Future: Forms

Introduction

In English, there are many ways of talking about events in the future. Many students find it difficult to decide which form to use in a particular situation. This page explains the differences between main forms which we use when talking about future time.

1. Basic meanings of the forms

Most students know that “will” and “going to” are used to talk about future time in English. However, we also use the present progressive (“be” + ING) and the present simple tense. Here are the basic rules.

Form	Meaning / Usage	Example
“Will”	volunteering to do something deciding at the time of speaking to do something	Angelo: I need a pencil. Sarah: I'll lend you mine.
“Going to”	talking about something that is already decided	Angelo: Have you registered for the class yet? Sarah: Not yet. I'm going to register tomorrow.
Present Continuous	talking about something that is already arranged	Angelo: Do you want to go to the movies tonight? Sarah: Sorry, I can't. I'm playing soccer.
Present simple	talking about a schedule, timetable or program	Angelo: What time does the next bus leave? Sarah: It leaves at six.

2. Predicting the future

When you are predicting what you think will happen in the future, you should choose the form based on how certain you are. If you're not too sure, it's fine to use “will”, but if you're nearly certain about something, it's best to use “going to”.

I think it will rain.
(I'm not sure, but it looks like it might.)

It's going to rain.
(I'm sure it's going to rain — I can see black clouds in the sky.)

When you are sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with the exercises.

Future: Forms 1

Each question has a sentence referring to future time. In each question, think about the context and meaning of what the person is saying, and choose which verb form you think would be best.

Click on the button beside the correct answer.

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1. Masako: Are you free for lunch tomorrow?
   Chris: Sorry! __________ tennis with Yong Soo.
   1.   I'm playing
   2.   I'll play
   3.   I play
2. Masako: It's starting to rain.
   Chris: Don't worry. __________ you my umbrella.
   1.   I'll lend
   2.   I lend
   3.   I'm lending
3. Masako: How many books did you buy?
   Chris: I don't know. __________ them.
   1.   I'll count
   2.   I'm counting
   3.   I count
   4.   I'm going to count
4. Masako: Have you decided what to do about your broken washing machine?
   Chris: Yes. __________ tomorrow.
   1.   I have it fixed
   2.   I'm going to have it fixed
   3.   I'll have it fixed
5. Masako: Has Sue made up her mind about university yet?
   Chris: Yes — I spoke to her last night. __________ to Calgary.
   1.   She's going to go
   2.   She will go
   3.   She goes
6. Masako: Have you ever been to Paris?
   Chris: No, but __________ next year with my parents.
   1.   I go
   2.   I'll go
   3.   I'm going
7. Masako: What time should we go to the airport?
   Chris: The plane __________ in half an hour. I think we should leave now.
   1.   will land
   2.   lands
8. Masako: Joe borrowed your car.
   Chris: WHAT? __________ him. I need it!
   1.   I kill
   2.   I'll kill
   3.   I'm killing
9. Masako: There's no milk in the fridge.
   Chris: Really? __________ some tomorrow.
   1.   I'm getting
   2.   I'll get
   3.   I'm going to get
10. Masako: What time does the History class start tomorrow?
    Chris: __________ at two-thirty.
    1.   It will start
    2.   It is going to start
    3.   It starts