// 7 Comments

You are already familiar with expressing an action that will take place in the future at an unknown time. Today we will get acquainted with one more time from the future tense group - Future Continuous Tense - Future Continuous Tense. The action takes place at a specified moment or time frame in the future.

Future Continuous Tense Education

To begin with, let us consider how the future continuous time is formed. As you remember, when forming this group, we were guided by the formula to be + V + ing. We will form the future tense similarly to the present and past tense, i.e. the verb to be will change again, and the ING form of the verb will remain unchanged. For this we need the future tense form of the verb to be - will be .

Google shortcode

Let's move on to the conjugation of the verb in the affirmative form Future Continuous.

I will be calling - I will call
We will be calling - we will call
You will be calling - you will call
They will be calling - they will call
He will be calling - he will call
She will be calling - she will call

The negative form is formed with the particle not, which is placed after shall or will

I will not (won’t) be calling - I will not call
We will not be calling - we will not call
You will not be calling - you will not call
They will not be calling - they will not call
He will not be calling - he will not call
She will not be calling - she will not call

When forming an interrogative form, we put auxiliary will at the beginning of a sentence.

Will I be calling? - I will call?
Will we be calling? - will we call?
Will you be calling? - will you call?
Will they be calling? - will they call?
Will he be calling? - will he call?
Will she be calling? - will she call?

If there is an interrogative word in an interrogative sentence - who? What? Why? Where to? etc. - it will always be at the beginning of a sentence, followed by an auxiliary verb, then a subject and a predicate:

Where will she go at 11 o'clock? - Where will she be going tomorrow at 11 o'clock? (pay attention to the word order of the interrogative sentence: 1 - the question word Where, 2 - the auxiliary verb will, 3 - the subject she, 4 - the predicate be going, 5 - the circumstance of tomorrow at 11 o'clock)

When is Future Continuous Tense used?

Let's move on to considering the use of the future extended tense. Future Continuous is used when you want to express an action that should start before a specified time in the future, still occur at that specified time in the future, and continue indefinitely. This moment can be determined by such a circumstance of time, as for example, at three o'clock - at three o'clock, tomorrow at 6 pm - at 6 o'clock in the evening tomorrow, at midnight - at midnight, at that moment - at that moment , at noon - at noon.

I’ll be going to school at 9 o’clock in the morning tomorrow - tomorrow at 9 am I will go to school
He will be sleeping at midnight - he will sleep at midnight

An indication for Future Continuous can be another action in the future, expressed in Present Indefinite or Present Continuous, which in time coincides with the action expressed in Future Continuous:

When father returns home I’ll be sleeping.
While you are washing your hands I’ll be laying the table.

Sometimes the sentence does not indicate a specific time of action, but we understand from the situation that the action will occur at a certain moment:
My father will be meeting us at the airport.

We use Future Continuous to denote a long lasting action that will occur in a specified period of time, and the time of action is denoted by such words as: all morning - the whole morning, all day - all day, all evening - the whole evening, all winter - the whole winter, from 10 to 12 - from 10 till 12.

I'll be cooking all day long tomorrow - I'll cook all day tomorrow
We’ll be sunbathing and swimming the whole summer - we’ll be swimming and sunbathing all summer
From 1 till 5 o'clock I shall be working in my study - from 1 to 5 o'clock I will work in my office.

Future Continuous Education Method

shall / will + be + present participle

For example:
You will be waiting
You will you her to wait when the plane arrives.

Will you be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight?
You will you her to wait when will the plane arrive?

You will not be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
You you will not her to wait when the plane arrives.

Future Continuous Verb Conjugation

Consuming Future Continuous

Exactly specified time in the future

Future Continuous describes the actions that will occur at a specified moment in the future. These actions can continue for some time before the specified moment, and can continue for some time after it. The indicated moment only means that at that very moment something was happening.

For example:
Tonight at 6 pm, I will be eating dinner.
Today at 6 pm I I will have supper.

At midnight tonight, we will still be driving through the desert.
Today at midnight we are still we will pass across the desert.

note

In Simple Future time, a moment is used to indicate when an action will start or end. In Future Continuous, specifying the moment only means that the action took place at this very point in time.

For example:
Tonight at 6 pm, I will eat dinner.
Today at 6 pm I have dinner. (I'll start my dinner at 6 o'clock.)

Tonight at 6 pm, I will be eating dinner.
Today at 6 pm I I will have supper. (I will start my dinner earlier, and at 6 o'clock I will continue to eat.)

