Brenn, M. (2012). Thinking [photo]. Retrieved on 2017, March 21 from https://goo.gl/Rel2VB
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” –Eleanor Roosevelt-
Do you ever think about the future? How do you see yourself in 5 years? The future can be tricky, and sometimes things change unexpectedly, but there is nothing wrong in dreaming and making plans.
In this lesson, you will achieve your goal by following these simple steps:
1. You will review some important grammatical facts and differences in the future tenses.
2. You will identify when future continuous can be used.
3. You will identify the structure of the future continuous.
4. You will read, write, listen and speak using the future continuous.
😊
Piece of cake!
We suggest you study the content in the order it is presented. You can also explore the platform and all its components. Then decide the order of your study. By now, you should be able to use different English tenses, like:
These tenses will be useful for you to understand the topic.
By the end of this topic, you will:
Recognize and use the future continuous to express ongoing actions at a specific time in the future to make affirmative statements, plans, questions and predictions about daily life situations and issues of world interest.
Bakker, A. (2007). Rockstars [photo]. Retrieved on 2017, March 21 from https://goo.gl/lE1A1g
Have you ever asked yourself about your future? Do you have your "life" planned?
It is essential to remember the different forms of the future, their uses and differences so that we can start with the main objective. Are you ready?
There are three essential forms of the future:
The primary difference between them is knowing when to use them or what you want to express in the future. Now, you will see a short explanation and examples of each one:
Forms of the future
Use:
Example:
There is no milk in the fridge, I’ll buy some at the store.
Speedy McVroom. (2015). Supermarket Shelf Chiller Supermarket Chiller Milk [illustration]. Retrieved on 2017, April 18 from https://goo.gl/cc2k9G
Use:
Example:
We are going to travel to Europe next year.
Look at the sky, it is really dark, it is going to rain soon.
Janeke88. (2008). London Uk Europe Bridge England City British [photo]. Retrieved on 2017, April 18 from https://goo.gl/UszG2T
Use:
Example:
My plane arrives at 9 a.m. please don’t forget to pick me up.
Kern, U. (2010). Time Plan Office Note Appointment Schedule Leave [photo]. Retrieved on 2017, April 18 from https://goo.gl/YbhQ6o
Use:
Example:
I’m having a party this weekend.
Altmann, G. (2015). Silhouette Woman Girl Movement Weekend Friday [illustration]. Retrieved on 2017, April 18 from https://goo.gl/xk8Gwm
Look at the examples below; each future tense form has its specific use. It may seem challenging to identify them at the beginning, but you know what people say, practice makes perfect.
Menezes, M. (2016). Convite de Casamento Rústico [photo]. Retrieved on 2017, March 21 from https://goo.gl/pMZs5d
The future progressive or continuous is used to express an action that will happen. There is a certainty the action to occur.
It expresses action at a particular moment in the future, an action that will have started before that moment, but it will not have been finished. Ok, I know it doesn't sound obvious, but let me show you some examples…
Is it better now? Ok, analyze more examples:
• My dad will be playing tennis when we arrive at the club.
Funcke, G. (2014). Tennis Tennis Ball Tennis Racket Sport Play Tennis [photo]. Retrieved on 2017, April 18 from https://goo.gl/tvMHzo
• My mom will be cooking dinner when I get there from school.
Congerdesign. (2014). Potato Cook Pot Eat Food Frisch Kitchen [photo]. Retrieved on 2017, April 20 from https://goo.gl/L8m32z
• Carol is always late! I’m sure we will be watching the movie by the time she leaves home.
Wellington, J. (2017). Warm And Cozy Winter Popcorn Coffee [photo]. Retrieved on 2017, April 18 from https://goo.gl/cuivg1
Thomas, A. (2006). 4940668 [gif].Retrieved on 2017, March 21 from https://goo.gl/nNjAL9
As you can see, the future continuous is not tricky; it represents an action in progress at some period. Now analyze the structure in all its forms:
If you are building a Wh- question, the structure of the interrogative sentence remains, add the wh-word at the beginning:
Is it clear now?
Give it a try with the following activities…
INTVGene. (2007). Puzzle [photo]. Retrieved on 2017, March 21 from https://goo.gl/QhC5eq
For the future progressive, as for the rest of the progressive tenses, the present participle (gerund or –ing form) is necessary.
In this exercise, you will practice how to add the ending –ing to the verbs to build the present participle.
If you don’t remember the rules, don’t worry, you can read them after the activity and then try again.
Turner, J. (2014). Albert Einstein [photo]. Retrieved on 2017, March 21 from https://goo.gl/8msXXI
At the beginning of the lesson, you saw the uses and examples of the different forms of future tenses. This activity allows you to practice identifying these tenses as well as their structures.
To answer the following exercise, drag the best option to complete each sentence (depending on the future tense). You have unlimited attempts to answer the exercise. At the end of the activity, you can check your score.
schoolhuman. (2010). Future [image]. Retrieved on 2017, March 21 from https://goo.gl/w9zjJx
So far, you have seen the different structures for future tenses. Now you can identify when to use each one of them.
