FUTURE

PRESENT PROGRESSIVE and BE GOING TO

present progressive: be going to:
future actions and events that have some present reality, already planned or decided, or they are starting to happen, or one can see
them coming now  in many cases both structures can be used to express the same idea, but there are differences
 ‘future arising from present arrangement, plan or programme’  ‘future fulfilment of the present’
 ‘future fulfilment of a present intention’
 mostly to talk about personal arrangements and fixed plans,  to talk about plans, especially in an informal style
especially when the time and place have been decided  emphasises the idea of intention, of a decision that has already
been made; present intention pointing to a future action;
 ‘future result of a present cause’
 present situation which points to the future
 things that are on the way, predicting future on the basis of
present evidence – future action is on the way, or starting to
happen
 future action seems certain to happen and is very close
 often with verbs of movement, to talk about actions which are  for verbs of movement, especially go and come, present
just starting progressive is preferred (going to go/come possible, but
 preferred with go and come unusual, they sound awkward and are avoided)
both structures used for commands and refusals, to insist that people do or do not things
common in emphatic refusals
used instead of future progressive in sub-clauses
differences:
 emphasising the idea of ‘fixed arrangement’  emphasising the idea of ‘intention’, or ‘previous decision’
 asking about what has been arranged  asking about what has been decided
not used for events outside people’s control events outside people’s control
used for actions and events, but not for states (will) can be used for permanent states

PRESENT SIMPLE
events which are part of a timetable/schedule (plan or arrangement regarded as sth unalterable, often not made by the subject of the
verb, but by some authority) or sth similar (unusual certainty, attributing to the future the degree of certainty one normally associates
with the present and the past: statements about the calendar, to describe immutable events)
like the present progressive, it is used with certain dynamic, transitional verbs (e.g. arrive, come, leave) to convey the meaning of plan
or programme
also used with stative verbs to convey the same meaning, but the progressive is then not possible
frequent only in subordinate clauses ( tense simplification)
giving and asking for instructions
not used for decisions or intentions

PRESENT PERFECT
used in sub-clauses instead of future perfect (to express the idea of completion)

SHALL / WILL
shall / will: other:
 will, won’t  all persons
 shall, shan’t  BE for first person (along with will), a little
formal
 can be used with have to, be allowed to, be able to
present tenses and going to:
 giving information (or asking for it) about the future, when  present reality
there is no reason to use present progressive or going to,
‘neutral, pure future’
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 predicting future events  what one knows, thinks, guesses  predicting future events with going to  one has outside
or calculates will happen, no obvious outside evidence, asking evidence for what one says, showing the listener sth
the listener to believe sth based on the speaker’s knowledge,
opinion…
 future seen as a fact, sth one can be certain about, sth one  going to  future action seems certain to happen and is very
cannot control, prediction, definite opinion about the future close, immediate future (will not used this way)
(no wish or intention)
 definite action in the future, not just a wish  wish  want to
sometimes both will and going to can be used with little difference in meaning (predictions),
but going to suggests that there is some present evidence for the prediction
expressions: I’m sure, I think, I expect, probably
‘predicting’ the present or past – to say what one thinks is
probably the case, or has probably happened  assumption
 I’ll, we’ll  announcing instant decisions as one makes them,  announcing decisions that have already been made, the
e.g. if one is agreeing to do sth, when ordering food or drink present progressive or going to is generally preferred
(shall not used in this way)
 used only for instant decisions, not used for intentions, plans  present simple not normally used for announcing decisions
and arrangements
 will can be used for further details and comments after a plan
was introduced with present progressive or be going to
shall/will and present tenses – both used, with similar meanings:
present tenses and going to:
 the speaker does not want to emphasise present ideas like  the speaker wants to emphasise present ideas like
intention/certainty intention/certainty
 conditional use  used to express conditional ideas, when  be going to can be used in conditional sentences if present
one says what will happen if sth else happens (sometimes a circumstances are mentioned in the if-clause
condition is understood but not expressed)
expressing ‘interpersonal’ meanings and uses such as requests, offers, orders, threats, promises:
will  generally expresses willingness, wishes, strong intentions
would  past willingness
shall  expresses obligation (like a more direct form of should)
stressed will  can express a strong intention, determination
refusals:
won’t  used to refuse or talk about refusals, emphatic refusals,
unwillingness (the subject does not have to be a person)
shan’t  (BE only), sometime used, but unusual in modern
English
wouldn’t  past refusals
I’ll/we’ll and will/won’t you  offers, promises, invitations,
requests
you shall  for a promise
invitation  would you like to more usual than won’t you
asking for instructions, advice, suggestions or decisions, to offer
services and to make suggestions  shall I/we (esp. BE)
will not used in this way
giving instructions and orders  will
telling people to do things  firm instructions or orders, but not
requests
threats and promises  will
shall also possible in BE after I and we, but less common
in older English, shall was often used with the second and third
person subjects in threats and promises, this is now very unusual
predictions as orders  instead of telling sb to do sth, the speaker
firmly says that it will happen (common in military-style orders,
formal orders  emphasises the authority of the speaker)
will you…?
 with a verb referring to a state – asks for information  asking for information about people’s plans – present
 with a verb referring to an action will you + infinitive usually progressive or future progressive
introduces an order
obligation  shall
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contracts and other legal documents, shall often used with third-
person subjects to refer to obligations and duties, formal rules
This is the last… and similar structures with last, present and future tenses both possible

