There are many ways to talk about the future in English:
- Will
- Be going to
- Present continuous
- Present simple
- Future perfect simple
- Future perfect continuous
- Future continuous
In this post, youโre going to learn all of them!
That's right, there isn't one English future tense that you can learn. Instead, there are different forms we use to talk about the future in English.
Letโs begin.
If you like, you can use the table below to jump to the section of the post that interests you most.
Future With โWillโ

Using โwillโ is the most frequent way to talk about the future.
โWillโ is used to make predictions, talk about future facts, make offers and announce decisions made at the moment of speaking.
Letโs look at each case.
Making Predictions
A prediction is a statement that says what you think will happen in the future.
If the prediction isn't based on some present evidence, grammar books usually say you should use โwillโ. On the other hand, if there is some evidence, you should use โbe going toโ.
In the real world, however, people use โwillโ and โbe going toโ interchangeably whether they have evidence for their predictions or not.
So donโt worry about this too much.
Here are some example dialogues using โwillโ for predictions:

- Sarah: โI heard there's a big storm coming tomorrow.โ
- Jake: โOh, really? Do you think it will affect our weekend plans?โ
- Sarah: โNo, I donโt think it will.โ
- Lisa: โI'm not feeling well today.โ
- Mark: โTake it easy. I'm sure you will feel better after a good night's rest.โ
- Alex: โThe team is playing so well lately.โ
- Emily: โI agree. I wonโt be surprised if they make it to the finals.โ
- Chris: โI'm thinking of starting a new fitness routine.โ
- Ashley: โThat's a great idea! I'm sure you will feel more energetic in no time.โ
- Ryan: โI have a job interview next week.โ
- Megan: โYou've prepared well. I'm confident you will do great!โ
Talking About Future Facts

No one has a crystal ball to know what will happen in the future but we can consider certain future events as facts.
However, the difference between a future fact and a prediction can be slippery because, in reality, all statements about the future are, to some extent, predictions.
Look at these examples:
- Tony: โThe concert is at 7 PM tomorrow.โ
- Olivia: โPerfect! Iโll be there early to grab good seats.โ
- Jessica: โOur flight to Paris leaves at 11 AM, not at 6 AM.โ
- Brian: โThatโs great news. Iโll have more time to sleep!โ
- Alex: โThe sun will rise at 6:30 AM.โ
- Sarah: โLet's plan to watch the sunrise together then.โ
- Mark: โThe museum opens at 10 AM.โ
- Laura: โGreat! We will have plenty of time to explore the exhibits.โ
Making Offers And Announcing โImmediateโ Decisions

There are times when you offer to do something for someone or make an instant decision and immediately announce it to others. Thatโs when youโll need โwillโ.
Have a look at some example dialogues:
- Sarah: โI'm so tired.โ
- Chris: โOkay, Iโll cook dinner tonight so you can relax.โ
- Mark: โI can't find my umbrella and it's raining.โ
- Lisa: โNo worries, Iโll lend you mine for the day.โ
- Alex: โI need someone to help with the presentation.โ
- Emily: โIโll help you, no problem.โ
- David: โWhat are you going to eat?โ
- Megan: โLet me look at the menu. Okay, Iโll have the soup.โ
- Jessica: โI forgot my lunch at home.โ
- Brian: โIโll grab something for you on my way.โ
Form
Affirmative |
Subject + will + base form of the verb |
She will / Sheโll visit the museum tomorrow |
Negative |
Subject + will not (won't) + base form of the verb |
She wonโt visit the museum tomorrow |
Question |
Will + subject + base form of the verb |
Will she visit the museum tomorrow? |
Note that โwillโ is the same for every subject pronoun (I will, she will, etc.)
Be Going To
โBe going toโ is usually used to make predictions (based on some present evidence) and talk about future plans/intentions.
Making Evidence-Based Predictions

