EXPRESSING THE FUTURE

A. WITHOUT INTENTION

future action / fact perceived as objectively true : SIMPLE PRESENT, 

e.g.: She will be forty in October.

The next train leaves at 6.40 a.m..

2 event assumed to take place in either the immediate or more remote future

( prediction ), 

a)     a habitual action : SIMPLE FUTURE, FUTURE CONTINUOUS

e.g.: The young generation will try / will be trying to make changes.

They too will make plans, will nourish hopes. (or : will be making

and will be nourishing)

b)     a personal opinion : SIMPLE FUTURE ,

e.g.: Spring will come early this year.

The government will take strict measures this time.

It will probably be raining when we get there.

3. future result perceived as definitely occurring in the normal course of events,

a)     result of a cause in the present : be going to,

e.g.: You're going to break it. (You've bent it too much.)

She's going to have a baby. (She is pregnant.)

b) result of a present intention (which is not mentioned in the statement):

FUTURE CONTINUOUS ,

e.g.: He'll be writing to the company to complain about it.

This time next year we'll be driving through Belgium.

B. WITH INTENTION

future action as a result of a) an intention

b) a plan

a)1. spontaneons (unpremeditated) intention (it may refer to the very near/more

distant future) : SIMPLE FUTURE - VOLITIONAL [MODAL] i.e. will in

the 1^st person;

a)2. premeditated intention (usually referring to the fairly immediate future):

be (just) going to, be (just) about to,

O.K. I will have a look at it, then. I'm just going to have a look at it.

Don't worry, we will see you to "So you're going to see them off?"

the station. "Yes, we're just about to start."

b)1. plan arising from personal arrangement ( used for actions concerning a

journey, as a rule): SIMPLE PRESENT;

b)2. plan arrising from a collective decision to be to,

We take an early train, reach Köln The Minister of Justice is to take

by noon, leave the luggage at the an important decision this week.

station and go to see the Dome. The expedition is to start in a month.

future action definitely arising from a personal arrangement: PRESENT

CONTINUOUS ( the time of action must be mentioned to avoid confusion

with the Present),

e.g.: Mrs.Pumpkin is taking the children to the Zoo on Friday, as we

are having lunch in town

C. FUTURE ACTION COMPLETED ( "PERFECTED" ) by a

certain date in the Future : FUTURE PERFECT, FUTURE PERFECT

CONTINUOUS (less frequent, denotes the action will still continue in the future),

e.g.: By next month we shall have moved into our new flat.

I hope you will have finished it by the time / before she asks it back.

This time next year they will have been working with us for ten years.

The Continuous Aspect of the Future when is used with a time expression

denotes that the action will already be in course at the time mentioned,

and suggests that it will still continue, indefinetely, in the future.

For the relationship between the Future and other Tenses see the

SEQUENCE OF TENSES.