THE FUTURE CONTINUOUS

I. The Formation

The Future Continuous is formed by means of the Future Indefinite of the auxiliary verb ''to be'' and Participle I of the notional verb.

· He will be reading.

· Will he be reading?

· He will not be reading.

II. The Use.The Future Continuous is used:

1) to denote an action which will be going on at a definite moment in the future:

· This time tomorrow I will be flying to Chicago.

· I will still be working when you return.

2) to make predictions about something we believe to be the case now:

· You can’t interrupt her now. She’ll be getting ready to go on stage.

3) to ask politely (formally) about someone’s plans or to refuse an invitation in a tactful way:

· I can't go with you. I will be helping my mum.

· How about joining us at the cottage this Sunday? – Oh, we can’t. We’ll be coming back from Edinburgh on Sunday.

· I’m sorry, I can’t come to your wedding as I’ll be working on that day.

· Will Helen be using the fax machine for long? I have to send a fax.

4) to express future without intention. That means that a predicted event will happen independently of the will or intention of anyone concerned. The action is inevitable:

· I’ll be seeing Mr Kennedy at the court tomorrow – he’s always there on Thursdays – so we can discuss your case briefly then.

5) to denote actions that will become habitual at a point of time in the future:

· In ten years’ time everybody will be communicating by means of the Internet.

THE FUTURE PERFECT

I. The Formation

The Future Perfect is formed by means of the auxiliary verb ''to have'' in the Future Indefinite and Participle II of the notional verb.

· He will have spoken.

· Will he have spoken?

· He will not have spoken.

II. The Use

1) The Future Perfect is used to make predictions about actions which we expect to be completed by a particular time in the future. Compare:

· They will have painted the room by Thursday. (Exclusive)

· They will have been married for ten years next Saturday. (Inclusive)

· He’ll have had an operation by May and should be a lot fitter then.

Note: The following time indications can be used: before, by the time, by then, till/until (only in negative sentences)

· He won't have repaired my camera till the end of this week.

THE FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS

I. The Formation

The Future Perfect Continuous is formed by means of the auxiliary verb ''to be'' in the Future Perfect and Participle I of the notional verb.

· He will have been speaking.

· Will he have been speaking?

· He will not have been speaking.

II. The Use

1) The Future Perfect Continuous is used to denote an action that begins before a certain moment of time in the future and goes up to that moment or into it. We focus on the duration of the action. The Future Perfect Continuous is very rarely used. Mostly in can be found with the adverbial by ... for...

· By the end of the month he will have been training horses for twenty years.

AROUND THE FUTURE

Meaning	Form	Example
predictions about the future based on somebody's expectations, supposition, hope, etc. (with I think, I believe, maybe, possibly, probably, perhaps, I am afraid, I am sure, etc.)	will do	She is afraid her son will fail his exams. My uncle will probably make a speech at the wedding reception. I think Debbie will become a great artist one day.
spontaneous decisions	will do	What a lovely shirt! I will buy it.
predictions based on some evidence	be going to do	Look at that tree! It is going to fall.
intentions	be going to do	We are going to visit our grandparents next week.
arrangements and plans for the near future	be doing	We are going to the club tonight.
timetables and schedules	do	The Cup Final takes place on April 13.
actions in progress around a specific time in the future	will be doing	This time tomorrow I will be taking an exam.
anticipated actions	will be doing	I three weeks' time I will be driving my own car!
actions that will occur independently of the will of the speaker	will be doing	The plane will be taking off soon. Hurry up! The bus will be leaving any minute.
actions completed before a stated future time	will have done	By the time I come back she will have forgotten me.

OTHER WAYS OF TALKING ABOUT THE FUTURE

Be+to-infinitive	formal plans or arrangements, instructions, prohibitions	The Queen is to arrive at 10.00 to begin the ceremony.
Be+due to-infinitive	to talk about events that we expect to take place at a fixed time	The bus is due to arrive any minute.
Be (just) about+to-infinitive	to talk about events that we expect will happen very soon	We are (just) about to leave.
Be on the point of+Ving	I think he’s on the point of asking her to marry him.
Plan/hope/intend+to-infinitive		The company plans to build a new supermarket.

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 1268

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III. The Past Perfect vs. the Past Simple	\|	EXERCISE № 123. Practise the following sentences in the 3-d person singular, making the necessary changes.

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