Different ways to express future actions

– Hello, boys and girls! Welcome to our lesson!

– Today we have a guest. It’s our friend Christopher.

– Hello, everyone. I’m happy to see you!

– Hello, Christopher. We are happy to see you too!

– Guys, I’m here today, because I need your help.

– Oh, okay. What kind of help do you need?

– Well… I know nothing about the ways of expressing future actions. Could you explain this rule to me, please?

– Sure! No problem, Christopher.

– Thank you so much, guys!

So, today in the lesson we will:

● talk about different ways of expressing future actions in English;

And

● put the knowledge into practice.

There are 4 different ways to express the future in the English language. Which construction you’ll use, depends on the message you want to convey.

To express the future we can use:

Future Simple

For example:

Don’t worry. I will fix your car tomorrow.

Present Simple

For instance:

The next bus goes to the town centre.

Present Continuous

For example:

They are flying to Rome tonight.

And the construction:

To be going to

For instance:

That girl is going to climb a tree.

Now we will talk about each one of these ways in detail.

The first way to express future actions is to use Future Simple.

How do we form the Future Simple tense?

To form positive sentences we use the subject, the auxiliary verb “will” and the first form of the verb.

To form negative sentences we use the subject, the auxiliary verb “will” with the particle “not” (the short form is “won’t”) and the first form of the verb.

To form questions we use the auxiliary verb “will”, the subject and the first form of the verb.

For example:

I hope you will come to dinner at my house tomorrow.

Kate won’t go swimming next Wednesday.

Will you go to the museum with me next week?

We use Future Simple in the following situations:

to make predictions about the future based on what we think and imagine;

(In this case, we can use it with the verbs: hope, think, believe, expect, imagine, etc., with the expressions: I’m sure, I’m afraid, etc., or with the adverbs: probably, perhaps, maybe and so on.)

For instance:

I’m afraid he will have to cancel his trip.

to promise to do something;

For example:

I won’t forget you, Julia! I promise!

for decisions taken at the moment of speaking (on-the-spot decisions);

For instance:

We haven’t got any milk. I’ll go to the shop and get some.

to make an offer about the future;

For example:

Jessica, I’ll help you if you help me!

to express an action that will happen at a certain time;

For instance:

My husband will return from work at 8 p.m. tonight.

when we express beliefs about the future;

For example:

I think you will enjoy the film.

to describe actions, which we cannot control but which will definitely happen;

For instance:

Kate will be twenty-five next week.

to make a request;

For example:

Will you lend me five dollars, please?

to talk about threats;

For instance:

If you come here again, I will call the police.

to talk about things we are not sure about or we haven’t decided to do yet;

For example:

Maybe I’ll go to the cinema later.

for fears, warnings and comments.

For instance:

Don’t come closer. The dog will bite you.

The second way to express future actions is to use Present Simple.

How do we form the Present Simple tense?

To form positive sentences we use the subject and the first form of the verb or the verb with the ending -s or -es.

To form negative sentences we use the subject, the auxiliary verb “do” or “does” with the particle “not” (the short forms are: don’t, doesn’t) and the first form of the verb.

To form questions we use the auxiliary verb “do” or “does”, the subject and the first form of the verb.

For example:

The train leaves at 7 o’clock in the evening.

They don’t go back to school until next Monday.

Does the meeting begin at 12 o’clock?

We use Present Simple in the following situations:

to talk about scheduled events;

For instance:

I have a doctor’s appointment in 30 minutes.

to talk about timetables and programmes.

For example:

The lesson starts at 9 a.m. tomorrow instead of 10 a.m.

The third way to express future actions is to use Present Continuous.

How do we form the Present Continuous tense?

To form positive sentences we use the subject, one of the forms of the verb “to be”: “am”, “is” or “are” and the verb with the -ing suffix.

To form negative sentences we use the subject, “am”, “is” or “are” with the particle “not” (the short forms are: ‘m not, isn’t, aren’t) and the verb with the -ing suffix.

To form questions we use “am”, “is” or “are”, the subject and the verb with the -ing suffix.

For instance:

Erin and Kevin are moving to Cambridge in July.

Sarah isn’t taking Jake to football training later. She hasn’t got the car tonight.

Are you playing tennis on Saturday?

We use Present Continuous in the following situations:

to talk about fixed arrangements in the near future;

For instance:

I’m picking my sister up after work.

to express future plans that we have already made.

For example:

My friend is traveling to Europe next month.

The fourth way to express future actions is to use the construction “to be going to”.

How do we form sentences with the construction “to be going to”?

To form positive sentences we use the subject, one of the forms of the verb “to be”: “am”, “is” or “are”, the word “going” and the “to-infinitive”.

To form negative sentences we use the subject, “am”, “is” or “are” with the particle “not” (the shorts forms are: ‘m not, isn’t, aren’t), the word “going” and the “to-infinitive”.

To form questions we use “am”, “is” or “are”, the subject, the word “going” and the “to-infinitive”.

For instance:

He is going to take the bus to work today.

I’m not going to look for a new place to live next month.

Is it going to snow again soon?

We use “to be going to” in the following situations:

to talk about our future plans and intentions;

For example:

She’s going to be a professional dancer when she grows up.

to make predictions based on what we see or what we know;

For instance:

There are black clouds in the sky. It looks like it is going to rain.

to talk about things we are sure about or we have already decided to do in the near future;

For example:

They are going to build a bridge here.

when we give commands or state that something is obligatory.

For instance:

You’re going to pick up all of those toys right now. This room is a mess!

Now…

Complete the following sentences using an appropriate future form of the verb!

1. He looks very pale and confused. He ___.

The variants are:

will faint

is going to faint

is fainting

2. Somebody is at the door. I ___ who it is.

The variants are:

am going to check

am checking

will check

3. My grandparents ___ to see us tomorrow.

The variants are:

will come

are coming

come

4. Our plane ___ next Tuesday morning.

The variants are:

leaves

is leaving

will leave

5. Look out! He ___ that glass.

The variants are:

is breaking

is going to break

breaks

6. ___ Jack to school today, please?

The variants are:

will you take

are you going to take

are you taking

7. The train ___ at 6 o’clock in the morning.

The variants are:

is arriving

arrives

will arrive

Let’s check the right answers!

1. is going to faint

2. will check

3. are coming

4. leaves

5. is going to break

6. will you take

7. arrives

Now…

Read the sentences and open the brackets using the correct form of the verb!

1. Look at this traffic! We (be) late.

2. I (not forget) to buy a chocolate cake! I promise!

3. The train (leave) at half past six tomorrow morning.

4. I hope the weather (be) nice when you get to Georgia.

5. James and Melanie (get) married next Monday.

6. The Jacksons (have) a party tomorrow afternoon, but they haven’t invited us.

7. My son (start) college in the fall.

Let’s check the right answers!

1. are going to be

2. won’t forget

3. leaves

4. will be

5. are getting

6. are having

7. is going to start

– Well done, Christopher! Now you know everything about the ways of expressing future actions.

– Yes, it’s true! Thank you so much, guys!

– It’s our pleasure, Christopher!

– That’s all for today, our dear friends! See you soon.