Simple Future Tense
Simple future tense form:
| Affirmative | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|
| I shall/will write. She will write. You will write. |
I shall/will not write. She will not write. You will not write. |
Shall/will I write? Will she write? Will you write? |
British people use I shall/I will and we shall/ we will with no difference of meaning in most situations. However, shall is becoming much less common than will. Shall is not normally used in American English.
Use
To give information about the future
We use the simple future tense to give or ask for information about the future.
- I will phone you tonight.
- She will be here in a couple of minutes.
- I will go to London tomorrow.
We often use the simple future tense in predictions of future events – to say what we think, guess or calculate will happen.
- I shall be rich and famous one day.
- It will rain tonight.
- You will never get a job.
Conditional use
The simple future tense is often used to express conditional ideas, when we say what will happen if something else happens.
- If it rains the match will be cancelled.
- Don’t leave me. I will cry.
