Future tenses-form & function

Listen in British and American English

FUTURE SIMPLE TENSES

Future Simple
Form:
• I, you he,she, we, they will / won’t (will not) see…
• Will you see…? “Yes I will/ no I won’t”

Future Simple Passive
Form:
(subject +will + past participle)
• I , you, we, they will be seen/won’t be seen…
• Will it be seen/won’t they be seen? “Yes he will/ No they won’t”

1) SPONTANEOUS DECISIONS

“Ok! I‘ll go tomorrow“

2) OFFERS

“I’ll help you if you like.”

3) PROMISES

“I promise I’ll never be late again.”

4) THREATS

“I won’t lend you my car unless….”

5) SIMPLE PREDICTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE

“This will become a problem soon”

PASSIVE FUNCTION - focus on passive subject

“This work will be finished by tomorrow”

PRESENT CONTINUOUS [+ GOING TO + INFINITIVE] FOR FUTURE PLANS

Present Continuous
Form:
• I’m seeing /going to see/ not seeing/ not going to see
• He, she it is seeing / isn’t seeing
• We, you they are seeing/aren’t seeing
• Are you seeing?
“Yes I am / no I’m not”

Present Continuous Passive
Form:
(subject + am/are + being + past participle)
• I am being seen/going to be seen
• He/she, it is being seen/going to be seen
• Is he being seen/ going to be?
• Are they being seen/going to be seen…….? “Yes he is / No they aren’t.”

1) ACTIONS PLANNED BEFORE THE MOMENT OF SPEAKING

“I’m going to Paris on Saturday”
“I’m going to see the film tomorrow”

FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSES

Future Continuous
Form:
• I, you he,she, we, they will / won’t (will not) be seeing…
• Will you be seeing …? “Yes I will/ no I won’t”

Future Continuous Passive
Form:
(subject + will + be + being +past participle)

• I , you, we, they will be being seen/won’t be being seeing…
• Will it be being seen/won’t they be being seen? “Yes he will/ No they won’t”

1) ACTIONS THAT WILL BE HAPPENING AT A SPECIFIED POINT OF FUTURE TIME

“I’ll be working at 6pm tomorrow so please don’t come round”

PASSIVE FUNCTION (NOT OFTEN USED)

“He’ll be being seen now by the doctor.” (NOT VERY OFTEN USED IN THE PASSIVE)

FUTURE PERFECT SIMPLE

Future Perfect Simple
Form:
• I, you he,she, we, they will have / won’t (will not) have seen…
• Will you have seen…? “Yes I will/ no I won’t” …

Future Perfect Simple Passive
Form:
(subject + will have + been + past participle)
• Will he have been seen/won’t he have been seen? “Yes he will/ No he won’t”

1) ACTIONS THAT WILL BE COMPLETED AT A SPECIFIED POINT OF TIME IN THE FUTURE

I’ll have lived here for ten years tomorrow”

PASSIVE FUNCTION (focus on the passive sublect)

“This room will have been painted by Saturday”

FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSES

Future Perfect Continuous
Form:
• I, you he,she, we, they will have been seeing / won’t (will not) have been seeing….
• Will you have been seeing…? “Yes I will/ no I won’t”…

Future Perfect Continuous Passive
NOT NORMALLY USED IN THE PASSIVE

AN ACTION THAT OCCURS CONTINUOUSLY UNTIL A CERTAIN POINT OF TIME IN THE FUTURE

“John and Sarah will have been seeing each other for two years on Sunday”