Learn the four future tenses in English with clear grammar rules, accurate terminology, example sentences, and ESL-friendly explanations. Several other articles on this site can also help you become more confident when talking about the past or discussing the present.
In the following sections, you will learn how to talk or write about events that have not happened yet, situations you expect or predict in the future, and actions that may or may not occur.
The four verb tenses covered in this article are:
Each section below explains how the tense is formed and how it is commonly used. Example sentences are included, followed by final thoughts that summarize key take-away points. As always, continue practicing future tenses in your writing, reading, and speaking until they feel natural.
Future Tenses
Simple Future
In addition to the basic will + base verb structure, there is another common way to form the simple future tense:
be + going to + base verb (e.g. I am going to speak.)
The simple future tense is mainly used to describe actions, situations, or events that will happen at a time after now. It is also commonly used for spontaneous decisions, promises, offers, threats, and predictions without strong evidence.
Future Progressive (Future Continuous)
The future progressive tense describes an action that will be in progress at a specific time in the future.
Form: will + be + present participle (verb-ing)
Example: At 8 PM next Monday, I will be watching a movie.
Time expressions are often used to show when the action will be happening, such as tomorrow, next week, or at this time tomorrow.
Future Perfect
The future perfect tense describes an action that will be completed before a specific point in the future.
Form: will + have + past participle (V3 / -ed)
Example: He will have spent all his bonus money by Christmas.
Time expressions such as by tomorrow, by next year, or by the time are essential to show when the action will be finished.
Future Perfect Progressive
The future perfect progressive tense focuses on the duration of an ongoing action up to a certain point in the future.
Form: will + have + been + present participle (verb-ing)
Example: By next Monday, I will have been working at my company for three years.
This tense emphasizes how long an activity will have continued before a future moment, which can sometimes make it easy to confuse with the future progressive.
Learn more: differences between will and going to
Future Tense Examples
This section shows what each future tense looks like in real sentences.
Simple Future
- I will go to the store and pick up the groceries.
- We are going to walk the dog around the block.
Future Progressive
- I will be talking to your teacher tomorrow.
- We will be taking you and your friends to the movies on Saturday.
Future Perfect
- I will have read two more chapters by dinner.
- You will have made $20 in sales by the end of the day.
Future Perfect Progressive
- By next week, I will have been taking piano lessons for three years.
- We will have been riding in the car for eight hours when we arrive.
Final Thoughts
You now have a clear understanding of how to talk about future actions, events, and situations using all four future tenses: simple future, future progressive, future perfect, and future perfect progressive.
While these tenses are generally easy to form, the differences between future perfect and future perfect progressive are more subtle, so extra practice is helpful.
Review each section again after reading, and continue applying these tenses in your speaking and writing. Regular exposure through reading and rewriting sentences will strengthen your overall grammar skills and help your English sound more natural and fluid.