If you’re learning English as an additional language one of the first and most important things you need to learn is how to talk about ideas that happened in the past, things that happen in the present, and things that will happen in the future. English has different tenses you can use to express the future. In this article, we’ll understand how to express ideas in the future continuous with will + be + -ing. The future continuous with will + be + -ing can be used to refer to future events that will happen in the future and will continue for a period of time or during a moment, things that will happen simultaneously, and it can also be used for polite requests. Let’s see how it works.
In case you need to remember all of these tenses, check out this amazing overview of all verb tenses in English!
Future Continuous (or Future Progressive) in English
This tense is formed using will + be + the -ing form of the verb. This formula works for all grammatical persons. So, differently from the present simple, you don’t need to change anything for the third-person singular (he/she/it).
The future continuous (or future progressive) refers to something that will be happening during a certain time in the future. Study the relationship between the future simple and the future continuous below.
| FUTURE SIMPLE | FUTURE CONTINUOUS |
| I will start the test at 8 am tomorrow.
I will finish the test at 10 am tomorrow. |
I will be taking a test from 8 to 10 am tomorrow. |
Affirmative, Negative, and Interrogative (Question) Forms
To form an affirmative sentence in this tense, you use the structure subject + will + be + the -ing form of the verb + object.
To form a negative sentence in this tense, you use the structure subject + will not (won’t) + be + the -ing form of the verb + object.
To form an interrogative sentence (question) in this tense, use the structure: Will+ subject + be + the -ing form of the verb + object + question mark (?).
| AFFIRMATIVE | NEGATIVE | INTERROGATIVE (QUESTION) |
| I will be working from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow. | I won’t be working from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow. | Will I be working from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow? |
| You will be working from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow. | You won’t be working from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow. | Will you be working from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow? |
| He/she/it will be working from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow. | He/she/it won’t be working from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow. | Will he/she/it be working from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow? |
| We will be working from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow. | We won’t be working from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow. | Will we be working from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow? |
| They will be working from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow. | They won’t be working from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow. | Will they be working from 9 am to 5 pm tomorrow? |
Contraction with the Future Continuous
We can contract the subject pronouns and will. This often happens in informal, oral communication:
| PERSONAL PRONOUN | POSITIVE CONTRACTION | NEGATIVE CONTRACTION |
| I will | I’ll | I won’t |
| you will | you’ll | you won’t |
| he will | he’ll | he won’t |
| she will | she’ll | she won’t |
| it will | it’ll | it won’t |
| we will | we’ll | we won’t |
| they will | they’ll | they won’t |
Short answers
To answer these questions you can use short answers.
| QUESTION | AFFIRMATIVE ANSWER | NEGATIVE ANSWER |
| Will I be -ing…? | Yes, I will/Yes, you will. | No, I won’t/No, you won’t. |
| Will you be -ing…? | Yes, I will/Yes, we will. | No, I won’t/No, we won’t. |
| Will he/she/it be -ing…? | Yes, he/she/it will. | No, he/she/it won’t. |
| Will we be -ing…? | Yes, we will. | No, we won’t. |
| Will they be -ing…? | Yes, they will. | No, they won’t. |
Action Verbs vs. Stative Verbs
The future continuous tense is usually used with action verbs. As suggested by their name, these verbs express actions. Such verbs are: walk, run, cook, watch, read, write, listen to, send, drive, ride, visit, etc.
The future continuous tense isn’t usually used with state verbs. As suggested by their name, these verbs express states. Such verbs are: love, hate, like, dislike, seem, want, know, need, etc. For these verbs, use the future simple instead.
| APPROPRIATE USE | INAPPROPRIATE USE |
| I will be wanting to buy a new house. | I’ll want to buy a new house. |
| You will be liking him. | You’ll like him. |
| He will be needing new shirts. | He’ll need new shirts. |
| We will be knowing the answers to the questions. | We’ll know the answers to the questions. |
| They will be hating staying at that hotel. | They’ll hate staying at that hotel. |
WH question words
If you have a WH question word in your interrogative sentence (question), put it at the beginning of the sentence.
| When will I be working? |
| What will you be doing tomorrow at 3 pm? |
| Who will he/she/it be playing with tomorrow afternoon? |
| Where will we be meeting them? |
| What will they be watching tonight? |
Adverbs of Frequency
When adverbs of frequency are used with the future continuous, they usually go between the subject pronoun and the verb. Look at the examples below.
| I will always be waiting for you. |
| You will often be playing tennis on Friday afternoons. |
| He will sometimes be watching Netflix in the evening. |
| We will hardly ever be listening to other people’s opinions. |
| They will never be making mistakes. |
Time Expressions
The future continuous (or future progressive) tense can be used with or without time expressions that refer to the future.
Time expressions are phrases such as tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, etc. They identify the time you’re talking about. These expressions usually go at the end of the sentence (I will be working tomorrow).
Example Sentences
| “‘You will be polishing the silver in the trophy room with Mr. Filch’, said Professor McGonagall” (Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets) |
| “‘And you, Potter will be helping Professor Lockhart answer his fan mail’, said Professor McGonagall” (Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets) |
| “I’m holding a party down in one of the roomier dungeons. Friends will be coming from all over the country” (Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets) |
| “On the count of three, we will cart our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course” (Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets) |
| “‘My friendly, card-carrying cupids!’, beamed Lockhart. ‘They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! (…)'” (Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets) |
If you want to master every aspect of English grammar, take a look at our awesome article on the best books to learn English grammar.