Interrupted action in the future

Future Continuous is used to express a longer background action or situation in the future, compared to another, shorter action that occurs after the start of the first action and interrupts, interrupts it. Note that the interruption can be real (that is, the action is interrupted and will not continue), or only an interruption in time (that is, the action will continue).

For example:
I will be watching TV when she arrives tonight.
I I will watch TV when she comes tonight.

I will be waiting for you when your bus arrives .
I will you to wait when your bus arrives.

He will be studying at the library tonight, so he will not see Jennifer when she arrives .
Tonight he will deal with in the library so he won't meet Jennifer when she arrives.

Please note that the action that interrupts the main action (such actions in italics), expressed in Simple Present rather than Simple Future. This is because these actions are in tense clauses that do not use future tense (see explanation below).

Simultaneous actions

When Future Continuous is used with two or more actions in the same sentence, it means that these actions will happen simultaneously, at the same time.

For example:
I will be studying and he will be making dinner.
I I will study, and he will cook dinner.

Tonight, they will be eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.
Tonight they will have dinner, discuss your plans, and pleasantly spend time.

While ellen is reading , Tim will be watching television.
Bye Ellen will read, Tim will watch television. ( Pay attention to the first part of the sentence: while Ellen is reading, in temporary clauses, future tense is not used (see explanation below)).

Narrative description

IN English language simultaneous actions are often used to express the description in the future tense narrative.

For example:
When I arrive at the party, everybody will be celebrating... Some will be dancing... Others will be talking... A few people will be eating pizza, and several people will be drinking beer. They always do the same thing.
When I come to the evening, everyone will celebrate... Somebody will dance and someone will talk... Some guests will eat pizza while others will drink beer. They always do the same thing.

Future tense is not used in tense clauses

Future Continuous, like all future tenses, is not used in subordinate clauses starting with adverbs of tense, such as: when- when; while- when, bye; before- before; after- after; by the time- by the time when; as soon as- as soon as; if- if a; unless- if not; etc. Instead of Future Continuous, in this case, Present Continuous is used.

For example:
While i will be finishing Wrong.)
While i am finishing my homework, she will be making dinner. ( Right.)
While I I will finish her homework, she will cook dinner.

Remember: non-continuous verbs / mixed verbs

It is important to remember that non-continuous verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses, and some meanings of mixed verbs cannot be used in a long tense either. Instead of Future Continuous with such verbs, you need to use Simple Future.

For example:
Jane will be being Wrong.)
Jane will be at my house when you arrive. ( Right.)
Jane will be at my house when you come.

There are times in English that have no analogues in our native language - Russian. The temporary form Future Continuous refers precisely to those. Memorable example sentences Future Continuous with translation will help you figure it out.

What is the Long-term Future?

Future Continuous or Future Long refers to the group of future tenses in English: Future simple(Simple Future), Future Perfect (Future Perfect), Future Perfect Continuous (Future Perfect Long). In other words, this temporary form, like others from this series, describes an event that will occur in the future. Her hallmark is the Continuous aspect, indicating that we are facing a process that occurs in a specific period of action in the future.

Affirmative form

Each temporary form has its own education formula. Future Continuous is not an exception. Its grammatical structure is as follows: subjects + will / shall + be + main verb + -ing... The examples given show that Future Continuous is used to describe actions that will continue for some time in the future, as well as to describe planned events.

Negation

An integral part of negative sentences is the negative particle not, which, by its appearance, changes the Future Continuous formula: subjects + will / shall + not + be + main verb + -ing.

Please note that the negative particle not (not), following immediately after the first auxiliary verb will or shall, can merge with them, forming the short form won’t / shan’t.

Question

There are four types of interrogative sentences in English. These include general, special, alternative and separated question s. Without going deep into the details of the construction of each of them, one can single out one common feature for all - a change in the order of words in a sentence: an auxiliary verb comes out on top. The formula for constructing an interrogative sentence in Future Continuous looks like this: will / shall + subjects + be + main verb + -ing?

TOP-3 articleswho read along with this

It is always pleasant to talk about the future - after all, everything that we have conceived in the present will come true in it. Isn't it great to dream about how to go swimming in the sea on your first day on vacation or have a cup of coffee the next time you meet a friend? It is for such cases that we need to know and be able to use the Future Continuous time in everyday conversation.

