1. What is the future tense?

The future tense is used to talk about actions that will happen in the future.

There are two main structures that can be used for the future tense:

*Note: the future time can be dropped if people know what time is being referred to, or for talking about the future generally.

2. Will vs. (be) going to

‘Will’ and ‘(be) going to’ are used for different future ideas:

Predictions are what you guess will happen in the future.

Predictions can take will + verb.

Verb	Future tense (will + verb)	Example sentence
be	will be	In 5 years, I think Shanghai will be the biggest city in the world.
win	will win	Brazil will win the World Cup.
come	will come	Maybe she will come to the party, maybe she won’t.

Use will for future actions decided now.
The actions might happen later, but the decision to do them is made now.

Verb	Future tense (will + verb)	Example sentence
drive	will drive	You need to go to the airport? I will drive you.
get	will get	I’m hungry. I think I’ll get a sandwich.
talk	will talk	Don’t worry, I will talk to him.

Use ‘will’ if you are 100% sure something will happen in the future.

Use ‘will’ if talking about the future and using phrases such as ‘I think’, ‘I hope’ or ‘I know’.

Verb	Future tense (will + verb)	Example sentence
get	will get	I hope I will get a good job.
pass	will pass	Carlos believes he will pass his exams.
be	will be	She knows you will be a good husband. that is why she is marrying you.

Predictions are what you guess will happen in the future.

Predictions can use ‘going to’ as well as ‘will’.

Verb	Future tense (be going to + verb)	Example sentence
become	is going to become	He thinks she is going to become a doctor.
resign	is going to resign	They think she is going to resign next week.
be	is going to be	I think Shanghai is going to be the biggest city in the world.

Use ‘going to’ if you are talking about plans you have made.

Verb	Future tense (be going to + verb)	Example sentences
go	am going to go	Tomorrow I’m going to go to the hospital and visit my friend.
visit	is going to visit	Susie is going to visit Japan for my holiday.
stay	is going to stay	Aima is going to stay in bed until midday tomorrow.

Use ‘going to’ if you have evidence of a future event.
Evidence could be something like a weather forecast, or something is always true.

Evidence	Verb	Future tense (be going to + verb)	Example sentence
the wind is strong and the door is open	slam	is going to slam	That door is going to slam.
the glass in on the edge of the table and his arm is going to hit it	fall	is going to fall	Careful. That glass is going to fall.
the weather forecast told me	be	is going to be	Tomorrow is going to be sunny, so we lets head to the beach.

It is not always necessary to use the future tense to talk about the future.

The present continuous tense (be …ing) is used for plans that have already been made.

Verb	Present continuous tense (be …ing)	Example sentence
stay	(am/is/are) staying	Tomorrow night I’m staying at a small hotel on the beach.
go	(am/is/are) going	We’re going to grandma’s, and on the way we’re stopping at grandpa’s.
read	(am/is/are) reading	Next term the Grade 1s are reading a new book: Ulysses.
have	(am/is/are) having	Qarshe is having a party on Wednesday, if you want to come.

The simple present tense is used for events that are planned and cannot be changed.

Verb	Present tense (subject + basic form)	Example sentence
play	we play	We play football on Monday, so you can see him then.
meet	he meets	He meets Willow tomorrow morning to talk about the contract.
go	I go	Your party is on Tuesday? I’m sorry, I go to Japan on Monday.
be	dinner is	Dinner is at 6, so don’t be late.

1. Talk about the future using each of the methods to use ‘will’ and ‘going to’.

2. Use ‘going to’ to talk about your plans for:
(i) this weekend
(ii) tonight
(iii) the next year

3. Use the present continuous tense for any scheduled plans you have made for the next week.

4. Use the present simple for any plans that you have that cannot be changed.There are different ways to talk about the future