It is essential to see whether you can identify the structure of the future progressive. Next, you will find some sentences. Could you read them carefully? Some of them have a mistake. Identify the error and rewrite the statement correctly in the next column. If there is no mistake, write the word RIGHT with capital letters.
The following activities are designed to put in practice your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills with the future tenses, specifically the continuous.
If you have any doubts, go back and reread the explanations and examples. Don’t forget to do your best because they are part of your evaluation!
Activity 1
Brenn, M.(2010). Think [photo]. Retrieved on 2017, March 21 from https://goo.gl/G88k2T
People believe that spending lots of time thinking about the future makes you anxious and could lead you to forget about living the present. It is essential to make some plans and dream about the future you want to create not only for you but for your family.
What would life be if you go through it without knowing what to do next?
Every person in the world has a life plan, expectations, dreams and lives to achieve them. So, do not worry about the future or the present. Make a good life plan that fulfils your expectations, that makes you happy and alive.
Garcia, M. (2016) . Writing diary [photo]. Retrieved on 2017, March 21.
Now you are going to read an entry from Frida’s diary. Frida is a girl that has dreamed a lot about her future. She knows what she wants, and she is fighting every day to achieve her dreams.
There are some statements taken from Frida’s entry. Drag the different elements from the left column to the appropriate space in the right column. You have two attempts to answer each item. At the end of the exercise, you can know your score.
Activity 2
Bidmead S. (2014). Science Fiction Space Ship Rocket Space Rocket [illustration]. Retrieved on 2017, April 19 from https://goo.gl/9JjbfY
If there is something you can say is that the future is not absolute. Everything can change and be different from what you expected or imagined.
Science fiction movies and books have made you believe in technological developments such as flying cars and robots with artificial intelligence. It is enough to make people look outdated, but take a minute to look at events some years ago. Until now if you analyze it, it does not seem that crazy.
You are going to listen to a class where the teacher and students are discussing about the future as they expect it to be.
After listening, decide if the following statements are True or False by choosing the appropriate option. At the end of the exercise, you can know your score.
Adamovich. O. (2015). Computer Laptop Macbook Work Newspaper Coffee [photo]. Retrieved on 2017, April 19 from https://goo.gl/8YxKij
Definitely the world is changing fast with all the technological advances and devices. Medical discoveries, development and more research have made different fields to improve.
Think about the advances and developments we have now. Analyze all the changes that have happened and think how the world would be in the future.
How do you think the future will be? What improvements will be happening in the medical and educational fields?
Write an opinion essay about your idea of the future in different fields like medicine, education and technology. Be sure you use various future forms, especially future progressive. Be sure your essay includes a presentation, development and conclusion. It must be around 500 words.
Before writing your essay, make sure it has the characteristics contained in the rubrics, so evaluate it yourself with it.
Fdecomite. (2009). travel [image]. Retrieved on 2017, March 21 from https://goo.gl/DThdFX
Have you dreamed about having vacations all around the world? What would you do if you could have the holidays you have always dreamed about?
Everybody needs some vacations and escape from reality. Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to run away for a while.
Look at the following tour itinerary around Europe. Write about the activities you will be doing during the trip, for example:
Mazzola, F. (2010). Europa-Enero 2010 [image]. Retrieved on 2017, March 21 from https://goo.gl/6QL6CY
You have to write at least five sentences, using the ideas in the previous chart. Don’t forget to add a title, use capital letters and punctuation marks (commas and periods) as the checklist indicates. Then use it to evaluate yourself with it.
Activity 5
Pexels. (2015). Arm Hand Desk Notebook Pen Writing Write To Do [photo]. Retrieved on 2017, April 19 from https://goo.gl/u6iysl
What do you want to do some years from now? How do you see yourself in the future? What are your dreams and expectations in which you are working currently?
Planning the future can be useful for us to become what we want to. Everything you do in the present is to be what you want in the future.
Think about your future. Record yourself talking about how you see yourself in 5 or 10 years. What will you be doing? Where will you be working?
Be sure you use the future progressive. Your recording must be one-minute length. Use the rubrics to be sure that your activity is complete and to evaluate with yourself. You can follow the example..
Record your voice here, when you are ready.
By now, you have seen how to make sentences in the future continuous tense. You can identify the structure and its uses.
The following activity will allow you to practice the grammar structure of this tense. To answer, write the verb in parentheses in the future continuous form.
Be careful with capital letters or apostrophes so that your answer be correct.
Congratulations on the effort made to complete the topic. I invite you to continue practising to master it. You can check the Reference website website to increase your skills!
• Hewings, M. (2005). Advanced Grammar in Use. United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press.
• EnglishClub. (2017). Future Continuous. Retrieved on 2017, March 21 from https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses_future-continuous.htm
• Perfect English Grammar. (2017). The Future Continuous (or future progressive tense). Retrieved on 2017, March 21 from http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/future-continuous.html
• English tenses. (2017). Future Continuous . Retrieved on 2017, March 21 from http://www.englishtenses.com/tenses/future_continuous
• Englishpage.com.(2017). Future Continuous Retrieved on 2017, March 21 from http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/futurecontinuous.html