Level: intermediate
When we know about the future, we normally use the present tense.
1. We use the present simple for something scheduled:
We have a lesson next Monday.
The train arrives at 6.30 in the morning.
The holidays start next week.
It's my birthday tomorrow.
2. We can use the present continuous for plans or arrangements:
I'm playing football tomorrow.
They are coming to see us tomorrow.
We're having a party at Christmas.
3. We use will:
- when we express beliefs about the future:
It will be a nice day tomorrow.
I think Brazil will win the World Cup.
I'm sure you will enjoy the film.
- to mean want to or be willing to:
I hope you will come to my party.
George says he will help us.
- to make offers and promises :
I'll see you tomorrow.
We'll send you an email.
- to talk about offers and promises:
Tim will be at the meeting.
Mary will help with the cooking.
4. We use be going to:
- to talk about plans or intentions:
I'm going to drive to work today.
They are going to move to Manchester.
- to make predictions based on evidence we can see:
Be careful! You are going to fall. (= I can see that you might fall.)
Look at those black clouds. I think it's going to rain. (= I can see that it will rain.)
5. We use will be with an -ing form for something happening before and after a specific time in the future:
I'll be working at eight o'clock. Can you come later?
They'll be waiting for you when you arrive.
6. We can use will be with an -ing form instead of the present continuous or be going to when we are talking about plans, arrangements and intentions:
They'll be coming to see us next week.
I'll be driving to work tomorrow.
7. We often use verbs like would like, plan, want, mean, hope, expect to talk about the future:
What are you going to do next year? I'd like to go to university.
We plan to go to France for our holidays.
George wants to buy a new car.
8. We use modals may, might and could when we are not sure about the future:
I might stay at home tonight or I might go to the cinema.
We could see Mary at the meeting. She sometimes goes.
9. We can use should if we think there's a good chance of something happening:
We should be home in time for tea.
The game should be over by eight o'clock.
- Talking about the future 1
- Talking about the future 2
The future in time clauses and if-clauses
In time clauses with words like when, after, until we often use present tense forms to talk about the future:
I'll come home when I finish work.
You must wait here until your father comes.
They are coming after they have had dinner.
In clauses with if we often use present tense forms to talk about the future:
We won't be able to go out if it is raining.
If Barcelona lose tomorrow, they will be champions.
| Be careful! |
|---|
We do not normally use will in time clauses and if-clauses:
but we can use will if it means want to or be willing to:
|
Hello Yuriy UA
Both forms are grammatically correct, but one or the other is more correct or appropriate depending on the context, as is described above. If you are speaking about a timetable, the present simple is more appropriate, whereas, for example, if you want to emphasise that you need to to be in City Hall by 9.15 and you can see that your companions are moving slowly, the present continuous form could be appropriate.
English verb tenses (and verb tenses in all the languages I know, for that matter) have several different uses and context is always essential in determining which one to use.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello DM817
I might recommend not covering more than a couple of uses at a time and choosing two where there is a clear contrast or difference between them.
I'd also suggest checking our sister site, TeachingEnglish, and asking this same question there. I expect you will find some discussion of this topic there, and if not, you can ask the community of teachers there and get lots of ideas, I'm sure.
Good luck!
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Shaban Nafea
It would be more natural to use 'going to' in this case since you are speaking about an intention and plan to surprise the other person.
In the second pair of sentences, if you are speaking about the way this person is in general -- in other words, if he does this kind of thing regularly -- then the second one (with present tense) would communicate this idea. The first one would be better for speaking about about one specific situation.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello FadeFade,
In the past the speaker thought it was going to be very good – this is their thought in the past about the future.
In the present it is not so good.
Thus, the speaker says
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Lal,
Both forms are possible and in most contexts there is no difference.
The present simple form (...when I finish...) means that the person will return as soon as they finish work.
The present perfect form (...when I have finished...) usually also means this, but in certain contexts it could mean that the person is going to do something else before returning. Thus we could say:
but we would not say
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello dipakrgandhi,
You can find the meaning of idiomatic phrases like this with a simple search:
https://www.google.com/search?q=that+won%27t+wash+meaning&oq=that+won%27t+wash+meaning
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi amrita_enakshi,
It strikes me as a bit odd to use the future perfect to answer that question. But if you did use it, then yes, your sentence is correct. It's not a double-negative, i.e. it means they are not going to be traveling to Spain this evening.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Hopefinder,
'We've got' and 'We have' are both correct and mean the same thing in this case. 'have got' is actually not the present perfect tense here, but rather a synonym of 'have'. You can read more about 'have got' on this page.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Lal,
Teams or groups can be singular (the group as a whole) or plural (a collection of members), as you say.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Lal,
You are quite right. The past form is 'looked' and the non-past form is 'look'.
Thank you for pointing this typo out. I have edited the original comment.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Lal,
You can say 'on Sunday' or 'on Sundays'. The first can mean only one day ('this Sunday') or can have a general meaning; the second always has a general meaning.
In your example you have a present form in the first clause ('meet') but an imperative form in the second ('give'). It is fine to use an imperative form like this as a way of giving instructions or commands to someone.
You can use two present forms when you are making a statement which is always or typically true. For example:
If you don't water plants, they die.
If the sun shines then more people use bicycles.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Csahoo,
'Future time' is straightforward: it is any time which has not yet come.
Strictly, 'tense' refers to a change in the form of the verb and in English we have only two grammatical tenses: past (e.g. 'looked') and present or non-past (e.g. 'look').
We talk about future time with a range of devices. Sometimes people call will + verb the 'future tense' but this is not correct, grammatically speaking. 'Will' is a modal verb like 'should' or 'can', not a tense.
I hope that helps to clarify it for you.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Mbazarov,
The present continuous implies that your plan is more arranged in some way than using 'going to'. For example, in your first sentences, 'I'm playing' suggests that you've already spoken with your friends and know when and where you are going to meet. 'I'm going to play' could mean the same thing, but focuses more on your intention; it could be that you just recently realised that you can play tonight because, for example, the meeting you had at work has been cancelled.
The same idea is true for your second sentences.
As for the third sentences, using 'going to' could express your firm determination to be rich more than 'will', but otherwise, in most contexts, there'd be little difference.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Mohsen.k77,
Both of these sentences are correct and there is no real difference in meaning here. In some contexts, where the speaker wants to speak about something she plans to do, for example, 'going to' would be the best form. But here the mother's age next month is a fact so there is no real difference.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello jitu_jaga,
All of those sentences are grammatically correct. Which one is appropriate will depend upon the context and the speaker's intention. Are we talking about a plan, a promise, an intention...?
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Prap,
The change here is will > would:
He asked me if I would do it for him.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Lal,
Yes, that is generally correct. The present continuous suggests a more certain future which the speaker sees as already in progress, while the going to form suggests only intention.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi jiaojiaopeter,
When an event is scheduled or timetabled, such as a train arriving, a lesson taking place or a concert starting, we use the present simple. The present continuous is used when a particular event is arranged between individuals rather than being officially scheduled.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Prap,
The 'will' in 'who will fail' is not correct in standard British English. The other 'will' is correct, though.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team