Future continuous, also known as the future progressive tense, is used to describe a continuous action that will be in progress at a future time.
Some signal words will help recognize this tense can be, for example, this time next week/month, in an hour, or at a particular time tomorrow, e.g., at 7am tomorrow.
Example
Explanation
She will be exercising at gym at 8am tomorrow.
This sentence describes an action that will be in progress and will take place at a certain time in the future.
Construction and Conjugation
Rule 1: To form the future continuous tense, we follow the structure will + be + present participle or ing-form. The conjugation of the future continuous is the same for all forms.
Here's an overview of the positive, negative and interrogative conjugation of the future continuous tense in English:
| Person | Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| all forms are the same for both singular and plural | I will be singing | You will not be singing | Will they be singing? |
| Person | Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| all forms are the same for both singular and plural | I will be singing | You will not be singing | Will they be singing? |
Note: In spoken and informal written English, we can use contractions in future continuous - short forms of pronouns or verbs with the word not. Here's how to create them:
| Long Form | Contraction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| will | 'll | they'll |
| will not | 'll not / won't | they'll not / they won't |
| Long Form | Contraction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| will | 'll | they'll |
| will not | 'll not / won't | they'll not / they won't |
Usage
Rule 2: We use the future continuous tense to express that an action will be in progress at a certain time in the future.
Example
Explanation
In an hour, she will be watching a new movie at the cinema.
The future continuous is used to express that an action (to watch a movie) will be in progress at a certain time in the future (in an hour).
Rule 3: We use the future continuous tense to express a future action that we expect to happen.
Example
Explanation
And we will be meeting his parents, as we planned to visit them a long time ago.
The future continuous tense is used to express an action (to meet his parents) that will take place in the future, but which we already expect to happen (this visit was planned a long time ago).
Quiz
1/4
Form the future continuous tense. At this time next Monday, we ___ (fly) to Nepal.
0
correct answers.