The Future Continuous Tense

Form:

Affirmative

I shall/will be writing.
She will be writing.
You will be writing.

Negative

I shall/will not be writing.
She will not be writing.
You will not be writing.

Question

Shall/will I be writing?
Will she be writing?
Will you be writing?

use

We use the future progressive to say that an activity will be in progress at a particular moment in the future.

• This time tomorrow I will be lying on the beach.

The future progressive is also used to talk about future events which are fixed or arranged. It does not suggest the idea of personal intention.

• We shall be visiting Darjeeling in the summer.
• I will be seeing you one of these days, I think.
• He will be having a nap in the afternoon.

predicting the present

The future progressive can also be used to say what we think or guess is probably happening now.

• Don't phone now - they will be having lunch.

polite enquiries

The future progressive can be used to make polite enquiries about people's plans.

Compare:

• Will you be coming with me? (a polite enquiry about what has been arranged)
• Are you coming with me? (pressing for a decision)
• Will you come with me? (an instruction or order.)

Sections in this article

Tenses
The simple present tense
The present progressive tense
The present perfect tense
The present perfect progressive tense
Present tenses to talk about the future
The simple past tense
The past progressive tense
The past perfect tense
The past perfect progressive tense
Past verb forms with present or future meaning
The simple future tense
The future progressive tense
The future perfect tense

See Also

Exclamations
Exclamations exercise
Exclamations: common errors
Common mistakes with pronouns - Part 2
Common errors with adjectives - part 1
Common errors with adjectives - part 2