In this article, you will learn what function the Future Continuous time performs in English, how the formation of Future Continuous takes place, the frequent uses of it, and see examples of sentences with translation.

What is Future Continuous?

This is a long future tense in English. Like other times of the Continuous group, it indicates a continuous action that occurs at a certain point in time. In this case, in the future.

Unlike Future Simple (simple future tense), in Future Continuous, the time of action in the future is indicated specifically (at five o'clock; from Thursday to Sunday; throughout the week, etc.) or should be implied from the context.

Using the Future Continuous time in a sentence will allow you to correctly express the idea.

Future Continuous education rules

The tense Future Continuous is formed using the auxiliary verb will (shall) and be with the present participle (to be + a verb with the ending -ing).

IMPORTANT: The auxiliary verb will is used with all subjects (I / He / She / It / You / We / They).

On rare occasions in British English with the subjects I and we, the verb shall be used. Now it is used much less often by will, but it can be found in British speech, official documents and fiction.

Statement

Affirmative sentences in tense Future Continuous are formed by adding the auxiliary verb will (shall), the verb be (which does not change) and the semantic verb with the ending -ing.

I / He / She / It / You / We / They + will (shall) + be Ving

I shall be dancing - I will dance

She will be writing - She will be writing

You will be thinking - you will think

It will be working - It will work

will = ‘ll

shall = ‘ll

He’ll be drinking coffee - He’ll be drinking coffee

I’ll be sending presents - I will send gifts

Negation

To make up a negation in Future Continuous tense - add the particle not after the verb will (shall), but before be.

I / He / She / It / You / We / They + will not (shall not) + be Ving

I will not be swimming - I will not swim

He will not be dancing - He will not dance

You will not be coming - you will not come

They will not be fighting - They will not fight

will not = won’t

shall not = shan’t

I shan’t be sitting there - I will not sit there

She won’t be walking - She won’t be walking

Question

When forming an interrogative sentence in Future Continuous, the auxiliary verb will (shall) is placed at the beginning of the sentence before the subject. Will (Shall) + I / He / She / It / You / We / They + be Ving

Shall I be driving all night long? - Am I going to drive all night?

Will she be drawing? - Will she paint?

Will we be walking? - We will walk?

Will it be working? - Will it work?

Special clarifying questions are formed in Future Continuous tense using question words. For example: where (where), when (when) and others. QW is placed at the beginning of the sentence, and the further word order in the construction remains the same as in the question.

QW + will (shall) + I / He / She / It / You / We / They + be Ving

What will you be playing on your guitar next Sunday evening? - What will you play guitar next Sunday night?

Where will they be traveling during that time? - Where will they travel at this time?

When is Future Continuous used?

Future Continuous is used to express some action at a certain predetermined moment in the future. It can be a specific time or day or even a year.

Let's consider the main use cases of Future Continuous in sentences:

• Actions at a specific point in time in the future

For this, words and phrases like at midnight (at midnight), this time next week (at this time next week), at 5 o'clock tomorrow (tomorrow at five o'clock) and others are usually used.

This time next week Mary will be playing piano - This time next week Mary will be playing piano. She will be waiting for me here at 9 p.m. tomorrow - Tomorrow at 9 pm she will be waiting for me here

Sometimes the exact moment in the future can be expressed using subordinate tense (introduced by the words when, as soon as, after, until, etc.). These clauses use Present Simple.

I will be washing the car when he leaves - I will wash the car when he leaves

• Several actions in the future that will take place at the same time

Future Continuous is used when we want to talk about the fact that several things will happen at the same time.

Tom will be slicing cheese and I will be meeting the guests - Tom will be slicing cheese, and I will meet the guests

• Inevitable actions

These are such future events that will definitely happen as a result of any preparatory actions or simply in a natural way. We are sure that it will be so and nothing else.

John and I made a deal. I shall be feeding his cat next week - John and I made a deal. I will feed his cat next week

• Planned actions

To express some plans for the future, it is most often used Present time Continuous (present for a long time), but sometimes you can find a construction with Future Continuous, the meaning is somewhat different.

Compare:

They will be moving to Moscow next Monday (Future Continuous) / They are moving to Moscow next Monday (Present Continuous) - They are moving to Moscow next Monday

In the Future Continuous example, it says that they will be doing the move all Monday, the emphasis is on an action that will last a certain time in the future.

Present Continuous communicates a clear, confident plan for the near future.

