What is Future continuous?
The future continuous is a verb that indicates that something will happen in the future and continue on an expected time. This tense is used for different purposes, such as guessing about future events, projections of ourselves into the future, or even about events that happen now and are expected to continue for some period of time.
When to Use the Future Continuous?
1 – The future continuous is used to talk about ourselves in the future:
- Next summer I will be traveling to the islands of Bali.
- By the end of this month, I’ll be speaking English like a native.
- Next week we will be working on our new job.
- I will finish my degree in two semesters.Â
- My cat will need to go to the veterinarian soon.
2- This tense can be used for predictions about the future.
- I guess it will be raining tonight.
- I expect you will be feeling better by tomorrow.
- She will be missing her family and friends once she travels abroad.
- He wondered if they will be able to attend the wedding.Â
- She expects to hear from you about the assignment.Â
3 – The future continuous is also used to ask for information about the future.
- Will it be raining tonight?
- Will Sara be cooking for us today?
- Will I be reading this entire book tomorrow?
- Will we be going to the party next week?
- Will the car be ready to use by Friday?
- Will the Prime Minister attend the dinner as well?
4 – When expecting things to happen in the future, you can use the future continuous.
- I will be meeting my new puppy at my friend’s house next Tuesday.
- When she is at work she will be working on her new daily tasks.
- He will be telling me about his story when I meet him tonight.
- The actor will be announcing the winners of the award at the gala.
- I will expect that you will be able to help me move out of the apartment.
- My grandmother will be coming for the holidays.
5. The future continuous tense can be combined with the adjective “still” to reflect events that are happening now and expected to continue on in the future. For instance:
- In an hour, I will be still reading my favorite book.
- Tomorrow he will still be working on his homework.
- Will she still be living in Italy next year?
- Sadly, global warming will still be happening for a many years.
- I will still be laughing about this funny joke next week.
- Will he still be available to travel with us to Europe?
How to Use the Future Continuous?
The future continuous is formed in two parts:
- The simple future of the verb “to be” (will be)
- The present participle (base+ing).
| Subject | +simple future of the verb “to be” | +present participle |
|---|---|---|
| You | will be | reading |
| I | will be | studying |
Let’s see how the verb “to study” is formed in the affirmative, negative, interrogative, and negative interrogative forms.
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative | Negative interrogative |
|---|---|---|---|
| I will be studying. | I won’t be studying. | Will I be studying? | Won’t I be studying? |
| You will be studying. | You won’t be studying. | Will you be studying? | Won’t you be studying? |
| He will be studying. | He won’t be studying. | Will he be studying? | Won’t he be studying? |
| She will be studying. | She won’t be studying. | Will she be studying? | Won’t she be studying? |
| It will be studying. | It won’t be studying. | Will it be studying? | Won’t it be studying? |
| We will be studying. | We won’t be studying. | Will we be studying? | Won’t we be studying? |
| They will be studying. | They won’t be studying. | Will they be studying? | Won’t they be studying? |
