Detailed Structures and Uses of Future Tenses
This page provides a more in-depth look at the structures and uses of the future tenses introduced on the previous page, with a focus on Future Simple and its applications.
The Future Simple tense, formed with 'will', has several key uses:
- To describe future actions that have not been planned
- To express assumptions or suppositions about future situations or events
- To convey hopes, promises, or requests
Definition: Future Simple is a tense used to talk about actions and events that will take place in the future, often without prior planning or based on spontaneous decisions.
The structure of Future Simple negative sentences is:
Subject + will not won′t + infinitive
Example: She will not won′t earn a lot of money.
For questions in Future Simple, the structure is:
Will + subject + infinitive
Highlight: Short answers to Future Simple questions can be given using "Yes, I will" or "No, I won't".
Example: Will she earn a lot of money? Yes, she will. / No, she won't.
It's important to note the differences between Future Simple, be going to, and Present Continuous for future use:
- Future Simple is often used for spontaneous decisions or predictions without current evidence.
- Be going to is used for intentions and predictions based on present evidence.
- Present Continuous is used for planned future actions, especially those with a specific time or arrangement.
Vocabulary: Infinitive - the base form of a verb, without any ending or -ing form.
Understanding these distinctions allows for more precise and nuanced expression of future events in English.