Understanding future continuous tense

Future verb tenses help us understand exactly when something will happen in the future. There are four different types of future tenses in English:

• Simple future
• Future continuous
• Future perfect
• Future perfect continuous

What is the future continuous tense?

The future continuous tense, also known as the future progressive tense, is used to discuss an action that will happen and continue in the future. When you use the future continuous tense, you’ll need to use the simple future of the verb “to be” with the present participle of a verb. So, if you see the verb “will be” combined with the present participle, it’s likely the future continuous tense in action.

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What is the simple future tense?

To properly construct a sentence in the future continuous tense, it’s important to understand what the simple future tense is. The simple future tense is used when you want to talk about actions that haven’t happened yet. The simple future uses the verb “will” plus the root form of a verb. Here are some examples of the simple future tense:

• I will go home.
• I won’t leave yet.
• I’ll pay for that.

What is the present participle?

Since using the present participle is a part of the future continuous tense, here’s a quick brush-up on it: the present participle is when a verb ends in -ing. Writers use the present participle to convey that an action is ongoing. Here are some examples of the present participle used in a sentence:

• The dog is eating.
• I am cooking.
• They are working.

Examples of the future continuous tense

Take a look at these sentences to help you understand the future continuous tense:

• I will be sleeping by 10 PM.

In this sentence, “will be sleeping” is the future continuous tense.

• He will be eating.

In this sentence, the phrase “will be eating” uses the future continuous tense.

• She will be studying tomorrow.

In this sentence, the phrase “will be studying” uses the future continuous tense.

You can also use contractions and negatives with the future continuous tense. Here are some examples:

• I’ll be sleeping by 10 PM.

In this case, “I will” becomes the contraction “I’ll.” “I’ll be sleeping” uses the future continuous tense.

• I will not be attending the meeting.

“Will not” is a negative. “Will not be attending” indicates this sentence uses the future continuous tense.

• I won’t be attending the meeting.

This sentence uses both contractions and negatives, yet still uses the future continuous tense.

Using the future continuous tense to ask questions

You can also use the future continuous tense to ask questions. You’ll still need to use the verbs “will” and “be,” but the subject of your question must come in between these two words. For example:

• Will he be singing later?

As you can see, the subject “he” comes in between “will” and “be,” forming a question in the future continuous tense. Here’s another example of a question that exhibits the future continuous tense:

• Will you be going to the grocery store?

In this example, the subject “you” comes in between the verbs “will” and “be.”

Once you get the hang of it, the future continuous tense is easy to use. If you’re interested in exploring verb tenses, learn more about the simple past tense.