F.1 U.6: 4 future forms

4 future forms

By Donovan Chan

Poll

Which of these can be used to talk about future activities?

• Modal verb: will

  I will be late today.

• be going to:

  I am going to go hiking.

• Present continuous tense:

  They are leaving early today.

• Simple present tense:

  This lesson ends at 11:40 a.m.

Actually... all four can be used!

4 future forms

​

• will

• be going to

• present continuous ​tense

• simple present tense​

But what are their differences?

Compare these two sentences

What's the difference?

The Hong Kong Observatory said it is going to rain tomorrow.

​be going to

I think it will rain tomorrow.

will

Multiple Choice

Which one is more likely to happen?

• I think it will rain tomorrow.

• The Hong Kong Obervatory said it is going to rain tomorrow.

something that is quite sure to happen

​The Hong Kong Observatory said it is going to rain tomorrow.

Something that is likely but not sure to happen

​I think it will rain tomorrow.

What's the difference?

See if you're correct in your guess!

What about these two sentences?

​We are going to eat at this restaurant tonight. I have made a reservation already.

​be going to

​(Open fridge) See, we don't have any bread left. I will go to the bakery to buy some later.

will​

Multiple Choice

Which of these is about an activity that is planned?

• (Open fridge) See, we don't have any bread left. I will go to the bakery to buy some later

• We are going to eat at this restaurant tonight. I have made a reservation already.

Difference between will and be going to

​We are going to eat at this restaurant tonight. I have made a reservation already.

• a plan or decision that was made before​

​(Open fridge) See, we don't have any bread left. I will go to the bakery to buy some later.

• decision made at the moment of speaking

What about these two sentences?

Some text here about the topic of discussion

We're travelling to Australia tomorrow morning! I'm so excited!

​present continuous

We are going to travel to Australia during the summer holiday! We've already booked the flights and the accommodation!

​be going to

Multiple Choice

Which of these sentences is about something that will happen in the near future?

• We're travelling to Australia tomorrow morning! I'm so excited!

• We are going to travel to Australia during the summer holiday! We've already booked the flights and the accommodation!

Difference between be going to and present continuous

Some text here about the topic of discussion

We're travelling to Australia tomorrow morning! I'm so excited!

​plans that are in the near future

We are going to travel to Australia during the summer holiday! We've already booked the flights and the accommodation!

​plans that are further in the future

How do we use present tense to talk about the future?

The lesson ends at 11:40 a.m.

The bus departs at 4:10 p.m.​

We use this to talk about future​ activities that are part of a timetable or schedule.

Some text here about the topic of discussion