The future continuous tense is an essential aspect of English grammar. The future continuous tense is a verb tense that shows an ongoing action in the future. It is the future version of the present continuous tense, which uses a similar construction. The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the future. The action will have started before that moment but it will not have finished at that moment.
What is the Future Continuous Tense?
The future continuous tense, also known as the future progressive tense, refers to a verb tense which denotes that something will happen in the future and continue for an expected period of time. It is the future version of the present continuous tense, which uses a similar construction.
What are Future Continuous Tense Grammar Rules?
The Future Continuous tense can be used to create positive and negative sentences or a question sentence (interrogative sentence).
Forming the Future Continuous Tense:
To form the future continuous tense, use the words “will” and “be” with the present participle of the actionable verb. Unlike the most other verb tenses, you do not need to conjugate any verbs to match person, number, or gender when forming a sentence in Future Continuous Tense. The structure is:
Subject + will + be + present participle (-ing form of the verb)
For example:
She will be studying tomorrow.
She will be acting at the theater tonight.
He will be selling all the fruits this afternoon.
Forming Negative Sentences:
To form a negative sentence in the future continuous tense, we use the words “will not” or “won’t” and “be” plus the present participle of the actionable verb.
For example:
I will not be going to school this time.
He won’t be swimming tonight.
Asking Questions:
To form a question in the future continuous tense, use the words “will” and “be” plus the
subject and the present participle of the actionable verb.
For example:
Will they be attending the party next week?
Will we be watching a film tonight?
Structuring Sentences with Future Continuous Tense
The future continuous tense is a verb tense that shows an ongoing action in the future.To form the future continuous tense, use the words “will” and “be” plus the present participle of the actionable verb.To structure sentences with the future continuous tense, we need to follow this simple formula:
Subject (He, She, It, I, You, We, They) + Will + Auxiliary Verb (be) + Main Verb (-ing)
Subject: We begin the sentence with the subject (the person or thing performing the action).
Will: We add “will” after the subject.
Auxiliary Verb: We use the correct form of the auxiliary verb “be”.
Main Verb: We add the main verb in its “-ing” form.
Future Continuous Tense Positive Sentences
The future continuous tense is a verb tense that shows an ongoing action in the future.To form the future continuous tense, use the words “will” and “be” plus the present participle of the actionable verb. Here’s an explanation of how to form positive sentences in the future continuous tense:
We begin the sentence with the subject (the person or thing performing the action).
We add “will” after the subject.
We use the correct form of the auxiliary verb “be”.
We add the main verb in its “-ing” form.
To structure sentences with the future continuous tense, we need to follow this simple formula:
Subject (He, She, It, I, You, We, They) + Will + Auxiliary Verb (be) + Main Verb (-ing)
For example: He (Subject) + will + be(auxiliary verb) + going (verb+ -ing) to school tomorrow.
| Subject | Will | Auxiliary Verb | Main Verb (-ing form) |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Will | Be | Main Verb (-ing) |
| You | Will | Be | Main Verb (-ing) |
| We | Will | Be | Main Verb (-ing) |
| They | Will | Be | Main Verb (-ing) |
| He | Will | Be | Main Verb (-ing) |
| She | Will | Be | Main Verb (-ing) |
| It | Will | Be | Main Verb (-ing) |
Here are some examples of positive sentences in the future continuous tense:
I will be writing the poem tomorrow.
The kid will be drawing the whole night.
I will be helping my father to fix the car.
Jimmy will be eating the bread later.
Penny will be running to the mountains tomorrow.
He will be taking her cat for a walk.
She will be coming to my place soon.
My mother won’t be cooking tomorrow.
They will be climbing that hill tomorrow.
Future Continuous Tense Negative Sentences
To form negative sentences in future continuous tense, use the words “will not” or “won’t” and “be” with the subject and the present participle of the actionable verb.
We begin the sentence with the subject (the person or thing performing the action).
We add “will not” or “won’t” after the subject.
We use the correct form of the auxiliary verb “be”.
We add the main verb in its “-ing” form.
To structure negative-interrogative sentences with the future continuous tense, we need to follow this simple formula:
Subject (He, She, It, I, You, We, They) + Will Not (Won’t) + Auxiliary Verb (be) + Main Verb (-ing)
For example: She (Subject) + won’t + be (Auxiliary verb) + going (Main verb + -ing) to school.
| Subject | Will (Negative) | Auxiliary Verb | Main Verb (-ing form) |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Won’t | Be | Main Verb (-ing) |
| You | Won’t | Be | Main Verb (-ing) |
| We | Won’t | Be | Main Verb (-ing) |
| They | Won’t | Be | Main Verb (-ing) |
| He | Won’t | Be | Main Verb (-ing) |
| She | Won’t | Be | Main Verb (-ing) |
| It | Won’t | Be | Main Verb (-ing) |
Here are some examples of negative sentences in the future continuous tense:
I won’t be talking with him.
I won’t be going to party late tonight.
They won’t be giving out free books in the library until 10 p.m.
He won’t be going to park late.
You won’t be driving much this Sunday.
Our family won’t be flying to the hotel.
My mother won’t be feeding my dog anymore.
I won’t be drinking milk until I die..
