Simple Future
The simple future tense is used to talk about actions we believe will happen in the future, we normally mention plans, predictions, expectations, and other possibilities with this tense. It is important to consider that even if we believe we know and express in words what will happen in the future with certainty, we cannot control what actually ends up happening. The simple future may be formed with the modal verb -will or the structure "be going to".
This tense is used to:
1) To talk about actions that will start and finish in the future.
2) To make predictions.
3) To talk about facts.
4) To talk about abrupt decisions.
5) To make promises.
6) To give orders and to make requests.
7) To talk about refusals.
8) To talk about the immediate future with the phrase "be going to".
Time Expressions
The simple future tense is often used with future time expressions. However, it is not necessary to always mention a future time expression when using a future tense if the context of the future was already established by a previous statement or question in a conversation.
Formation - Affirmative Statements & Questions
Affirmative statements in the simple future tense are formed with the modal verb -will followed by the infinitive form of a verb, modal verbs are not conjugated depending on the subject and they have their own negation and question forms that do not require the verb -do. There is also a second way to form the simple future tense in English with the structure "be going to" followed by the infinitive form of a verb, this phrase does require the verb -be to agree with the subject, it is used more in conversation and is generally more informal. The modal verb -will is generally more appropriate when expressing facts while the structure "be going to" is more appropriate when expressing decisions and intentions. The structure "be going to" is also used in the past tense ("(was / were) going to + infinitive form of a verb") to talk about actions a subject intended to take but ultimately did not and for talking about predictions made in the past about the future. Questions are formed by placing the modal verb -will before the subject followed by the infinitive form of a verb, alternatively questions may be formed with the structure "be going to" in which case the verb -be is placed before the subject followed by "going to" and the infinitive form of a verb.
Will
Structure used to form affirmative statements in the simple future
Subject + will + infinitive form of a verb
Structure used to form affirmative questions in the simple future
Will + subject + infinitive form of a verb?
Examples:
Ex: I will leave in 20 minutes.
Ex: Charles will talk to his wife about it.
Ex: They'll call you in half an hour.
Ex: We'll be there soon.
Be going to
Structure used to form affirmative statements in the simple future
Subject + am / is / are + going to + infinitive form of a verb
Structure used to form affirmative questions in the simple future
Am / Is / Are + subject + going to + infinitive form of a verb?
Examples
Ex: I'm going to leave by 3pm.
Ex: Charles is going to talk to his wife about it.
Ex: They're going to call you at 6pm.
Ex: Is he going to make the arrangements?
Formation - Negative Statements & Questions
Negative statements in the simple future tense are formed with the modal verb -will followed by the adverb -not and the infinitive form of a verb, modal verbs are not conjugated depending on the subject and they have their own negation and question forms that do not require the verb -do. There is also a second way to form the simple future tense in English with the structure "be not going to" followed by the infinitive form of a verb, this structure requires the verb -be to agree with the subject, it is used more in conversation and is generally more informal. The modal verb -will is generally more appropriate when expressing facts while the structure "be going to" is more appropriate when expressing decisions and intentions. Negative questions are formed by placing the modal verb -will before the subject followed by the adverb -not and the infinitive form of a verb, alternatively questions may be formed with the structure "be going to" in which case the verb -be is placed before the subject followed by "not going to" and the infinitive form of a verb. Negative questions are meant to express surprise, confirm information, or encourage agreement.
Will
Structure used to form negative statements in the simple future
Subject + will not / won't + infinitive form of a verb
Structure used to form negative questions in the simple future
Will + subject + infinitive form of a verb?
Examples
Ex: I will not go to work today.
Ex: They won't answer the phone.
Ex: Will they remodel their kitchen?
Ex: Won't it rain later?
Be going to
Structure used to form negative statements in the simple future
Subject + am / is / are + not going to + infinitive form of a verb
Structure used to form negative questions in the simple future
Am / Is / Are + subject + not going to + infinitive form of a verb?
Examples
Ex: I am not going to go to work today.
Ex: They aren't going to answer the phone.
Ex: Aren't they going to remodel their kitchen?
Ex: They are not going to take a taxi.
Simple Future uses
To talk about actions that will start and finish in the future
Note: The phrase "be going to" is more appropriate than the modal verb -will to express intentions.
Will
Examples
Ex: I'll watch the newest marvel movie.
Ex: They will finish the job 3 days from now.
Ex: Jacob won't play poker with us this weekend.
Ex: Will she open the store on Saturday?
Ex: Won't he go to work next week?
Ex: We will not call you tomorrow.
Ex: Will you fix the leak in your kitchen?
Ex: Maria will go to a doctor's appointment on the 13th.
Be going to
Examples
Ex: I'm going to watch the newest marvel movie.
Ex: They are going to finish the job 3 days from now.
Ex: Jacob isn't going to play poker with us this weekend.
Ex: Is she going to open the store on Saturday?
Ex: Isn't he going to go to work next week?
Ex: We are not going to call you tomorrow.
Ex: Are you going to fix the leak in your kitchen?
Ex: Maria is going to go to a doctor's appointment on the 13th.
To make predictions
Note: Predictions bases on opinion sound more appropriate with the modal verb -will, predictions based on current evidence sound more appropriate with the phrase "be going to".
