19. Present tenses (I am doing / I do) for the future
‘I ‘m going to (do)’ is also possible in these sentences.
But the present continuous is more natural when we talk about arrangements. See Unit 20B
Do not use will to talk about what you have arranged to do:
What are you doing this evening? (not What will you do)
You can also use the present continuous for an action just before you begin to do it. This happens especially with verbs of movement (go / come / leave etc.):
I’m tired. I’m going to bed now. Goodnight. (not I go to bed now)
‘Jess, are you ready yet?’ ‘Yes, I’m coming’. (not I come)
Present simple (I do) with a future meaning
We use the present simple when we talk about timetables, programmes etc. (for public transport, cinemas etc.):
My train leaves at 11:30, so I need to be at the station by 11.15
What time does the film start this evening
You can use the present simple to talk about people if thire plans are fixed like a timetable.
I start my new job on Monday.
What time do you finish work tomorrow?
But the continuous is more usual for personal arrangements.
What time are you meeting Ann tomorrow? (not do you meet)
20. (I’m) going to (do)
I am going to do something = I have already decided to do it, I intend to do it:
I am doing and I am going to do
We use I am doing (present continuous) when we say what we have arranged to do - for example, arranged to meet somebody, arranged to go somewhere
What time are you meeting Ann this evening?
I am going to do something = I’ve decide to do it (but perhaps not arranged to do it).
‘Your shoes are dirty.’ ‘Yes, I know. I’m going to clean them.’ (= I’ve decided to clean them. but I haven’t arranged to clean them)
You can also say that ‘something is going to happen’ in the future.
When we say that ‘something is going to happen’, the situation now makes this clear. The man is walking towards the wall now, so we can see that he is going to walk into it.
I was going to do something = I intended to do it, but didn’t do it.
We were going to travel by train, but then we decided to go by car instead.
You can say that ‘something was going to happen’ (but didn’t happen)
I thought it was going to rain, but it didn’t
21. Will / shall 1
We use I’ll (= I will) when we’ve just decided to do something. When we say ‘I’ll do something’. We announce our decision.
Oh, I’ve left the door open. I’ll go and shut it. (not I go and shut)
We often use I think I’ll … and I don’t think I’ll …
I fell a bit hungry. I think I’ll have something to eat.
I don’t think I’ll go out tonight. I’m too tired
Do not use will to talk about what you decided before (see Units 19 - 20)
We often use will in these situations:
Offering to do something
That bag looks heavy. Ill help you with it. (not I help)
Agreeing to do something
Can you give Tim this book?
Sure, I’ll give it to him when I see him this afternoon
Promising to do something
Thanks for lending me the money. I’ll pay you back on Friday
Asking somebody to do something (Will you …?)
Will you please turn the music down? I’m trying to concentrate
You can use won’t to say that somebody refuses to do something
I’ve tried to give her advice. but she won’t listen
Shall I …? Shall we …?
Shall is used mostly in the questions shall I …? / shall we …?
Shall I open the window? (= Do you want me to open the window?)
I’ve got no money. What shall I do? (= What do you suggest?)
22. Will / shall 2
We do not use will to say what somebody has already arranged or decided to do:
But often, when we talk about the future, we are not talking about what somebody has decided to do.
We often use will(‘ll) with:
probably | I’ll probably be home late tonight. |
(I’m) sure Don’t | Don’t worry about the exam. I’m sure you ‘ll pass |
(I) think | Do you think Sarah will like the present we bought her? |
(I) don’t think | I don’t think the exam will be very difficult |
I wonder | I wonder what will happen. |
After I hope, we generally use the present (will is also possible):
I hope Kate passes the exam. (or I hope Kate will pass..)
I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.
Generally we use will to talk about the future, but sometimes we use will to talk about now.
Don’t phone Ann now. She’ll be busy. (= she’ll be busy now)
I shall / We shall …
Normally we use shall only with I and we. You can say
- I shall or I will (I’ll)
- I shall be late this evening. (or I will be)
- we shall or we will (we’ll)
- We shall probably go to France in June. (or We will probably go)
In spoken English we normally use I’ll and we’ll:
We’ll probably go to France
The negative of shall is shall not or shan’t
I shan’t be here tomorrow. (or I won’t be)
Do not use shall with he / she / it / you / they
She will be very angry. (not She shall be)
23. I will and I’m going to
Will (‘ll) We use will to announce a new decision. The party is a new idea.
(be) goint to: We use (be) going to when we have already decided to do something.
Future happenings and situations (prediction the future)
We use both will and going to to predict future happenings and situations. So you can say:
When we say something is going to happen, we know this from the situation now. What is happening now shows that something is going to happen in the future.
Look at those black clouds. It’s going to rain. (not It will rain
Do not use will in this type of situation.
24. Will be doing and will have done
I will be doing something (future continuous) = I will be in the middle of doing it
Compare wiil be (do)ing and will (do):
Don’t phone between 7 and 8. We’ll be having dinner.
Let’s wait for Liz to arrive and then we’ll have dinner
Compare will be -ing with other continuous forms:
At 10 o’clock yesterday. Sally was in her office. She was working. (past)
It’s 10 o’clock now. She is in her office. She is working. (present)
At 10 o’clock tomorrow, she will be in her office. She will be working.
We also use will be -ing to talk about complete actions in the future.
Will you be going away this summer?
Our best player is injured and won’t be playing in the game on Saturday
In these examples will be -ing is similar to (be) going to…
We use will have (done)(future perfect) to say that something will already be complete before a time in the future.
Sally always leaves for work at 8.30 in the morning. She won’t be at home at 9 o’clock - She’ll have gone to work.
We’re late. The film will already have started by the time we get to the cinema.
Compare will have (done) with other perfect forms:
Ted and Amy have been married for 24 years. (present perfect)
Next year they will have been married for 25 years.
When thire son was born, they had been married for three years. (past perfect)
25. When I do / When I’ve done When and if
The time in the sentence is future (tomorrow) but we use a present tense (I get) in the when-part of the senctence
We do not use will in the when-part of the sentence.
The same thing happens after while / before / after / as soon as / until or til:
- What are you going to do while I’m away? (not while I will be)
- I’ll probably go back home on sunday. Before I go, I’d like to visit the museun.
- Wait here until (or til) I come back.
You can also use the present perfect (have done) after when / after / until / as soon as:
- Can I borrow that book when you’ve finished with it?
- Don’t say anything while lan is here. Wait until he has gone
If you use the present perfect, one thing must be complete before the other (so the two things do not happen together)
When I’ve phoned Kate, we can have dinner. (= First I’ll phone Kate and after that we can have dinner.)
Do not use the present perfect if the two things happen together:
When I phone Kate, I’ll ask her about the party. (not When I’ve phoned)
It is often possible to use either the present simple or the present perfect:
I’ll come as soon as I finish or I’ll come as soon as I’ve finished.