Future Continuous Tense Positive Interrogative Sentences
To form an interrogative sentence in future continuous tense we ask a question about an ongoing action that will take place in the future. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb “will” followed by the subject, then “be” and the present participle of the verb, and finally the object.To structure interrogative sentences with the future continuous tense, we need to follow this simple formula:
Will + Subject + Auxiliary Verb (be) + Main Verb + -ing + Object
For example: Will + he (Subject) + be (Auxiliary verb) + going (Main verb + -ing) + to school (Object) .
| Will | Subject | Auxiliary Verb | Main Verb | Complement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will | I | Be | Main Verb (-ing) | Object |
| Will | You | Be | Main Verb (-ing) | Object |
| Will | We | Be | Main Verb (-ing) | Object |
| Will | They | Be | Main Verb (-ing) | Object |
| Will | He | Be | Main Verb (-ing) | Object |
| Will | She | Be | Main Verb (-ing) | Object |
| Will | It | Be | Main Verb (-ing) | Object |
Here are some examples of interrogative sentences in the future continuous tense:
Will you be working on your homework tomorrow?
Will they be playing tennis this weekend?
Will he be cooking a meal tonight?
Will you be studying for your exams next semester?
Will he be attending the party tomorrow?
Will they be traveling to Asia next year?
Will you be watching the show tonight?
Will you be fishing at the river today?
Future Continuous Tense Negative-Interrogative Sentences
To write a negative interrogative sentence in future continuous tense, you can use the formula below:
Will + Not + Subject +Auxiliary Verb (be) + Verb + -ing + Object
For example: Won’t + he (Subject) + be (Auxiliary Verb) + studying (Verb + -ing) + tonight (Object).
| Will (Negative) | Subject | Auxiliary Verb | Main Verb | Complement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won’t | I | Be | Main Verb (-ing) | Object |
| Won’t | You | Be | Main Verb (-ing) | Object |
| Won’t | We | Be | Main Verb (-ing) | Object |
| Won’t | They | Be | Main Verb (-ing) | Object |
| Won’t | He | Be | Main Verb (-ing) | Object |
| Won’t | She | Be | Main Verb (-ing) | Object |
| Won’t | It | Be | Main Verb (-ing) | Object |
Here are some examples of negative-interrogative sentences in the future continuous tense:
Won’t he be working on the project tomorrow?
Won’t they be attending the party next week?
Won’t she be driving to work at 8 am?
Won’t we be studying for your project tonight?
Won’t they be playing soccer tonight?
Won’t she be cooking a meal tonight?
Won’t he be watching a TV show tonight?
Won’t she be going to the park tomorrow?
Short answers in Future Continuous Tense
Positive Answers
| Confirmation word | Subject | Will |
|---|---|---|
| Yes, | I | Will |
| Yes, | You | Will |
| Yes, | We | Will |
| Yes, | They | Will |
| Yes, | He | Will |
| Yes, | She | Will |
| Yes, | It | Will |
Negative Answers
| Confirmation word | Subject | Will |
|---|---|---|
| Yes, | I | Will |
| Yes, | You | Will |
| Yes, | We | Will |
| Yes, | They | Will |
| Yes, | He | Will |
| Yes, | She | Will |
| Yes, | It | Will |
Wh- questions in Future Continuous Tense
Wh- questions are questions that begin with a Wh- question word such as who, what, where, when, why, and how. To form Wh- questions in Future Continuous Tense, we use this following structure:
Wh- question word + Will + Subject + Be + Verb – ing + Rest of the sentence (verb in simple present) ?
For example: What (Wh- question) + will + you (Subject) + be + doing (Verb -ing) today at 5 pm (Object) + ?
| Wh- question | Will | Subject | Auxiliary Verb | Main Verb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who | Will | I | Be | Verb + -ing |
| Whose | Will | You | Be | Verb + -ing |
| Which | Will | We | Be | Verb + -ing |
| Where | Will | They | Be | Verb + -ing |
| What | Will | He | Be | Verb + -ing |
| Why | Will | She | Be | Verb + -ing |
| When | Will | It | Be | Verb + -ing |
| How |
Here are some examples of Wh- question sentences in the future continuous tense:
Where will you be going tonight ?
When will you be sending your homework ?
Why will they not be joining the party ?
What will they be protesting ?
The Adverbs of Time That Are Used in Future Continuous Tense:
To further specify what time the actions in question take place, we can add temporal adverbs. Some adverbs we can use with Future Continuous Tense are:
Tomorrow
Tonight
Next week
Today
This week
This month
This year
This sunday
Next month
Here are some example sentences that are formed with adverbs of time:
I will be studying today.
She will be working tomorrow.
They will be watching a movie tonight.
He will be playing tennis next week.
We will be traveling next month.
Frequently Asked Questions about Present Perfect Continuous Tense
What is the Difference Between Future Continuous Tense and Simple Present Tense?
The main difference between future continuous tense and simple present tense is that future continuous tense refers to actions and events in the future while present tense refers to the actions of present time.
What is the Difference Between Future Continuous Tense and Simple Past Tense?
The main difference between future continuous tense and simple past tense is that future continuous tense refers to actions and events in the future while simple past tense refers to the actions of past time.
What is the Difference Between Future Continuous Tense and Present Perfect Continuous Tense?
The main difference between future continuous tense and present perfect continuous tense is that future continuous tense refers to actions and events in the future while present perfect continuous tense refers to actions that started in the past and still continue to the present.
What is Future Continuous Tense formula?
The formula of Future Continuous Tense is Subject + will + be + present participle (-ing form of the verb).
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