Sometimes you make predictions because you see, hear or feel something or have some other sort of factual evidence.
The classic example sentence for this is โLook at those dark clouds! Itโs going to rain soon!โ
But, as I said before, people often use either โwillโ or โbe going toโ when making evidence-based or non-evidence-based predictions.
So you can say:
- โThe weather forecast predicts sunshine all week, so it will be / itโs going to be a great time for outdoor activities.โ
- โI can feel the tension in the air. Something unexpected is going to happen / will happen soon.โ
- โLook at those storm clouds gathering. It's going to be / itโll be a rough night.
- โShe just called and said she's running late. She will probably be / sheโs probably going to be here in the next 10 minutes.โ
- โBased on the economic indicators, it's going to be / itโll be a challenging year for small businesses.โ
Talking About Future Plans / Intentions

Letโs say you made a plan to go to Paris next year. A couple of days after making that plan, you see a friend and you want to tell him about your plan. You can say, โDid I tell you? Next year I will go to Paris!โ
Thatโs okay. Your friend would have zero problems understanding what youโre saying. In spoken English, people use โwillโ to talk about plans too.
However, โbe going toโ is the most appropriate form when talking about plans. If you think about it, going to Paris is not a decision you made when you spoke to your friend but itโs one you made some time before announcing it to him.
So โNext year Iโm going to visit Parisโ would be the best form.
Some other examples for you:
- โIn a few months, we are going to move to a bigger apartment.โ
- โThey arenโt going to renovate the kitchen next spring.โ
- โShe's going to start her own business after finishing her degree.โ
- โAre we going to celebrate our anniversary at that fancy restaurant?โ
- โI think I'm going to take a vacation in the mountains next year.โ
Form
Affirmative |
Subject + am/is/are + going to + base form of the verb |
I am going to visit Paris next year |
Negative |
Subject + am not/is not/are not (isn't/aren't) + going to + base form of the verb |
Sheโs not going to visit Paris next year |
Question |
Am/Is/Are + subject + going to + base form of the verb |
Are they going to visit Paris next year? |
In spoken English the pronunciation of โgoing toโ is /หgษ.nษ/ while in very informal writing โgoing toโ is often spelt as โgonnaโ.
Also, when the main verb of the sentence is โgoโ, you can safely avoid the use of โbe going toโ and use the present continuous instead. So โIโm going to go to the cinemaโ becomes โIโm going to the cinemaโ.
Letโs look at the present continuous now.
Present Continuous
You may already know that the present continuous (Iโm eating right now, sheโs reading lots of books these days, theyโre watching TV at the moment, etc.) is used to talk about temporary things that are happening at the moment of speaking.
Thatโs one way we use it but you can also use it to talk about future arrangements.
Letโs read an example dialogue to clarify this:
Alex: โHey, what are your plans for the weekend?โ
Jordan: โWell, I'm meeting Sarah for lunch on Saturday. Sheโs free and she agreed to hang out with me.
Alex: โThat sounds fun!โ
Jordan: โYeah we're also visiting the new art exhibition at the museum. I bought the ticket yesterday at a discounted price. Itโll be awesome.โ

As you can see, future arrangements are definite plans.
Jordan and Sarah have already arranged to see each other. Jordan has also bought tickets for the museum. The visit was planned and arranged, so he uses the present continuous to talk about it.
Here are some other example sentences:
- โWe are flying to Paris next week for a vacation.โ
- โSheโs taking her child to the cinema tomorrow evening.โ
- โI'm not attending the conference next month.โ
- โAre you coming to the beach party with us this Friday?โ
- โIs she visiting her family over the holidays?โ
Form
Affirmative |
Subject + am/is/are + verb in ing |
Iโm watching a movie with my friends tonight. |
Negative |
Subject + am/is/are + not + verb in ing |
Heโs not watching a movie with my friends tonight. |
Question |
Am/Is/Are + subject + verb in ing |
Are they watching a movie with us tonight? |
Present Simple

Iโm sure you already know that the present simple is used to talk about facts, truths and things that are considered certain at all times.
For example:
- I am British.
- This post is about the English future tense.
- Storylearning helps people learn languages through the power of stories.
The same applies to future events. When we see them as facts (even though nothing is ever certain about the future) we can use the present simple.
Thatโs why this tense is often used to talk about scheduled events.
Some examples:
- His birthday is on Friday this week. (a fact about the future)
- I have an exam next month. (a fixed arrangement thatโs been scheduled)
- The train from Paris arrives at 3 pm today. (an event on a timetable)
- What time does their flight leave? (a schedule)
Thatโs it.
The present simple to talk about the future is indeedโฆsimple!
Form
Affirmative | Negative | Question | |
I/You/We/They | I work tomorrow | I donโt work tomorrow | Do you work tomorrow? |
He/She/It | She works tomorrow | She doesnโt work tomorrow | Does she work tomorrow? |
Future Perfect Simple

