Grammar: Future Tenses

A: Simple future (actions will occur in the future). The syntax is: Subject+Will+Verb+Object. For example:

• I will dance. 
• She will dance. 
• You will dance. 

NeoTip
In the above example, A is the correct answer. Future Simple is used for instant actions that you make on a certain moment rather than Present Simple for routine actions.

B: Future progressive (future actions will continue for some time). The syntax is: Subject+Will+Be+Verb+Ing+Object. For example:

• I will be dancing. 
• She will be dancing. 
• They will be dancing.

C: Future perfect (actions will be completed by or before a specific future time). The syntax is: Subject+Will+Have+VerbIII Form+Object. For example:

• I will have danced. 
• She will have danced. 
• They will have danced.

D: Future perfect progressive (actions are ongoing up to a specific future time). The syntax is: Subject+Will+Have+Been+VIng+Object. For example:

• I will have been dancing. 
• You will have been dancing. 
• He will have been dancing.

E: Ways to express future time and functions.
There are many different forms such as Going To or Present Progressive. They can also refer to future in their own way. Will, however, suggest possibility, intention and decisions.

1. John's meeting Sue at 7.30. (Planned meeting)
2. The train leaves at 6.00. (Scheduled )
3. Are you sure? I'll phone the station. (Instant decision)
4. I'm going to leave early. (Planned decision)
5. She's going to have a baby. (Scheduled activity)
6. The train will be arriving shortly. (Possibility)
7. It is going to rain. (Future action with certainty)
8. The guests will be coming to stay. (Possibility)
9. He will have missed the last bus. (Possibility)
10. I will kill you. (Intention)

Exercises 

1. Identify which Tenses have been used.
I have many future plans. I will become a teacher. I will be serving my country and my countrymen. I will be enabling them to learn by autonomously so that they don’t have to depend on others. By the age of twenty, I will have passed my Linguistics and TEFL related courses. I also plan to establish a language school where I will promote language awareness in Pakistan. After my Ph.D, I will have been practising my language studies in one way or the other.

2. Fill in the blanks with proper future forms.
Well tomorrow morning I (1)................... to Athens for a meeting. I (2)................... lunch with our Greek agent, Elias, and then in the afternoon we (3)................... our biggest Greek customers. I (4)................... a presentation about the new models we (5)................... out later this month. I (6)................... the night in Athens in a hotel and then the next morning I (7)................... on to Istanbul where I (8)................... someone who is interested in becoming our agent in Turkey. Then I (9)................... the mid-afternoon flight back to London as I (10)................... to the Opera in the evening.

3. Correct the following sentences.

1. We (come) to meet you tomorrow.
2. I (return) the book next week.
3. You (go) with me after the paper?
4. I (not going to) play with you.
5. He is serious. He (die) after some time.
6. Don't worry, they will be (come) now.
7. She (save) much money by the next month.
8. You (will sleep) since noon.
9. He didn't come back. His father (die)?