FUTURE PROGRESSIVE & FUTURE PERFECT

future progressive (shall/will + be + -ing):
 to say that sth will be in progress (going on) at a particular moment in the future, an action over a period of future time, one will
be in the middle of an action
 temporary activities in the future
 sth going on in the future as a background situation, or interrupted by another activity
 used with a phrase of time to talk about an action going on over a whole period
 to refer (without a progressive meaning) to future events which are fixed or decided, or which are expected to happen in the
normal course of events; it does not suggest the idea of personal intention; ‘future as a matter of course’ (avoids the interpretation
of volition, intention, promise etc, to which will, shall, and be going to are liable)
 action which is the result of a routine or arrangement/schedule (going to and present progressive also possible in this context)
 although shall is rare overall, it often occurs with the progressive aspect when it is used (can also be replaced by will)
 ‘predicting the present’  to say what one thinks or guesses is probably happening now; an assumption of what is happening now
 polite enquiries  used to make polite enquiries about people’s plans (the speaker shows that he/she does not want to influence the
listener’s intentions), often to see whether they fit in with the speaker’s wishes (present progressive also possible in this context)
(In older English, shall you + infinitive was used to make polite enquiries in this way.)
progressive form of the going to structure is also possible
not used in sub-clauses  present progressive used instead
future perfect (shall/will have + past participle):
 to express that sth will have been done, over, completed or achieved at/by/before a certain time in the future, looking back from
the future; future before future time
 a progressive form can be used to emphasise the continuity of a future achievement  one imagines oneself looking back from a
time in the future – one looks back at an action that will continue up to that time; to emphasise the duration of an event in the
future that takes place before another future event or point of time
 to ‘predict the present’  to say what one thinks or guesses has probably happened; an assumption about the past
future perfect progressive: future perfect non-progressive:
focus on the action going on focus on the result of the action

OTHER WAYS OF EXPRESSING THE FUTURE

be to  future official arrangement, plan, future requirement and intention (be is often left out of be to in news headlines)
be to  rule or order by a person in authority
be to  pre-destined future, ‘fate’ (things which are/were ‘hidden in the future’, fated to happen
be about to + bare infinitive and be on the point of + -ing  an action in the near future
(one does not usually give a time with about to)
be just about to/going to can be used for the very near future
be not about to  can be paraphrased as ‘have no intention of’
be due to  action which is a part of a timetable
be set to  used in news reports about things that are expected/likely to happen soon
be bound to  used to say sth will definitely happen in the future; expressing certainty about the future
be likely to  action is likely to happen
modal verbs: can, could, may, might, must, have to, should, ought to, will be able to  to express possibility, probability, necessity,
ability or opportunity in the future
some ordinary verbs + to infinitive  to express intentions and plans for the future (decide, intend, plan, arrange, hope…)