We live in the present. But we can think about the future. And we can also look back to the past from a point in the future. Thatโs when we use the future perfect simple.
Okay, we need an example, I know.
Letโs say my wife and I got married on 1st November 2013. Letโs also imagine today is 1st November 2023. Next month, on 1st December 2023, if someone asks me, โHow long have you been married?โ I will say, โIโve been married for ten years.โ
Right?
Today, however, is still the 1st of November. I canโt say Iโve been married for ten years yet. But I can go to 1st December 2023 with my mind and look back from that point.
And I can also talk about events that started before the 1st of December (my marriage) but are still connected to the present (the present = 1st of December).
So today I can say, โNext month I will have been married for ten years.โ
This is when we use the future perfect.
Some other examples:
- By 5 PM tomorrow, I will have finished my work.
- They will have completed the construction of the new bridge by the end of next year.
- Next year, Iโll have been here for over a decade.
- By the time you arrive, I will have prepared dinner.
- She will have read the entire novel before the book club meeting.
- By the time the movie starts, they will have sold all the tickets.
Form
Affirmative |
Subject + will have + past participle (verb) |
Next month Iโll have been in this city for over a decade. |
Negative |
Subject + will not have (won't have) + past participle (verb) |
They won't have completed the construction by the end of next year. |
Question |
Will + subject + have + past participle (verb)? |
Will you have finished your work by 5 PM tomorrow? |
Future Perfect Continuous
The use of the future perfect continuous is similar to that of the future perfect simple.
We also use the future perfect continuous when we are looking back to the past from a point in the future. But if we use the continuous form is because we want to emphasise the length or duration of an activity or event.
- By the time she arrives, we will have been waiting for her at the airport for three hours.
- Next month, they will have been living in that house for a decade.
- By the end of the week, he will have been working on the project non-stop for seven days.
- In a year, I will have been studying French for ten years.
- By the time the concert starts, the band will have been rehearsing for weeks.
- By the time you reach your destination, the sun will have been shining for hours.
- When we meet again, it will have been years since our last reunion.
Form
Affirmative |
Subject + will have been + present participle (verb + -ing) |
By this time next week, I will have been working on this project for six months. |
Negative |
Subject + will not have been (won't have been) + present participle (verb + -ing) |
By the end of the day, she won't have been working on the report for more than a few hours. |
Question |
Will + subject + have been + present participle (verb + -ing)? |
How long will they have been waiting for us when we arrive? |
Future Continuous

The future continuous is used to express actions or events that will be ongoing at a specific point in the future. It works like the present continuous except that we use it for the future.
Here are some typical examples:
- โThis time next week, Iโll be lying on the beach.โ
- John: โAre you free at 5 PM this afternoon?โ
Mark: โNo, sorry. I have a meeting with a client at 4:45 PM so I will be discussing business with him in my office at that time.โ
- โShe will not be working on Tuesday.โ
- โWill you be teaching tomorrow at 2 PM?โ
Form
Affirmative |
Subject + will be + present participle (verb + -ing) |
I will be studying for my exam at 8 PM tonight. |
Negative |
Subject + will not be (won't be) + present participle (verb + -ing) |
They won't be flying to Paris until next week. |
Question |
Will + subject + be + present participle (verb + -ing)? |
What will they be doing this time tomorrow? |
English Future Tense
Well done! You've reached the end of this grammar guide about the โEnglish future tenseโ or rather future forms in English!
Now that you have seen multiple examples of future forms, try to notice them while watching a movie, listening to music, reading English books, or conversing in English.
In other words, learn to talk about the future while having fun.
Having fun is one of the best ways to learn any language and you can use the StoryLearning method for that.
Not only is this enjoyable and entertaining, but itโll make learning and remembering future forms much easier than studying pages and pages about them in grammar books.
Youโll notice these verb structures in the context of interesting and gripping short stories in English that will help you learn them.
I wish you all the best in your future!
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