Anyone learning English as a second language in school will probably say this: tenses can be a mind-boggler. You can probably confirm this too, as you have been dealing with different future forms in your English language school for a while.
You’ve practiced talking about your plans with the be going to form, used the Simple Future Tense for sharing your instant decisions, and have been proud of your achievements. But when your teacher mentioned there is a tense called the Future Continuous Tense, your heart sank. “Oh, no! Another way to express the future?”
Although the Future Continuous Tense does sound intimidating with its cumbersomely long name, it is actually easier to use than you think. Want to see how? Keep reading to learn more!
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WHAT ARE THE USES OF THE FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE?
There are two main uses of the Future Continuous Tense.
- We use it to talk about activities that will be in progress at a certain moment in the future.
I will be having an important meeting at work at 3 pm tomorrow.
- We can also make polite inquiries with this tense.
Will you be coming to my birthday party next week?
WHAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE?
To understand any tense, it’s always useful to examine sentences in which it’s used and notice all the details. So, let’s discuss more examples of the Future Continuous Tense:
- When she comes back home this afternoon, I will be having lunch.
In this sentence, we have a longer activity interrupted by a shorter activity in the future (when she enters the house, I will be in the dining room eating my lunch).
- Tomorrow morning, our family is going to be very busy. I’ll be cleaning the house, my sister will be preparing breakfast, and my mom and dad will be making plans for the day ahead.
Here, we have a few activities in progress simultaneously at a certain point in the future.
- I can imagine what everyone will be doing when we come home tonight. The children will be playing in their room, the cat will be sleeping on her pillow, and our dog will be barking, as she always does when she sees us.
In the example above, the Future Continuous Tense is used to describe the atmosphere at a specific moment in the future by highlighting what activities will be in progress.
Nota Bene:
- As is the case with other future tenses, the Future Continuous Tense can’t be used in time clauses (clauses that begin with time expressions such as: when, while, after, before, as soon as, etc.). Instead, we can use the Present Continuous Tense.
Wrong: While I will be watching TV tomorrow night, she will be reading her book.
Correct: While I am watching TV tomorrow night, she will be reading her favorite book.
- We can only use the Future Continuous Tense for action verbs (verbs that denote activities).
Wrong: When you finish your test tomorrow, the whole stress you have gone through will be seeming like a distant memory.
Correct: When you finish your test tomorrow, the whole stress you have gone through will seem like a distant memory.
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