Everyday Grammar: Fun with Future Tenses

Everyday Grammar: Fun with Future Tenses

For VOA Learning¹ English, this is Everyday Grammar.

This week, we are going to talk about the future tenses. There are several ways to talk about future events in English. Compared to the past and present, future tenses are usually more flexible.

Will

Let’s start with will.  To form the simple future, use will and then the simple form of the verb. For example, “I will go to the store.” In everyday conversation, will often gets shortened², which can be difficult for English learners to hear. For example, “I’ll leave tomorrow” or “He’ll go to the store.” You can use will to express a desire to do something. “I’ll help you move tomorrow” or “I’ll answer the phone.”

Be going to

The second form of the simple future is be going to. For example, “I am going to start a new job tomorrow.”  Use be going to when you already have a plan to do something. When you say “I’m going to start a new job tomorrow,” you made the plan in the past. If you do not have a plan, use will.

If you are making a prediction about the future, you can use will or be going to. You can say, “She will win the election” or “She is going to win the election”—the meaning is the same.

In casual³ conversation, most Americans will change going to to gonna. Listen for gonna in this song by rock band Twisted Sister.

We’re not gonna take it

No, we ain’t gonna take it

We’re not gonna take it anymore

Be careful with this expression. You might want to avoid using the reduced form, gonna, in formal situations. You should never use it in professional or academic writing.

Shall

Another way to express the future is with shall. Shall has the same meaning as will to express the future. Listen to a famous speech by American General Douglas MacArthur. General MacArthur is talking about his escape from the Philippines during World War II.

“When I landed on your soil, I said to the people of the Philippines whence I came, ‘I shall return.’”

“I shall return” is one of the most famous quotes related⁴ to World War II.

But these days, shall seems very formal and a bit old-fashioned⁵ in American English. It is more common in British English.

Present progressive⁶ and future perfect

Sometimes a present tense can express the future. Imagine you have a flight to Chicago tomorrow. There are several ways to express the future in this situation. Since you have a plan, you can use be going to. “I am going to fly to Chicago tomorrow.” 

You could also use the present progressive, “I am flying to Chicago tomorrow.” The meaning is almost the same. The present progressive just emphasizes⁷ that the flight is a scheduled event.

If you are referring to a fixed⁸ schedule or timetable, you can even use the simple present to express the future. For example, “The flight to Chicago arrives at 7:00.” The simple present here shows that the flight has a regular set schedule.

Future progressive

Let’s move on to the future progressive. To form the future progressive, use will be followed by the –ing form of the verb. For example, “I will be working when you arrive.” Use the future progressive to talk about an event that will be in progress (or unfinished) in the future. Speakers use the future progressive to talk about more than one future action. For example, “Don’t call me after 9:00 because I will be studying” or “I will be sleeping when you get home.”

Listen to the future progressive in this popular love song by Richard Marx.

Wherever you go, whatever you do

I will be right here waiting for you

There are other ways to express the future, such as the future perfect and future perfect progressive, but they are rare. A native speaker may never use them in an entire lifetime.

Common mistakes

Let’s look at some common mistakes we see in all of the future tenses we have discussed. First, remember that you cannot use will in a time clause⁹. For example, “I am going to visit her when I will arrive” should be “I am going to visit her when I arrive.” The when phrase, also known as a time clause, uses the simple form of the verb in a future tense.

Another common mistake is with the third person –s. “He will meets me tomorrow” should be “He will meet me tomorrow.”

There is quite a bit of flexibility¹⁰ with future tenses; sometimes there is little or no difference among different forms. If you have a choice, use the simplest tense.

We’ll leave you a song of hope about the future by Bob Dylan. Listen to the variety of future tenses he uses in “When the Ship Comes In.”

The fishes will laugh as they swim out of the path

And the seagulls they’ll be a-smiling

And rocks on the sand they will proudly stand

The hour that the ship comes in

And the words that are used for the get the ship confused

Will not be understood as the spoken

For the chains of the sea will have busted¹¹ in the night

And be buried on the bottom of the ocean

Words in This Story

prediction - n. a statement about what will happen or might happen in the future

present progressive - gramm. The verb tense that indicates continuing action, something going on now. This tense is formed with the helping¹² "to be" verb, in the present tense, plus the present participle of the verb (with an -ing ending)

simple present - gramm. The form of the verb that is usually the same as the base form, but the third person singular¹³ adds -s. Some verbs change, like 'to be', which uses 'am', 'are' and 'is', and 'to have', where the third person is 'has'. The auxiliary¹⁴ verb 'to do' is used in a negative structure or a question

future progressive - gramm. The verb tense expressing continuing action, something that will be happening, going on, at some point in the future. This tense is formed with the modal "will" plus "be," plus the present participle of the verb (with an -ing ending)

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 shortened   

v.弄短，缩短( shorten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shortened the skirt by an inch. 她把裙子缩短了一英寸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vacations have lengthened and the work week has shortened. 假期延长，工作周就缩短了。 来自辞典例句

3 casual   

adj.漠不关心，冷漠的；随便的，非正式的；偶然的，碰巧的

参考例句：

• He earns a living by casual labour.他靠做临时工为生。
• The guests wore casual clothes.客人们穿着便服。

4 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

5 old-fashioned   

adj.旧式的，保守的，挑剔的

参考例句：

• Why do you still dress in an old-fashioned mode?你为什么还穿款式陈旧的衣服？
• Here is an old-fashioned pump for drawing water from a well.这里有一个旧式水泵可从井里抽水。

6 progressive   

adj.先进的；前进的，渐进的；进行式的

参考例句：

• There is often a progressive loss of sight in old age.上了年纪的人视力逐步减退。
• It's a progressive idea.这是一种进步的思想。

7 emphasizes   

强调( emphasize的第三人称单数 )； 加强语气； 重读； 使突出

参考例句：

• Marx concentrates on the alienation of labour and emphasizes the invidious aspects. 马克思集中论述了劳动的异化，强调它令人厌恶的方面。
• What he emphasizes most is that we must walk the mass line. 他最强调的是我们必须走群众路线。

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

9 clause   

n.（正式文件或法律文件的）条款，从句，分句

参考例句：

• The sentence consists of a main clause and a subordinate clause.这句中有一个主句和一个从句。
• What clause do you require in the contract?你要求在合同中订上什么条款？

10 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

11 busted   

adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You are so busted! 你被当场逮住了！
• It was money troubles that busted up their marriage. 是金钱纠纷使他们的婚姻破裂了。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 singular   

adj.个人的，单数的，独一的，唯一的，非凡的；n.单数

参考例句：

• The young man has a singular ear for music.这个年轻人对音乐有非凡的欣赏力。
• The noun is in the singular.这个名词是单数形式。

14 auxiliary   

adj.辅助的，备用的

参考例句：

• I work in an auxiliary unit.我在一家附属单位工作。
• The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of blackout.这家医院装有备用发电系统以防灯火管制。