FUTURE IN THE PAST

 Projected future time seen from a point in the past.
 When talking about the past, to talk about sth which was in the future at that time – which had not yet happened. To express this
idea, the structures that are normally used to talk about the future are used, but the verb forms are past:
will  would (this use is rather literary, rare, past action seen from a time when it had not yet happened)
will not  would not (unwillingness or refusal in the past)
present progressive  past progressive (past arrangement)

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am/are/is going to  was/were going to (perfect forms of be going to also possible) (prediction in the past, intention in the past,
intended action that did not actually happen, unfulfilled intention)
is to etc  was to etc (formal; ‘was destined to’, ‘arrangement’)
was to can be used with the perfect  means that the past arrangement was changed, a planned event did not happen
was to can have the same meaning as would
was about to  ‘on the point of’, often with the sense of ‘unfulfilled intention’

SUBORDINATE CLAUSES
present instead of future:
 If both the main clause and the subordinate clause refer to the future, present tenses are often used instead of will to refer to the
future in subordinate clauses (after conjunctions of time like when, as, while, until, after, before, by the time, as soon as, most
other subordinate clauses – e.g. after if, whether and on condition that, after question words and relatives, in relative and nominal
clauses, and in indirect speech); even if the main verb does not have a future form, provided it refers to future.
 Present perfect can be used to express the idea of completion.
 in a sub clause present progressive or present perfect are also used for future time, rather than future progressive or future perfect
 in comparisons with as and than, present and future verbs are both possible
future in subordinate clauses:
 A future verb is necessary for future reference in a subordinate clause if the main verb does not refer to the future or to the same
time in the future.
 Future verbs are used in if-clauses when if means ‘if it is true that…’
in case, I hope, I bet, it doesn’t matter etc:
 A present tense is normally used with a future meaning after in case even if the main verb is present or past.
 In an informal style, present verbs are often used with future meanings after I hope and I bet (along with future tenses).
 Present tenses are also used with future reference after it doesn’t matter, I don’t care, I don’t mind, it’s not important and similar
expressions.
past instead of conditional:
Like will, would is avoided in subordinate clauses referring to the past, instead of would + infinitive, past verbs are generally used with
conditional meanings in subordinate clauses, not only in if-clauses, but also after most other conjunctions.
Exceptions:
These rules do not usually apply to clauses beginning with because, although, since or as (meaning ‘because’)  future must be used

OVERVIEW
future as fact will/shall
predicting future events will/shall, be going to
predicting the present future perfect, future progressive
future that has present reality, already planned, decided, starting present progressive, be going to
to happen
personal arrangements, fixed plans present progressive
future actions certain to happen, very close be going to
commands, refusals, insisting that people do or not do things present progressive, be going to
near future be going to, be about to, be on the point of,
an instant decision will
a plan or intention, decision already made present progressive, be going to
timetable/schedule present simple, future progressive, be due to
sub-clauses present simple, present perfect, present progressive, future verbs
giving/asking for instructions present simple, shall I/we
orders, threats, promises will (/shall), be to
asking for information about people’s plans present progressive, future progressive
an official arrangement be to
willingness, wishes, strong intentions, determination will
obligation shall
offers, promises, invitations, requests will
a future action which is part of a routine future progressive, be going to, present progressive
a future action over a period future progressive
future possibility could, may, might

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future probability should, ought to
future necessity must, have to
ability or opportunity in the future can, will be able to
looking back from the future, sth over by a certain time future perfect
looking forward from the past would, past progressive, past simple, was/were going to, was to

Compiled by
Marko Majerović
Department of English
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
University of Zagreb

Sources:
Eastwood, John: Oxford Guide to English Grammar, OUP, 1994
Eastwood, John: Oxford Learner’s Grammar, OUP, 2005
Swan, Michael: Practical English Usage, International Student’s Edition, OUP, 1996

Bieber, Douglas; Susan Conrad, Geoffrey Leech: Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English, Longman, 2002
Greenbaum, Sidney & Randolph Quirk: A Student’s Grammar of the English Language, Longman, 1990
Karlovčan, Vjekoslav: An Advanced Learner’s English Grammar, Profil, 2002