English Simple Future Tense: Meaning, Rules, Examples, Practice Questions with Answers

The simple future tense talks about actions that will happen at a future point in time. In English language, it is formed with the auxiliary verb "will" followed by the base form of the main verb.

As this tense talks about the actions that will take place in future, following are the major use cases of simple future tense:

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The simple future tense, according to the Oxford Learner's Dictionary, "expresses what will happen after the present". It's used to talk about actions that will occur after the current time. For example, "I will go to the store tomorrow". Pronunciation of "will" depends on the context and can be contracted to "I'll", "he'll", etc. The word "future" itself is pronounced /ˈfjuːtʃər/ in British English.

The simple future tense in English, according to Collins Dictionary, describes an action or event that will happen in the future. It's formed using the auxiliary verb "will" followed by the base form of the main verb. For example, "I will go" or "They will play". he auxiliary verb "will" is pronounced as /wɪl/.

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The major types of simple future tense in English are: simple future, future continuous, future perfect, and future perfect continuous. All these tenses talk about actions or events that will happen in the future.

Let’s take a look at all these types in detail, with examples:

1. Simple Future: This tense tells about a future action that will happen at a specific time.

Form: Subject + will + base form of the verb.

Example: "I will go to the movie tomorrow night."

2. Future Continuous: This tense talks about an ongoing action that will be continue to happen at a specific time in the future.

Form: Subject + will be + verb-ing.

Example: "I will be studying at 9 PM tonight."

3. Future Perfect: This tense describes an event that will be completed by a specific time in the future.

Form: Subject + will have + past participle  

Example: "She will graduate the college, by the end of the year.

4. Future Perfect Continuous: This tense describes an action or event that will be in progress for a period of time by a specific time in the future.

Form: Subject + will have been + verb-ing.

Example: "By next year, I will have been working for 20 years.”

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The simple future tense describes actions that will happen in the future. It's formed by using "will" along with the base form of the verb. For example, "I will finish my project tonight".

Simple Future Tense: Structure 

Positive sentence: Subject + will + base form of the verb

Example: I will go to her house.

Negative sentence: Subject + will not (or won't) + base form of the verb

Example: I will not go (or I won't go) to her wedding.

Interrogative sentence: Will + subject + base form of the verb?

Example: Will I go to her wedding?

Structure of Simple Future Tense in English

Simple Future Tense Uses: Important Rules to Follow 

• The word "will" is the main sign that the action is happening in the future.
• The verb is used in its basic form (for example, go, eat, sleep, study) without any endings/suffix.
• Students can use contractions of ‘will’ as ‘ll’ like "I'll", "he'll", "she'll", "we'll", "they'll", and "won't" for a more informal conversation.

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In simple future tense, we generally use ‘will’+ verb, for the actions that are going to happen in future. However, at the same time, there are certain scenarios that require different tenses, including the present simple, present continuous, or even "going to" to express future actions.

Let’s take a detailed look at such special cases and exceptions: (below pointers are H3s)

Scheduled Events

In this case we use Simple Present Tense as it focuses on events that are part of a schedule or timetable, like train/flight times or events in official programs.

Example: "The flight arrives at 10:00 AM" (instead of "The flight will arrive at 10:00 AM").

Planned Personal Actions

In this scenario, Present Continuous Tense is used as it talks about personal actions that are already planned or arranged.

Example: "I am going to the theatre tonight" (instead of "I will go to the movies tonight").

Future Actions with Conditional and Time Clauses

Simple Present Tense is used in this case. It focusses on future action that is dependent on the present action. It is used in the "if" clause and the time clauses like, "when," "as soon as," "until," "before," "after")

Example: "If it rains, I will not go to the wedding”

Making Plans or Intentions

It uses "Going to" + Verb to express a plan that is already decided.

Example: "I am going to take a trip next year"

Expressing Predictions or Beliefs

Simple Future Tense is used for general predictions about the future.

Example: "I think she will come to my home tomorrow".

Formal Contexts or Suggestions

‘Shall’ rather than ‘will’ is most commonly used in more formal contexts or when making suggestions.

Example: "I shall get back to you on this by tomorrow" (formal).

Question Formation with "What"

The structure for this case is "What" + Will + Subject: When the question word is "what," it comes before "will".

Example: "What will you do tomorrow?"

Contractions

"Will" contractions including "I'll," "you'll," "he'll," "she'll," "we'll," "they'll," and "won't" are used for informal sentences and conversations.

Example:

• “I’ll come with you tomorrow”
• “I won’t be able to come tomorrow”

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Students can note down the difference between the two tenses to avoid confusion and errors:

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Another case of tenses where students get confused is Simple Future and present Continuous Tense in English grammar. Here’s the difference between the two, with examples:

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