Talk About Goals, Plans, and Forecasts With Future Tense English

Having goals and plans for the future is part of why you’re learning a new language. Maybe you want to travel to an English-speaking country, work in a job that requires English, or just learn for fun. To tell others about your future in English, you need to use future tense English sentences.

Depending on the future action, you might need any of the four future tense forms. Learn about what makes the uses for each form different to decide which one you need.

Four ways to create future tense English sentences

The future tense is the English verb tense you use to talk about things that haven’t happened yet. There are four different forms to remember, but they don’t require conjugations. Instead, you’ll use extra verbs in addition to the main verb. As a result, all four future tense forms are the same for all subject personal pronouns (one of the types of English pronouns).

The four English future tense forms are easy to create, but they have different uses to remember for each one:

English Future Tense	When To Use
simple future	Actions or events that haven’t happened yet Decisions made in the moment Predictions for events in the future
future continuous	Actions or events in the future that go on for some time and then end
future perfect	Actions or events that are completed in the future after starting in the past or future
future perfect continuous	Actions or events ongoing for a period of time in the future

Simple future tense

The easiest future tense form in English is the simple future. To use it, you’ll need the word will and the verb making up the main action of the sentence.

When to use English simple future

The simple future form is straightforward. It describes a single action or event in the future, whether it was planned or not.

Simple Future Use	Example
Actions or events that haven’t happened yet	I *will write* the email after lunch.
Decisions made in the moment	We *will go* with you.
Predictions for events in the future	It *will* probably *rain* this afternoon.

How to form the English simple future

The simple future form uses the word will (a modal verb, one of the types of verbs in English) and the base form of a verb.

will + [verb base form] = simple future form

That’s it! You won’t need to remember any rules for regular or irregular verb conjugation in English because you only need the base form.

They will work at the store starting next week.
It will be a while before we arrive.

If you’re making guesses or predictions about the future, you can add the adverbs probably or likely between will and the verb.

She will probably win the tournament.

Future continuous tense

The future continuous form is also called the future progressive form. Both terms come from verbs that describe an ongoing action or event: Continuous means that something continues, and progressive means that something progresses.

When to use English future continuous

The main use of the future continuous form is to describe something that starts at one time in the future, continues, and then ends in another.

Future Continuous Use	Example
Actions or events in the future that go on for some time and then end	We *will be leaving* shortly.

How to form the English future continuous

The future continuous form is very similar to the simple future. You will need the simple future form of be (will be) and the -ing form (present participle) of the main verb.

will be + [verb in -ing form] = future continuous form

From there, you can insert the new verb phrase into your sentence describing an ongoing action or event in the future.

My mother will be visiting us in May.
The sun will be setting by the time the game is over.

Like the simple future tense, you can use adverbs for guesses and predictions. For example, probably would go between will and be.

They will probably be eating dinner if we call at 6:00.

Future perfect tense

The future perfect form describes actions or events that will be complete (which is what perfect means in this situation) in the future. You’ll need to know past participles in English to create this form.

When to use English future perfect

You use the English future perfect when the main verb ends in the future, but you also imply when it started. The action may have started in the past or in the future, but it ends in the future. You’ll often use words about time in these sentences.

Future Perfect Use	Example
Actions or events that are completed in the future after starting in the past or future	She *will have lived* in the United States for a year.

How to form the English future perfect

To create the future perfect form, you’ll need to combine the simple future form of the verb have (will have) and the past participle of the main verb.

will have + [verb in past participle form] = future perfect form

Think about this form as looking back to the past (when the action started) from a point in the future (when the action finished).

The snow will have melted by March.
I will have finished my project by the time the meeting starts.

Future perfect continuous tense

The future perfect continuous form is similar to the future perfect form. It describes actions or events that will be complete in the future, but it describes them as still ongoing and not complete until a specified time. The future perfect continuous form is also called the future perfect progressive form.

When to use English future perfect continuous

The future perfect continuous form is primarily for describing extended actions or events in the future. Like the future perfect form, you will use a lot of time words and expressions here.