Sara will be flying to Tokyo next morning (Future Continuous) / Sara is flying to Tokyo next morning (Present Continuous) - Sara is flying to Tokyo the next morning

• Polite question

The Future Continuous construct can be used to gently and politely ask the other person about their plans for the near future. With this form, we can ask whether the intentions of the other person coincide with our desires.

Will you be going to the kitchen later? Bring me an apple, please - Will you go to the kitchen later? Grab me an apple please

Will she be using the laptop for a long time? Let me know when she finishes - Will she use the laptop for a long time? Let me know when she's finished

Time markers Future Continuous

Like other times in English, Future Continuous has special words by which it can be recognized. Most often, when constructing a sentence in the long future tense, you can find the following words that answer the question "When will this happen?"

• at 3 o'clock (at three o'clock)
• this time tomorrow (tomorrow at the same time)
• at that moment (at that moment)
• meanwhile / meantime (meanwhile)
• from ... till… / from ... to…. (From to...)
• during that time
• during the day
• during the afternoon (during lunch)
• for 5 hours (over five hours)
• for a week (throughout the week)
• for months
• all night (all night)
• all day long
• the whole morning
• the whole year

Example sentences with Future Continuous with translation

Affirmative:

I shall be having a yoga class at 9 o'clock tomorrow - Tomorrow at 9 o'clock I will have a yoga class

Study the topic Future continuous follows, perhaps, the last in a series of times of the Continuous group. That is, if you have not yet mastered the rules of education and the use of tenses, and then it is better to do this before proceeding to acquaintance with the future continued tense. If you are familiar with the other times of the Continuous group, you should thoroughly deal with the future continuous time. Consider the following example:

As you can see from the example above, Mark will watch football for the whole length of time (from 8.30 to 10.15). And at any moment in time within this period, he will perform the same action.

Future Continuous is a projection of any of the Continuous times in the future: the action lasts for a certain point in time or over a period of time, but all this will take place in the future. Of course, situations where it is necessary to use Future Continuous are far from common, since they require a specific context that observes the conditions: duration of action, the presence of an exact moment or period of time, and, which is especially rare in speech, the situation describes the future. Here are some more examples to illustrate the use of Future Continuous in speech:

Thus, Future Continuous is not among the most common in English speech temporary forms, which, however, does not make its study optional, especially since the formation of this temporary form is very simple.

Affirmative sentence

So, how to form the predicate for affirmative proposal in Future Continuous? To do this, it is necessary to put an auxiliary, characteristic of the future tense, in front of the form of the extended infinitive (Infinitive Continuous) - will:

will be Ving

Above is a universal scheme for the formation of a predicate affirmative sentence in the future extended tense. Shall as an auxiliary verb can be used instead of will with the subject in the first person (I, we), but its use is rather rare, as it is considered deprecated and preferred in interrogative sentences.

Negative sentence

If the required sentence must be negative, that is, contain the particle not, this particle is attached to the verb will, which ultimately gives the shortened form won’t (= will not).

Questions and Answers

Interrogative sentences, the predicate in which stands in the form of Future Continuous, are also easy to form. (in questions, its use for the first person is not uncommon) take place in front of the subject, while the extended infinitive (Infinitive Continuous) is placed after the subject. This is a basic schema - a schema that can be changed to form any type of question in Future Continuous.

As you can see from the examples, the short answer Yes / No also requires the use of will / won’t. The general question in Future Continuous is often used to ask about the plans of the interlocutor for a certain moment or period in the future, as in the examples given.

Special question adds a question word to the beginning of the above diagram, for example:

Question to the subject also contains a question word (Who / What) at the beginning of the sentence, but stands out as a separate type of question due to the absence of a subject in its composition, or rather, the role of the subject here is played by the question word Who / What:

Alternative question brings us back to the original scheme of education general question, but adds an alternative to the content of the question, that is, a choice, which is expressed by the union or (or):

Separated question added to a sentence that does not contain negation consists of the verb form won’t and the subject expressed by the appropriate personal pronoun, for example:

When expressing doubt about what was said in a negative sentence, the dividing question, on the contrary, takes the affirmative form: will and the subject expressed by a suitable personal pronoun, for example:

Use

The scope of future extended tense mainly covers long-term actions that will unfold in the future, that is, will be in the process, at a certain point or period of time in the future. This is a rather narrow scope of the verb form. Let's compare, for example, sentences in Future Continuous and Future Simple: