Ways of expressing future in English ─ How Vietnamese learners learn and use them effectively

Ways of expressing future in English ─ How Vietnamese learners learn and use them effectively 1. RationaleTime plays a key part in humans’ language: “Humans conceive time in terms of space, as shown by the language that we use to talk about temporal relations: we habitually speak of stretching out or compressing an activity heading toward the future, returning the past and so on” (Whorf, 1956).And “Time and space are the basic categories of our experience and our cognition, and without efficient communication about them, no wellcoordinated collective action, hence no human society, would be impossible” (Wolfgang Klein, 1994).Until now, there have been many research topics about time expression in English as well as in Vietnamese. However, the topic Ways of expressing future in English ─ How Vietnamese learners learn and use them effectively focuses on studying future express in English then study how learn and use them effectively. This topic is carried out with the following reasons: Some people want to study a foreign language because they think it offers a chance for advancement in their profession. Some study a foreign language because they want to know more about the people who speak that language. Some people do it just for fun etc. There are students who study a language because they have an idea of something that they wish to achieve, or just because it’s a compulsory subject etc. Such reasons might somewhat influence the learning styles or strategies. Whatever purposes the learners have, knowledge of the target language or the second language clearly shows the interference from the mother tongue. In other words, the second language learners already know a first language, whereas the mother tongue children start with zero state. The mother tongue children progress from an initial state of knowing nothing but their innate quality or ability to a final state of knowing everything about a particular language (the second language). Adults learning the second language posses competence in their mother

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Time plays a key part in humans’ language: “Humans conceive time in terms

of space, as shown by the language that we use to talk about temporal relations: wehabitually speak of stretching out or compressing an activity heading toward thefuture, returning the past and so on” (Whorf, 1956)

And “Time and space are the basic categories of our experience and ourcognition, and without efficient communication about them, no well-coordinatedcollective action, hence no human society, would be impossible” (WolfgangKlein, 1994)

Until now, there have been many research topics about time expression in

English as well as in Vietnamese However, the topic Ways of expressing future in English ─ How Vietnamese learners learn and use them effectively focuses on

studying future express in English then study how learn and use them effectively.This topic is carried out with the following reasons:

Some people want to study a foreign language because they think it offers achance for advancement in their profession Some study a foreign language becausethey want to know more about the people who speak that language Some people do

it just for fun etc There are students who study a language because they have anidea of something that they wish to achieve, or just because it’s a compulsorysubject etc Such reasons might somewhat influence the learning styles or strategies.Whatever purposes the learners have, knowledge of the target language or thesecond language clearly shows the interference from the mother tongue

In other words, the second language learners already know a first language,whereas the mother tongue children start with zero state The mother tonguechildren progress from an initial state of knowing nothing but their innate quality orability to a final state of knowing everything about a particular language (the secondlanguage) Adults learning the second language posses competence in their mother

tongue Learned knowledge may increase with age So, in some ways the secondlanguage learners are better prepared for language learning

Theoretically, there exist many research works on future expression inEnglish with typical research such as Pence R.W.,Emery D.W (2005), RandolphQirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffreey Leech, Jan Svartvirk (1985 ), B.Ilyish (1965),Roderick A Jacops (1995), Pence R.W., Emery D.W (2005), Wekker H Chr.(1976), Nehls D (1988) These researchers studied future expression on English inrelationship with time expression in English

Through this topic, it is always hopeful that this thesis will be helpful toEnglish learners in their studying The thesis will help the Vietnamese learners ofEnglish overcome difficulties and errors by mentioning information involvingfuture expression on English

2 Aims of the study

The study Ways of expressing future in English  How Vietnamese learners learn and use them effectively attempts to:

- Give an overview of English time expression

- Give an detail on future expression on English

- How Vietnamese learners learn and use them effectively

4 Methods of the study

This thesis uses the following methods:

Firstly, the descriptive method is used to explain and prove an overview oftime expression in English and the ways of expressing future in English

Secondly, the contrastive analysis method is used to analyze howVietnamese learners learn and use the ways of expressing future in Englisheffectively.

Many materials used in this thesis statement are collected from books,journals, newspapers in English, English novels, etc

5 Design of the study

With the aims and the methods mentioned above, this paper is designed inthree parts focusing on the followings:

Part A is the introduction, presenting the rationale for choosing this topic,starting the aims of the study, the scope of the study and providing the methods to

be applied in the study

Part B is the development divided into three main chapters:

Chapter I refers to the literature review of time expression in English.This chapter attempted to point out an overview of time expression in English (twotenses are used to express the present, six tenses used to express the past and morethan 7 ways are used to express the future

Chapter II offers the ways of expressing the future in English Allinformation about ways of expressing the future in English are mentioned in thischapter We can use seven tenses (present continuous tense, simple present tense, begoing to form, simple future tense, future continuous tense, and perfect continuoustense) and some other ways to express the future in English

Chapter III is the major chapter, focusing on how Vietnamese learnerslearn and use the ways of expressing future in English effectively With via thecontrastive method were used to point out some difficulties learners meet and giveout some suggestions to overcome these difficulties

Part C is the conclusion, giving all brief results of all the above sections.References and Appendix come at the end of the thesis

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

***

CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW

In order to understand ways of expressing the future in English and howVietnamese learners learn and use them effectively, it is necessary to have a broadcontext regarding time expression in English Therefore, this chapter deals withtime expression in English It covers how to talk about the present, the past, and thefuture in English

1.1 An overview of time expression and tense in English.

According to linguists, time is the universal category in any particular

language It is considered under two different points of view: (1) Grammatical: Time is a grammatical concept which is reflect in verbs; and (2) semantic: time is

shown in specific situations: state, event, action, speech…Most languages haveways to refer to time Situations are located in time for when we are making anutterance, we may need to indicate whether we are referring to a situation whichhappens now, happened in the past or is likely to happen in the future The point in

time that an utterance relates to is usually shown buy the verb group called tense.

