Simple Future

By Syahruzzaky

Time waits for no one.

Introduction 

We are going to study Simple Future on this post. It is the way we talk about future actions. Before you learn this chapter, you had better understand Present Continuous. 

Read the sentences carefully. 

  1. We’re having a party next weekend. 
  2. I’m not working next week. 
  3. Are you meeting your friends tonight? 
  4. What are you doing tomorrow evening? 
  1. ‘Where is Sue and Amanda? ‘They’re playing tennis in the park.’
  2. Andrew is playing tennis tomorrow. 
  1. I’m going to watch TV this evening. 
  2. I’m not going to have breakfast this morning. I’m not hungry. 
  3. What are you going to wear to the wedding next week? 
  1. I’ll phone you tomorrow, OK? 
  2. Don’t drink coffee before you go to bed. You won’t sleep. 
  3. Will you be at home this evening? 
  1. Look at the sky. It’s going to rain. 
  2. Oh dear! It’s 9 o’clock and I’m not ready. I’m going to be late. 
  1. I’m tired. I think I’ll go to bed early tonight. 
  2. It’s raining. I don’t think I’ll go out. 
  1. It’s very warm in this room. Shall I open the window? 
  2. I’m going to a party tonight. What shall I wear? 

The function 

The first four sentences talk about the actions that have been arranged by the doers in the future. Uniquely, it has the same pattern with the present continuous tense that we have discussed earlier. 

Yes, the present continuous can be used to talk about something that is in progress or what has been arranged in the future. 

This function can also be acted by “to be going to”. See the sentences: 

I’m going to watch TV this evening. 
I’m not going to have breakfast this morning. I’m not hungry. 
What are you going to wear to the wedding next week? 

The sentences talk about the actions that have been arranged by the doers. 

I am doing vs. I will 

To talk about the future actions, we can also use modal auxiliary “will”. See the sentences: 

I’ll phone you tomorrow, OK? 
Don’t drink coffee before you go to bed. You won’t sleep. 
Will you be at home this evening? 

If you read the sentences carefully, it is inferred that the actions mentioned are not arranged before. It is somehow spontaneous. Yes, we do not normally use “will” to talk about what we have arranged to do. 

Some important expressions to talk about something in the future 

Something is going to happen 

There are other expressions that we can use to talk about the future. Read the sentences carefully. 

Look at the sky. It’s going to rain. 
Oh dear! It’s 9 o’clock and I’m not ready. I’m going to be late. 

In the first sentence, we know that it’s going to rain soon as we see the sky is cloudy, for instance. In the second sentence, the writer thinks that he/she is going to be late as he/she sees the current time. Those sentences tell us that we can see now that something is sure to happen. 

I think I’ll … / I don’t think I’ll

Other ways to talk about the future is by saying I think I’ll … / I don’t think I’ll …. Read the sentences. 

I’m tired. I think I’ll go to bed early tonight. 
It’s raining. I don’t think I’ll go out. 

The first sentence, the doer decides to go to bed early tonight because he/she feels tired. Meanwhile, in the second sentence the writer decides to not go out due to the bad weather. So, we can use I think I’ll … / I don’t think I’ll … when we decide to do something. 

Shall we? 

We can say that it’s good to do something by using shall we? Read the sentences. 

It’s very warm in this room. Shall I open the window? 
I’m going to a party tonight. What shall I wear? 

The form 

As mentioned earlier the present continuous can be used to talk about both present and future time. We have discussed the form of the present continuous tense in the previous post. To recall it, feel free to click the link.

Let’s discuss how to talk about the future using “will”. Read the sentences carefully. 

“Will” is an auxiliary verb. To make an affirmative sentence using the auxiliary we simply put it after the subject. See the example. 

I will (I’ll) phone you tomorrow, OK? 
Leave the old bread in the garden. The birds will eat it. 
Telephone me this evening. I’ll be at home. 

Likewise other auxiliary verbs we just simply add “not” after “will” to construct the negative form of the sentence. See the sentences. 

Don’t drink coffee before you go to bed. You will not (won’t) sleep. 
I will not (won’t) be here tomorrow. 

To make an interrogative sentence we have to put “will” in the beginning of the sentence or after “wh- questions”. See the examples. 

Will you be at home this evening? 

Conclusions

  • Present continuous tense can be used to talk about the future actions that have been arranged we can use “I’m going to (do)” 
  • To talk about the future actions that have not been arranged we can use “I will”
  • Other expressions to talk about the future actions are: 
  • Something is going to happen 
  • I think I’ll … / I don’t think I’ll 
  • Shall we? 
  • To construct sentences using “will” we can see the table. 
adapted from Essential English Grammar

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