English grammar - Future continuous

Resource centre - English grammar - Future continuous

Form

will be + verb + present participle (-ing form of the verb)

NOTE - There is no future tense in English. Instead we use a variety of forms to talk about the future. Will (in this case with be + present participle) is one of those forms. In many student grammars (and here!) this form is referred to as future continuous for convenient comparison with similar continuous/progressive forms in the present and past. See this post about tense and aspect for more.

Meaning

1. We use future continuous to say that an action will be in progress at a specific time in the future.
   • This time on Thursday I'll be flying to Thailand.
   • In two hours she'll be leaving work.
2. We use future continuous to predict the present.
   • Don't call him now, he'll be sleeping.
3. We use future continuous to make polite enquiries about someone's plans (without wishing to influence those plans).
   • Will you be watching TV this evening? (You simply want to know if the TV will be free)

Teaching ideas for future continuous

How do you teach future continuous? Add your idea »

Nick

We use the Future Continuous to say that an action will be in progress at a specific time in the future. This is something your pupils will all be familiar with. One will be smoking weed, the other will be doing their homework after school. When you start the class (preferably on a Monday), ask your pupils what they have done during their weekends, then tell them about yours. After the weekend talk, move on to what you will be doing when you go home (When I go home, I will be checking all of your homework and after that I will be drinking some coffee with my wife). Then ask them: What will you be doing when you go home?. Their reply should be in a full sentence and you copy the sentence on the board. When you have dealt with five or six pupils, ask them about their plans for the coming holiday. After you have ten to twelve sentences on the board you can start asking pupils if they see a pattern. Are we talking about the future in these sentences? Underline the "will be ing" in each sentence. By doing this, you will keep your example material as interesting as possible to your pupils and they can relate to the action that will happen.

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