Future Perfect Continuous Use	Example
Actions or events ongoing for a period of time in the future	As of October, I *will have been studying* English for three years.

How to form the English future perfect continuous

To create the future perfect continuous form, you’ll need the future perfect form of the verb be (will have been) and the -ing form of the main verb.

will have been + [verb in -ing form] = future present continuous form

Think of the future perfect continuous form as a combination of the future perfect and the future continuous forms. It is both ongoing (continuous) and complete (perfect) at some point in the future.

To make your meaning clear, you will probably include one expression that specifies a point in time and another one that specifies a length of time.

By the time she’s done showering, the water will have been running for half an hour.
When I move to California in April, I will have been working for Rosetta Stone for a year.

When to use going to in future tense

In addition to the four future tense forms, you can also use the expression going to to talk about something in the future. It has two main uses:

Use	Example
Talking about future plans or intentions	I’m *going to* be a doctor after I graduate.
Predicting actions or events	It’s *going to* explode!

You’ll need to conjugate the verb be before going to to match the pronoun as well.

I am going to learn a new language.
They are going to learn a new language.
She is going to learn a new language.

This use of going to is different from using going to as a way to describe where someone is going. That requires using go as the main verb in the present continuous form.

We are going to Spain.

Shall and will use in English

You can use both shall and will for the English future tense. Technically, their definitions are slightly different, but English speakers primarily use shall to sound more formal. Compare these sentences using shall vs. will:

Casual: We will go home for Christmas.
Formal: We shall go home for Christmas.

Some professions that use contracts (like engineering and law) are very specific about the meaning of shall, will, and must. The differences are small, but they can be important. If you work in a job with a lot of contracts, be careful about which word you use in writing (ask a supervisor if you’re not sure).

The owner will provide compensation. (This can imply an expectation or desire.)
The owner shall provide compensation. (This can imply an obligation or requirement.)

Using contractions to say will in English future tenses

It’s common in English to shorten will to -‘ll at the end of the pronoun that goes before it. This is one of the contractions in English that you will (you’ll) see most often.

All you have to do is replace the word will with ‘ll and remove the space. This creates a new word that ends in -‘ll.

I’ll be back. = I will be back.
We’ll pay later. = We will pay later.

You might also hear people attach the -’ll contraction to words that aren’t pronouns, but they are less common. You can use contractions like these in casual conversations.

That’ll be fun! = That will be fun!
Sarah’ll come later. = Sarah will come later.

Talking about the future with English adverbs

You can use adverbs in English (or adverbial phrases) to describe when something will happen in the future. This is usually an important detail to add, and if you don’t have a specific date or time, adverbs like these can help.

English Adverb	Pronunciation	Example
about	uh-BOUT	It will take *about* 10 minutes.
around	uh-ROUND	The meeting will end *around* 9:00.
soon	soon	The parade will start *soon*.
before	bih-FOHR	She will call *before* leaving the airport.
early	UR-lee	I’ll wake up *early* tomorrow.
today	tuh-DEY	My son will come home *today*.
tomorrow	tuh-MAWR-oh	These students will graduate *tomorrow*.
next week	nekst week	We’ll start this project *next week*.
next month	nekst muhnth	The party will be *next month*.
next year	nekst yeer	Ramadan will start in February *next year*.
this morning	this MAWR-ning	It will rain *this morning*.
this afternoon	this af-ter-NOON	The package will arrive *this afternoon*.
tonight	tuh-NAHYT	There will be a full moon *tonight*.

Key takeaways about future forms in English

When you create future tense English sentences, you don’t conjugate the base verb into a future form like you do with simple past tense. Instead, you need to combine additional verbs (like will and have) and other verb forms (like past participles) to create sentences in the future. The most important things is to remember the key uses for each form:

English has four future tense forms: simple future, future continuous, future perfect, and future perfect continuous.
Use the simple future form for things that haven’t happened yet, new decisions, and predictions.
Use the future continuous form for things that happen in the future for some time and then end.
Use the future perfect form for things that finish in the future after starting in the past or the future.
Use the future perfect continuous form for things ongoing for a period of time in the future.

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