7 Future Continuous

The Future is the tense used to talk about future events.

The Future Continuous Tense is used to talk about actions that will be in progress in the future.

We usually find this structure in its three forms:

Affirmative form

Future Continuous or Progressive of the verb to work in its Affirmative form has this structure:
Subject + future simple of the verb to be + [verb to work + -ing].

Negative form

Future Continuous or Progressive of the verb to work in its Negative form has this structure:
Subject + future simple of the verb to be not + [verb to work + -ing].

*Short version of the Negative form is: “won’t be“

Interrogative form

Future Continuous or Progressive of the verb to work in its Interrogative form (obtained thanks to “inversion”) has this structure:
Future simple + subject + to be + [verb to work + -ing] + (?).

1. Unfinished action or event that will be taking place in the future
   • You will be using the new software next month.
   • Next Monday, he will be working at his new office.
   • They will be growing tomatoes next year.
   • They won’t be growing tomatoes next year.
   • Will they be growing tomatoes next year?
2. Referring to a longer background action interrupted by a shorter one
   • I will be wearing my red miniskirt when you arrive to the station.
   • Tonight she will be driving to London.
   • At 2 pm we will be having lunch.
   • Tonight she won’t be driving to London.
   • Will she be driving to London tonight?
3. Future simultaneous events
   • You will be cooking dinner while you drive back home from work.
   • She will be taking an exam tomorrow morning.
   • We will be dancing, drinking, talking and having fun at the party tonight!
   • We won’t be dancing, drinking, talking and having fun at the party tonight!
   • Will we be dancing, drinking, talking and having fun at the party tonight?
4. Assume what is happening at the moment
   • Tomorrow you will be having lunch at this time.
   • It’s late, he will be sleeping.
   • Don’t call them now, they will be watching tv.
   • It’s late, he won’t be sleeping.
   • Will he be sleeping, it’s late?

We use the Future Continuous tense to:

1. Talk about an unfinished action or event that will be taking place in the future/events we expect to happen in the future;
2. Talk about longer background action interrupted by a shorter one;
3. Talk about parallel future actions/events;
4. Assume what is happening at the moment.

We use Future Continuous tense when we are talking about unfinished actions that will take place in the future, a longer action interrupted by a shorter one, parallel actions or events and when we are assuming what is happening at the moment.

• Affirmative: Subject + future simple of the verb to be + [verb + -ing];
• Negative: Subject + future simple of the verb to be not + [verb to work + -ing];
• Interrogative: Future simple + subject + “to be” + [verb to work + -ing] + …?

For example:
— “I will be working next week.” = This event will take place in the future, therefore we use Future Continuous Tense.

Let’s revise this content within the [Form] section. Take a look at the [Example] section that shows its use within a context.