Will
Examples
Ex: You'll pass the test.
Ex: Boston won't win the world series.
Ex: It will snow a lot this month.
Ex: I think they'll open a business eventually.
Ex: Will The US and Japan make an agreement?
Ex: Will the price of gold go up?
Ex: Charles will get the job.
Ex: Will the stock markets not recover?
Be going to
Examples
Ex: You're going to pass the test.
Ex: Boston isn't going to win the world series.
Ex: It is going to snow a lot this month.
Ex: I think they're going to open a business.
Ex: Are The US and Japan going to make an agreement?
Ex: Is the price of gold going to go up?
Ex: Charles is going to get the job.
Ex: Are the stock markets not going to recover?
To talk about facts
Note: It is more appropriate to use the modal verb -will instead of the phrase "be going to" to state facts.
Will
Examples
Ex: There'll be a full moon tomorrow.
Ex: Water won't freeze in temperatures above 0 degrees Celsius.
Ex: Will the sun eventually burn out?
Ex: Next Thursday will be our 1st anniversary.
Ex: 2028 will be the next leap year.
Ex: Won't there be a solar eclipse this weekend?
Ex: The US will turn 250 years old in 2026.
Ex: Cracking your knuckles won't cause arthritis.
To talk about abrupt decisions
Will
Examples
Ex: I'm thirsty, I'll get a glass of juice.
Ex: Will you leave?
Ex: The doorbell just rang, Maria will run downstairs to see who it is.
Ex: We won't start just yet.
Ex: Won't she turn off the alarm?
Ex: A customer just entered, I will help him.
Ex: It started to rain, won't they go home now?
Ex: I'm tired, I will go to sleep
Be going to
Examples
Ex: I'm thirsty, I'm going to get a glass of juice.
Ex: Are you going to leave?
Ex: The doorbell just rang, Maria is going to run downstairs to see who it is.
Ex: We're not going to start just yet.
Ex: Isn't she going to turn off the alarm?
Ex: A customer just entered, I am going to help him.
Ex: It started to rain, aren't they going to go home now?
Ex: I'm tired, I am going to go to sleep
To talk about promises
Will
Examples
Ex: I will support you if you ever need help.
Ex: Mark said he will help me fix my sink.
Ex: I won't say anything to anyone.
Ex: She said she will be there for me.
Ex: Will you give me your word?
Ex: Won't you promise to help our parents?
Ex: I will visit you when you move to a new country.
Ex: The HR department said I will receive a raise by next year.
Be going to
Examples
Ex: I am going to support you if you ever need help.
Ex: Mark said he is going to help me fix my sink.
Ex: I am not going to say anything to anyone.
Ex: She said she is going to be there for me.
Ex: Are you going to give me your word?
Ex: Aren't you going to promise to help our parents?
Ex: I am going to visit you when you move to a new country.
Ex: The HR department said I am going to receive a raise by next year.
To talk about orders and requests
Note: Requests are made in question form should be made with the modal verb -will instead of the phrase "be going to", orders also sound more appropriate when given with the modal verb -will.
Note: It is possible to use the adverb please to make requests sound more polite.
Will
Examples - Requests
Ex: Will you close the door please?
Ex: Will you watch my dog while I go to the store?
Ex: Will you get me a cup of water please?
Ex: Won't you answer the phone?
Examples - Orders
Ex: You will clean your room.
Ex: He told his employees "you will hand in reports by the 14th".
Ex: You will not talk back to your superiors.
Ex: you will use the new application from now on.
Be going to
Examples - Orders
Ex: You are going to clean your room.
Ex: Everyone is going to hand in reports by the 14th.
Ex: You are not going to talk back to your superiors.
Ex: You are going to use the new application from now on.
To talk about refusals
Note: It is necessary to use negations to express this context.
Will
Examples
Ex: I won't help you.
Ex: She said she will not marry him.
Ex: The court won't accept his plea.
Ex: They won't take the payment with that credit card.
Be going to
Examples
Ex: I'm not going to help you.
Ex: She said she isn't going to marry him.
Ex: The court isn't going to accept his plea.
Ex: They aren't going to take the payment with that credit card.
To talk about the immediate future
Note: The phrase "be going to" is more appropriate than the modal verb -will in this context. The phrase "be about to" is also frequently used in this context.
Be going to
Examples
Ex: The rocket is going to explode!
Ex: We are going to run out of gas soon.
Ex: The game is going to end in a few minutes.
Ex: They are going to start rioting at any moment.
Be about to
Examples
Ex: The rocket is about to explode!
Ex: We are about to run out of gas soon.
Ex: The game is about to end in a few minutes.
Ex: They are about to start rioting at any moment.
Note: Native English speakers often say "gonna" instead of "going to", this is very informal and grammatically incorrect.
Note: Negative questions are usually asked with contractions in spoken English.
Note: There is no difference in meaning between the contractions and alternate contractions.
Note: Negative questions are usually asked with contractions especially in spoken English.
Note: Native English speakers often say "gonna" instead of "going to", this is very informal and grammatically incorrect.
Note: Native English speakers often say "ain't" as a contraction of "am not, is not, or are not", this is very informal and gramatically incorrect.
Note: This is not a complete list of all future time expressions, however it includes many of the most common expressions.
