Present Future Tenses

Future tense is a form of English grammar which tells an activity that occurs in the future. The most common use of modal verb (auxiliary verb) is WILL.

In this module, I am telling you about the three forms of Present Future Tenses: (1) Simple Present Future Tense, (2) Present Future Continuous Tense, and (3) Present Future Perfect Tense.

 

SIMPLE PRESENT FUTURE TENSE

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go - Dr. Seuss

From the example of quote above, we may see how the use of the auxiliary WILL to the context of future achievement.

It means that Simple Present Future Tense is a form of grammar indicating something will occur in the future; it can be an intention, prediction, or plan.

Yet, you need to be careful that it is not only WILL to deliver the message of future plan. It is also allowed to use TO BE GOING TO, like: I am going to drive you home now.

Therefore, to make sure you understand well this first form of Present Future Tense, let’s figure out the function itself.

WILL vs TO BE GOING TO

Julie: There's no milk. John: Really? In that case, I'll go and get some.

The text expresses that John decides to go to the market and buy some milk. This means that he intends to do so at the moment of speaking.

Whereas

Julie: There's no milk. John: I know. I'm going to go and get some when this TV program finishes.

The text expresses that John decides to go to the market and buy some milk as well. However, this means that he intends to do before the moment of speaking. He has already known that they have no milk left long before Julie said about it, he intended to buy some in the end.

In addition, there’s one difference left between WILL and TO BE GOING TO as for prediction.

Let’s have a look to these two dialogues as comparison.

Judie: Any politics thought? Mark: I think the Conservatives will win the next election.

 

Judie: Any politics thought? Mark: The Conservatives are going to win the election. They already have most of the votes.

 

If you can analyze well, the different between the two examples are: One of the dialogues is a prediction based on opinion and another one is a prediction based on proof, “The have already most of the votes.”

The other function of Simple Present Future Tense is to express a future fact:

Judie: What about tomorrow? Mark: The sun will rise tomorrow.

 And an expression of a request, promise, refusal, or offer:

Judie: What about tomorrow? Mark: I'll help you tomorrow, if you like.

CONCLUSION:

It is concluded that the Simple Present Future Tense is used to express:

THE FORMULA

 

PRESENT FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE

The next explanation will be about the Present Future Continuous Tense. Let’s have a look to this example below:

Tomorrow, I think my father will go to Japan. He will be working with some Japanese Businessmen and then he will have finished his meeting in the afternoon. While he is in Japan, I am going to call him so that he will buy me some souvenirs from Akihabara. He will be saying that he doesn’t have much time and hangs up the phone. He will have brought me some surprising merchandise after he arrives in Indonesia. Doesn’t it sound great?

 

There’s something specific about what is said when the phrase mentions:

• He will be working with some Japanese Businessmen
• He will be saying that he doesn’t have much time and hangs up the phone.

If we analyse well the two sentences above, we may figure out that the Present Future Continuous Tense, sometimes also referred to as the Present Future Progressive Tense, is a verb tense that indicates that something will occur in the future and continue for an expected length of time.

Most of the use can be quite common without any adverb of time, like:

• Tomorrow at 7 AM
• Next Tuesday at around 10 AM
• Tonight at 9 PM, and so forth, like:

He will be working with some Japanese Businessmen tomorrow at 9 a.m.

It means that the father will be working at a around (in a specific) time at 9 tomorrow morning.

 

 

 

PRESENT FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

The third form that you’ll learn is the Present Future Perfect Tense which talks about an action that will be completed between now and some point in the future.

Imagine that your friend Clark asks you to take care of his puppy for a few days while he goes on a trip. He wants you to come over today at noon so he can show you where to find the cat food and how to mash it up in the bowl just right so that it will deign to eat it. But you’re busy this afternoon, so you ask Clark if you can come at 8 o’clock tonight instead.

“No, that won’t work! At eight o’clock, I will have left already,” he says.

From that case, we can tell that the Present Future Perfect Tense gives you a prediction that things will finish in a specific time (or in a particular event).

What about having the text in the previous example?

Tomorrow, I think my father will go to Japan. He will be working with some Japanese Businessmen and then he will have finished his meeting in the afternoon. While he is in Japan, I am going to call him so that he will buy me some souvenirs from Akihabara. He will be saying that he doesn’t have much time and hangs up the phone. He will have brought me some surprising merchandise after he arrives in Indonesia. Doesn’t it sound great?

 

It is implied that the father is predicted to finish his meeting in the afternoon and the writer will get some surprising merchandise when his father comes home.

It is as simple as that.

Just make sure to remember you need to comprehend this case:

I will have two apples tomorrow.

This is an example of Simple Present Future Tense although you find the phrase “have” in the sentence. It means “possessing something.” Yet,

I will have had two apples by the end of the weekend.

This is an example of Present Future Perfect Tense which owns the phrases “have” and

“had” in the sentence. It means “after of” and “possessing or eating something.”

It means that the Present Future Perfect Tense should always in the form of: