Simple Future Tense

This material is taken from english page.com

Simple Future

(Will or Be Going To)

Simple Future has two different forms in English: "will" and "be going to." Although the two forms can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often express two very different meanings. These different meanings might seem too abstract at first, but with time and practice, the differences will become clear. Both "will" and "be going to" refer to a specific time in the future.

FORM Will

[will + verb]

Examples:

· You will help him later.

· Will you help him later?

· You will not help him later.

FORM Be Going To

[am/is/are + going to + verb]

Examples:

· You are going to meet Jane tonight.

· Are you going to meet Jane tonight?

· You are not going to meet Jane tonight.

USE 1 "Will" to Express a Voluntary Action

"Will" often suggests that a speaker will do something voluntarily. A voluntary action is one the speaker offers to do for someone else. Often, we use "will" to respond to someone else's complaint or request for help. We also use "will" when we request that someone help us or volunteer to do something for us. Similarly, we use "will not" or "won't" when we refuse to voluntarily do something.

Examples:

· I will send you the information when I get it.

· I will translate the email, so Mr. Smith can read it.

· Will you help me move this heavy table?

· Will you make dinner?

· I will not do your homework for you.

· I won't do all the housework myself!

· A: I'm really hungry.
B: I'll make some sandwiches.

· A: I'm so tired. I'm about to fall asleep.
B: I'll get you some coffee.

· A: The phone is ringing.
B: I'll get it.

USE 2 "Will" to Express a Promise

"Will" is usually used in promises.

Examples:

· I will call you when I arrive.

· If I am elected President of the United States, I will make sure everyone has access to inexpensive health insurance.

· I promise I will not tell him about the surprise party.

· Don't worry, I'll be careful.

· I won't tell anyone your secret.

USE 3 "Be going to" to Express a Plan

"Be going to" expresses that something is a plan. It expresses the idea that a person intends to do something in the future. It does not matter whether the plan is realistic or not.

Examples:

· He is going to spend his vacation in Hawaii.

· She is not going to spend her vacation in Hawaii.

· A: When are we going to meet each other tonight?

B: We are going to meet at 6 PM.

· I'm going to be an actor when I grow up.

· Michelle is going to begin medical school next year.

· They are going to drive all the way to Alaska.

· Who are you going to invite to the party?

· A: Who is going to make John's birthday cake?
B: Sue is going to make John's birthday cake.

USE 4 "Will" or "Be Going to" to Express a Prediction

Both "will" and "be going to" can express the idea of a general prediction about the future. Predictions are guesses about what might happen in the future. In "prediction" sentences, the subject usually has little control over the future and therefore USES 1-3 do not apply. In the following examples, there is no difference in meaning.

Examples:

· The year 2222 will be a very interesting year.

· The year 2222 is going to be a very interesting year.

· John Smith will be the next President.

· John Smith is going to be the next President.

· The movie "Zenith" will win several Academy Awards.

· The movie "Zenith" is going to win several Academy Awards.

IMPORTANT

In the Simple Future, it is not always clear which USE the speaker has in mind. Often, there is more than one way to interpret a sentence's meaning.

No Future in Time Clauses

Like all future forms, the Simple Future cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of Simple Future, Simple Present is used.

Examples:

· When you will arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Not Correct

· When you arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

· You will never help him.

· Will you ever help him?

· You are never going to meet Jane.

· Are you ever going to meet Jane?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

· John will finish the work by 5:00 PM. Active

· The work will be finished by 5:00 PM. Passive

· Sally is going to make a beautiful dinner tonight. Active

· A beautiful dinner is going to be made by Sally tonight. Passive

WILL OR BE GOING TO

1. A: Why are you holding a piece of paper?
B: I (write) _____________ a letter to my friends back home in Texas.
2. A: I'm about to fall asleep. I need to wake up!
B: I (get) _____________ you a cup of coffee. That will wake you up.
3. A: I can't hear the television!
B: I (turn) ___________ it up so you can hear it.
4. We are so excited about our trip next month to France. We

(visit)____________Paris, Nice and Grenoble.
5. Sarah (come) ___________to the party. Oliver (be) _________ there as well.
6. Ted: It is so hot in here!
Sarah: I (turn) ____________ the air-conditioning on.
7. I think he (be) ___________ the next President of the United States.

8. After I graduate, I (attend) ______________ medical school and become a

doctor. I have wanted to be a doctor all my life.

9. A: Excuse me, I need to talk to someone about our hotel room. I am afraid it is

simply too small for four people.
B: That man at the service counter (help) ____________ you.
10. As soon as the weather clears up, we (walk)___________ down to the beach

and go swimming.

11. Mark: What are you doing with those scissors?
Beth: I (cut) _________that picture of the ocean out of the travel magazine.
Mark: What (you, do) _________with it?
Beth: I (paint) ___________ a watercolor of the ocean for my art class, and I

thought I could use this photograph as a model.
12. John: Wow, it's freezing out there.
Jane: I (make) _________some coffee to warm us up.

Simple Past Tense

We use the simple past tense for events that happened or started and completed in the past and that have no relation with the present.

We use the simple past tense:

· to describe an action that occurred in the past or at a specified time or the time is easily understood or already implied.

Example: We finished our drinking session an hour ago. (NOT: We have/had finished our drinking session an hour ago.)

Example: My grandfather played for the Yellow Hornless Bull football team.

Example: I ate a big spicy piece of pizza for my breakfast.

· for an action that began and ended in the past.

Example: The dangerous criminal was recaptured after three months on the run.

· to refer to an action completed regardless of how recent or distant in the past.

Example: Alexander Bell invented the telephone in 1876.

Example: My brother joined the circus as a clown last week.

· for an action done repeatedly, habitually or at regular times in the past.

Example: We saw the movie ‘Titanic’ several times at the cinema.

Example: Brian had always been a heavy drinker in the old days.

Example: He phoned his mother every Sunday until her death.

· for a state in the past.

Example: I felt very tired after chasing a fox.

· for a short event or action that comes or follows one after the other.

Example: We looked left and we looked right. Then we crossed the road.

· to place emphasis on what we say, especially in response to some remark.

Example: “You didn’t seem to help much.” “I did help to get rid of some of that clutter.

· to talk about someone who has died.

Example: Arthur was a well-known writer on tribal dances.

Example: He left all his money to a charity for sick elephants.

· in providing details or information about events that happened subsequent to news reports which, when first reported, are usually expressed in present perfect tense.

Negotiations with the insurgent forces have broken down. The leader of the insurgent forces blamed the government for the break down. A government spokesman saidthe insurgent forces made unreasonable demands.

Regular and irregular verbs

· We form the simple past tense of most verbs by adding –ed to the verb. These verbs are called regular verbs. Most verbs are regular verbs.

The simple past tense of some verbs does not end in –ed. These verbs are

the irregular verbs.

· The simple past tense irregular verbs can only be used in the positive, not negative.

Example: He kept all his money under the mattress. (NOT: He did not kept all his money under the mattress.)

Regular verbs and irregular verbs as expressed in the affirmative and negative.

Regular verbs:

Affirmative – He cycled to work.

Negative – He did not cycle to work. (NOT: He did not cycled to work.)

Irregular verbs:

Affirmative – He stole her purse.

Negative – He did not steal her purse. (NOT: He did not stole her purse.)

Note that was and were are forms of the verb be. Was is the simple past tense of amand is and is used with the pronouns I, he, she and it, and with singular nouns. Were is the simple past tense of are and is used with the pronouns you, we and they,and with plural nouns.

Regular verbs in simple past tense forms:

· Most verbs when expressed in the simple past tense are formed by adding –ed.to the end of the verbs. These verbs, as mentioned above, are called regular verbs.Example: kiss – kissed; touch – touched.

· If a verb ends with –e, only –d is added to change its tense to past simple. Example:live – lived

· If a verb ends in –ie, add –d. Example: lie – lied; belie - belied

· If a verb ends in:

a vowel + –y, just add –ed. Example: employ – employed; buoy – buoyed

a consonant + –y, change the y to i and then add –ed. Example: cry – cried;

pry – pried.

one vowel + one consonant and is a one-syllable verb, double the consonant

and add –ed.

Example: step – stepped; chop – chopped; can – canned

two consonants, just add –ed. Example: pull – pulled; scold - scolded

two vowels + one consonant, don’t double the consonant, add –ed. Example:peep – peeped;leak – leaked; raid – raided

Taken from englishpage.com

Exercises:

Write a passage about your experience that have ever happened to you in the past. (100 words)

Present Continuous Tense

We use the present continuous to show we are in the middle of an activity that is in progress at this moment. The activity started in the past and will go on in the future.

Examples: I am reading / I’m writing.

So when we use the present continuous we are talking about something that is still not yet finished or complete at the time of speaking.

The present continuous tense of any verb is formed with the simple present tense of the verb to be (= am, is and are) and the present participle of the main verb (verb + -ing)

Example:

I am eating a pie for lunch. Mike is walking out after a row with his girlfriend.

Several police are looking through a pile of papers and still haven’t found what they want.

With present continuous questions, we use: am/are/is + subject + …ing

Am I angry? What are your cats doing in my garden? Is it barking at the tree?

We use the present continuous in the following ways:

· Statement: I am shaving – we place the verb to be (am/is/are) after the subject (I).

· Negative: He is not smiling – we place not after the verb to be (am/is/are).

· Question: Are they flying kites today? – we place the verb to be (am/is/are)

before the subject (they)

We use the present continuous:

· for an action that is still happening at the time of speaking.

Example: She is cooking some meat now.

· for an action that is still going on about this time but not necessary at the time of speaking.

Example: Jack is teaching at a secondary boys’ school. (He is not actually teaching now. He may be watching television or snoring in his sleep at the moment of speaking.)

· to talk about an action that has been planned or arranged to take place at a particular time in the immediate or distant future.

Example: We are performing magic tricks on stage in two weeks.

· to describe a situation that is temporary and does not happen as usual.

Example: He is usually the hero of the film, but he is playing the role of a villain.

· for a changing or evolving situation.

Example: Pollution is causing global warming.`

· to describe a repeated action.

Example: He’s forever making comments about his mother-in-law.

· with ‘always’, ‘very often’, ‘forever’, or ‘constantly’ to describe an action that happens many times or frequently.

Example: My old car is always breaking down.

Example: She’s constantly reminding me to pay back the money I owe her.

· with time expressions such as now, at this moment, at present, in a minute, just now, today, tonight, tomorrow, nowadays, this week, next week, these days, this year.

Non-action verbs

There are verbs which are known as “non-action verbs”. These verbs do not describe actions in progress, and so are not used in the present continuous tense. They are expressed in simple present tense as they refer to states or conditions rather than actions. Non-action verbs include the followings:

Some of the above non-action verbs (in bold), however, may be used in the simple present tense and the present continuous tenses because they have different meanings.

Verbs not used in continuous tense

We use the simple present tense for some verbs which are not normally used in the present continuous tense.

The parrot belongs to my grandmother. (NOT: The parrot is belonging to my grandmother.)

She hates homework and housework. (NOT: She is hating homework and housework.)

Sue knows the secret to making good bread. (NOT: Sue is knowing the secret to making good bread.)

We understand how computers work. (NOT: We are understanding how computers work.)

I always want to participate in a bullfight. (NOT: I’m always wanting to participate in a bullfight.)

More examples of present continuous tense

I’m feeling a little better today. (experience emotion)

We are having a lot of difficulties with our new computer system. (experience something)

Mr. Oldegg is seeing a client at 2.30. (have a meeting)

They are thinking about buying a bulldog. (consider doing something)

Using present continuous for short answers

· We do not use contractions for positive short answers.

Yes, I am / Yes, we are. (NOT: Yes, I’m / Yes, we’re)

· We use contractions for negative short answers.

Is he your big brother? No, he isn’t.

· We use pronouns in answers to replace nouns.

Are those tomatoes yours? Yes, they are.

· We do not repeat the main verb in short answers.

Are you coming in? Yes, we are / No, we are not.

Do the exercises below.

Complete the sentences with one of the following verbs in the correct forms.

Come get happens look make start stay try work

1. “You ______________ hard today.” “Yes, I have a lot of things to do.”
2. I ______________ for Christine. Do you know where she is?
3. It ______________ dark. Shall I turn on the light?
4. They haven’t got anywhere to live at the moment. They ___________ with friends until they find somewhere.
5. “Are you ready, Ann?” “Yes, I __________________”
6. Have you got an umbrella? It ______________ to rain.
7. You _____________ a lot of noise. Could you be quieter? I ______________ to concentrate.
8. Why are all these people here? What __________________?

Cause close drink live open speak take place

1. Ann ______________ Germany very well.
2. I never ____________ coffee.
3. The swimming pool _____________ at 9 o’clock and ___________ at 18.30 every day.
4. Bad driving ______________ many accidents.
5. My parents _________________ in a very small flat.
6. The Olympic Games ________________ every four years.