negative short forms are subject + won’t + be + verb + -ing: I won’t – you won’t – he won’t…
| SUBJECT | FUTURE SIMPLE + NOT |
AUXILIARY VERB | PRESENT PARTICIPLE |
|---|---|---|---|
| I/You/He/She/It/We/You/They | will not/won’t | be | working |
Interrogative
Its structure, in the interrogative form is:
Will + subject + be + verb + -ing + …?
| FUTURE SIMPLE | SUBJECT | AUXILIARY VERB | PRESENT PARTICIPLE | QUESTION MARK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will | I/You/He/She/It/We/You/They | be | working | …? |
Example
- Unfinished actions or events that will be taking place in the future
- You will be using the new software next month.
- Next Monday, the company will not be offering services to more clients.
- Will they be growing tomatoes next year?
- Referring to a longer background action which is interrupted by a shorter one
- I will be wearing my red miniskirt when you arrive at the station.
- He will not be cleaning the escalator when the customer arrives.
- Will she be working at the exhibition when the party starts?
- Future simultaneous events
- I will be cooking an original Mexican recipe whilst you will be driving back home from work.
- She will not be searching for something pretty to wear, while he will be showering.
- Will she be shopping groceries,while he will be waiting for her at the parking?
- Assuming what will be happening in the future
- You will be missing this family once you stop working as a babysitter.
- I think they will not be looking for work from next month.
- Will I be having the interview this week?
Use
We use future continuous to:
- talk about an unfinished action or event that will be taking place in the future;
- talk about a longer background action interrupted by a shorter one;
- talk about future simultaneous events;
- assume what will be happening in the future.
Summary
The future continuous tense is used when we are talking about unfinished actions that will take place in the future, a longer background action interrupted by a shorter one, future simultaneous events, and when we are assuming what is happening in the future.
We can use it in its different forms:
- affirmative: we start with the subject followed by will be and a verb that ends with -ing;
- negative: we start with the subject followed by will not and be and a verb that ends with -ing;
- interrogative: we start with will followed by the subject and be and a verb that ends with -ing (the sentence ends with a question mark).
For example:
— “I will be working on an important project next month.” = We use the future continuous because we assume that this event will take place in the Future. Therefore, we use the future continuous tense.
♦ “I will work on an important project next week.” = We use the future simple because we express a future intention.
Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context.