Future Tense | Future Simple, Perfect & Progressive
The term future tense can refer specifically to the use of the modal verbs “will” and “shall” to express future time (e.g., “We will start in September”) or to a wider range of future forms, including the following.
- Simple future tense (aka “will” future or future simple)
- Future progressive tense (aka future continuous tense)
- Future perfect tense
- Future perfect progressive tense (aka future perfect continuous tense)
- “Going to” future
- Present progressive tense (aka present continuous)
- Simple present tense
QuillBot’s free Paraphrasing Tool can suggest alternative ways of referring to future time, adding variety to your writing.
What time are you leaving tomorrow? [Present progressive/present continuous]
We’re going to leave early tomorrow. [Going to future]
OK, we’ll catch the early train then. [Simple future tense/Will future]
Erwin called to say he’ll be arriving at about midday tomorrow. [Future progressive tense/future continuous tense]
We’ll have left before he arrives. [Future perfect tense]
Simple future tense
You form the simple future tense (aka will future) with the verb will and the bare infinitive of the main verb (i.e, the verb without “to”).
In informal speech and writing, we often use the contractions “I’ll,” “we’ll,” “she’ll” etc. in positive statements about the future and won’t (for “will not”) in negative statements.
The simple future tense is used in everyday conversations to make predictions, make spontaneous decisions and offers, and when we’re in the process of making decisions about future plans and arrangements. In formal contexts, we frequently use the simple future to refer to existing plans and make announcements.
I think the LA Galaxy will win the championship again this season.
OK, so we won’t have pizza tonight; we’ll have it tomorrow.
I’ll give you a lift; it’s on my way.
The new hospital will open in May.
We don’t use the will future tenses or the “going to future.”
- I won’t leave before you get here. [Simple present]
- I won’t leave before you will get here.
- I won’t leave before you are going to get here.
- It might be difficult to get hold of me when I’m traveling next week. [Present progressive]
- It might be difficult to get hold of me when I will be traveling next week.
- It might be difficult to get hold of me when I am going to be traveling next week.
- He said I shouldn’t leave until the guests have arrived. [Present perfect]
- He said I shouldn’t leave until the guests will have arrived.
- He said I shouldn’t leave until the guests are going to have arrived.
Future perfect tense
You use the future perfect tense to say that an event or activity will already be finished or a task will already be achieved before a time in the future. It is formed using will, have, and the past participle of the main verb.
- The stores will all have closed by the time you get here.
Sentences in the future perfect tense often contain the preposition by or the word before used as a conjunction or preposition.
I doubt I’ll have finished the first chapter by Friday.
Hopefully we’ll have saved up enough money for a new washing machine before this one breaks down.
Future progressive tense
We use the future progressive tense (aka future continuous tense) in two ways.
- To express that a future event is routine, expected, or inevitable—it’s sometimes referred to as the “anyway form” or “matter of course form.”
- To refer to an event that will be in progress at a future point
The future progressive is formed using will, be, and the present participle of the main verb.
- Do you want a lift? I’ll be driving there anyway, so it’s no trouble at all.
- We’ll still be driving home from soccer practice at 5:30, but we’ll be back by 6:00.
Will you be spending Christmas with us or with Kenneth’s parents this year, Barbara? [Politely inquiring about plans, expressing that there is no expectation that the other person has made any firm arrangements yet]
I’ll be working late today, so don’t forget that you’ll have to make the kids’ dinner. [Describing routine event rather than a special arrangement]
This time tomorrow, we’ll be flying across the Atlantic. [The flight will be in progress at this time tomorrow]
They’ll be finishing the budget when you arrive on Monday. [The budgeting process will still be in progress on Monday]
- Will you be home for the holidays this year, Barbara? [Simple future]
- Will you be being home for the holidays this year, Barbara? [Future progressive]
- I’ll be at home all day anyway, so come by anytime. [Simple future]
- I’ll be being at home all day anyway, so come by anytime. [Future progressive]
Future perfect progressive
You use the future perfect progressive tense (aka future perfect continuous tense) to refer to how long something has been in progress at a future point. It is formed using will, have, been, and the present participle of the main verb.
- You won’t want to walk home because you’ll have been standing all day.
You’ll have been living here for over five years by then, so you’ll be able to apply for citizenship.
Frequently asked questions about the future tense
- What does if you will mean?
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You use the phrase if you will to highlight or acknowledge that what you have just said is figurative, metaphorical, or an imprecise comparison (e.g., “It’s the Oscars of the paper industry, if you will”), or to make a polite request (e.g., “If you will/if you’ll follow me” means “Please follow me”).
The modal verb “will” has a wide range of functions and is used to form the future tense.
QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can suggest alternatives to the phrase “if you will” to fit your specific context.
- Is will a preposition?
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No, will is not a preposition. Its part of speech is a verb (e.g., a modal verb) or a noun (e.g., “She has a strong will”).
The verb “will” is used to form the future tense.
QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can suggest alternatives to the word “will” to fit your specific context.
- Is will a conjunction?
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No, will is not a conjunction. It can either be a verb (e.g., a modal verb) or a noun (e.g., “He has a very strong will”).
The future tense is formed using the verb “will.”
Use QuillBot’s free Paraphraser to help find synonyms and alternatives for the noun or verb “will” to fit your specific context.
- Is will a helping verb?
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The verb will is used to form the future tenses, and it is often classified as a helping verb in this context (e.g., “I will meet you outside the theater at 7 p.m.”).
Some linguists classify “will” as a modal verb or modal auxiliary when it’s used to talk about the future because they do not regard the “will future” as a true future tense (and the term “helping verb” refers to verbs that are used to form tenses).
You can use QuillBot’s free Paraphraser to help find alternative ways of referring to the future in your texts.
- Is will a subordinating conjunction?
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No, will is not a subordinating conjunction. It can either function as a verb (e.g., a modal verb) or a noun (e.g., “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”).
The future tenses (simple future and future perfect etc.) use the verb “will.”
QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can help you find alternative ways of referring to the future time in your texts.
