Ways of expressing future time

1. Present Simple
- official timetables/programmes e.g. The beauty spa opens tomorrow at 10 a.m.
- conditionals e.g. If you see him, tell him I’m back.
- calendar references Christmas is on a Tuesday next year.

2. Present Perfect
- when the completion of the event is emphasised e.g When you have finished eating, we’ll leave.

3. Present Continuous
- future plans/ arrangements e.g. I’m having a party at the weekend.

4. Be going to
– predicions based on evidence in the present e.g. You’re going to be sick
- intentions/plans e.g. I’m going to wait for her.

5. Simple Future (’ll+V1)

- prediction e.g. You’ll live to be 100.
- facts e.g. I’ll be late home tonight.
- assumption e.g. That’ll be Dad.
- sudden decision e.g. I’ll have a coffee, please!
- verbs of thinking can be followed by will if there is future reference e.g. I think we’ll win.

6. Future Continuous ( will + be +V-ing)

- events which will be happening at a future point e.g. I’ll be flying to Paris tomorrow this time.
- events which are going to happen anyway, rather than events we choose to make happen
e.g. My father will be retiring in June.
- in some contexts it sounds more polite than Simple Future e.g. Will you be using your car?
- future arrangements e.g. Red Hot Chili Peppers will be performing in Bucharest in summer.

7. Future Perfect (will+have+V3)

- events seen as finished before a future moment e.g I’ll have finished my essay by 8 p.m.
- assumption e.g. You won’t have heard the news, of course.

8. Future Perfect Continuous (will+have+been+V-ing)

- emphasis on duration of action up to a certain point in the future e.g. Next year I will have been
working here for 10 years.

9. TO BE TO - to describe formal arrangements e.g. All students are to assemble in the school yard at 8.

10. BE ABOUT TO/BE ON THE VERGE (POINT) OF e.g. She’s about to leave.

11. BE DUE TO - to refer to scheduled times e.g. The play is due to start at 8 p.m.

12. BE BOUND TO – prediction e.g. The train is bound to be late.