Forming the Future Continuous Tense

The future continuous is made up of two parts:

1. The simple future form of the verb ‘to be’
2. The present participle (verb + ing)

Positive

Noun + will + be + verb-ing

 

Noun	Simple future of ‘to be’ (Long Form)	(Short Form)	Present participle
I you she he it we they	will be	‘ll be	sleeping studying dancing drawing amazing standing playing

Negative

Note: The short form of simple future (negative) ‘will not be’ becomes a new word: won’t.

Noun + will + not + be + verb-ing

 

Noun	Simple future of ‘to be’ (Long Form)	(Short Form)	Present participle
I you she he it we they	will not be	won’t be	going practicing driving travelling snowing staying dining

Questions

The simple future ‘will’ moves to the position before the noun:

 

Simple future of ‘to be’	Noun	Be	Present participle
Will (positive)   Won’t (negative)	I you she he it we they	be	staying?

 

Usage:

We use the future continuous tense when we want to talk about something happening in the future:

•  I will be studying this weekend.
• Manchester United will be playing football against Real Madrid next week.
• We will be standing under the marquee at 7 o’clock sharp.
• We will not be attending the reception tomorrow.

We can also use it to project ourselves into the future:

• By this time next year I will be working for Microsoft.
• You will likely be feeling hungry after your fast.
• Once you’re back in Australia you’ll be missing the cold weather.

The future continuous can also be used as a polite way to ask for information about the future:

• Will you be bringing your fiancée to the party?
• Will we be competing against each other in the match?
• Will you be dining alone tonight?
• Won’t you be staying for the weekend?
• Won’t we be gardening in such nice weather?
• Won’t they be playing with the back-up band?