According to Roderick A J (1995: 187), tense is the grammatical marking

on verbs that usually indicates time reference relative to either the time at which some other situation was in force When we deal with tense, we’re dealing with actual language forms used to represent time reference notions, and time reference, unlike tense and aspect, has to do with meaning rather than form Languages needs ways to refer to time Events and situations are located in time, perhaps prior to our speaking about them, perhaps while we are speaking about them, perhaps at some later time.

Besides, …Tense is a way of expressing events as occurring at points

situated along the linear flow of time Within the linear flow, a point of reference must be established, with respect to which past events precede and future events follow The normal, universal and unmarked point of reference is the moment of speaking -speech time It can be diagrammed as follows:

_ ●

Past Now Future

Speech timeThe present moment

(Angela Downing & Philip Locke, 1995: 354)Further more, we may also need to locate situations relating to some otherreference point, for example:

Have you a moment? I want to ask you something

Have you a moment? I wanted to ask you something.

Here, the choice of present or past tense depends on the speaker’s attitude.The present tense is more direct The past tense is more distant It makes the requestmore tentative and polite (Eastwood J., 1994: 78)

With the above- mentioned, we can see that time is shown by means of thecategory of tense Tense is any forms of a verb that may be used to indicate the time

of the action or the state expressed by the verb English has category of tense, and

… Tense can be defined as the linguistic expression of time relations whenthese are realized by verb forms Time is independent of language, and is common

to all human beings… (Angela D & Philip L., 1995:353)

1.2 The meaning of Aspect

Aspect is concerned with the internal character of the event as it is presented

by the speaker; it focuses on such contrasts as durative (extending in time) or

non-durative , whether the event is seen in its initial stage or its final stage, whether itscompleted or uncompleted.

It is important to differentiate the notion of tense from that of aspect:

“Tense locates situation on time… Aspect is not concerned withrelating the time, but rather with the internal constituency of the one situation; onecould state the difference as one between situation- in eternal time (aspect) andsituation- external time (tense)” (Corie, 1976 )

The difference between the meaning of tense and aspect can be exemplified

by the sentences: She played tennis yesterday afternoon and she was playing tennis

when I came yesterday afternoon (Cammie McGovern., 2002: 20) These two

sentences posses the same tense, past tense However, while in the first sentence,the meaning relates to the complete event of her playing happening yesterdayafternoon, with no attention being paid to the internal situation of playing, in thesecond sentence, the information of the situation- playing- is of attention, namely,that when I came yesterday afternoon, she was in the middle of playing tennis

1.3 Mood

According to Corie, 1976 , the term mood is traditionally applied to systems

of syntactic contrast whose primary semantic function has to do with the level of thespeaker’s assurance in the

factuality of what he is saying There is a most common point of view that modernEnglish has indicative, subjunctive, and imperative mood

1.3.1 Indicative Mood

Indicative mood presents predication as reality The predication does notneed to be true but the speaker presents it as being so It is not relevant for thepurpose of our grammatical analysis to account for the ultimate truth or untruth of astatement with its predicate expressed by a verb The form of the verb of Indicativemood is used in declarative sentences or in questions

1.3.2 Imperative Mood

The imperative mood serves to express request which in different contextsmay range from categorical order or command or entreaties Imperative mood isused only in the second person singular and plural The imperative mood can takeover the function of the subjunctive mood

1.3.3 Subjunctive mood

The formal mark of the subjunctive is the absence of inflection for the thirdperson singular except in the verb to be, where it has full conjugation In ModernEnglish the subjunctive is almost out of use except a few well- established phrasessuch as:

Long live peace and friendship among nations!

( Jeff C., Stacy M., 2003:270)

1.4 An overview of English tenses

From the above points of view, it is clear that time and tense are differentbut they have relationship with each other, and we can use tenses to express time inEnglish But how to express time with tenses?

Many English learners worry too much about tense If you stopped 100native speakers in the street and asked them about tense, one of them might you anintelligent answer if you were lucky The other 99 would know little about terms

like past perfect or present continuous And they would know nothing about

aspect, voice and mood

(http://www.vns.edu.vn/vns/contents/view/175/177/lang,en/,1st , May 2010)Even to the native speakers, tense is very poorly understood like this Up tonow, after hundred years of investigation and research by students of meaning,grammar, logic, and philosophy toward understanding tense, it remains the case that

of the many accounts which have been given of it ( Robert I B, 1991) But nobodycan deny the role of tenses in time expression in English

According to Hornby A.S (1960: 83), “the word tense stands for a verb

form or series of verb forms used to express a time relation Tense vary in different languages Tenses may also indicate whether an action, activity, or progress over a period of time”.

In Stanley J C, Richard W S, William A T’s opinions (1980: 47), “tensesrefer to the forms that verbs take in order to communicate information Usually, thisinformation relates to time” They also give an illustrated example:

For examples, the form of the verb ‘trim’ in the sentence ‘Sandra trimmed that tree’ indicates that the action of trimming was completed in the past The verb form ‘trim’ in ‘her father trims trees’, however, shows that the act of trimming occurs repeatedly in time, as

it might if her father were a professional tree- trimmer.

From the above grammarians’ points of view, tense plays an important role

in time expression in English However, if we want to use tenses to express time,what we have to do? The following part is to discuss English tenses in details

According to Angela D and Philip L (1992), there are three main timesthat we use tenses to convey information: the present, the past, and the future Verbstenses are used to express the relationship between time and other factors so that wecan tell if an action is still in progress (present), completed (past), or whether thesentence states a prediction of future actions or event (future)

And in English, we use two tenses to talk about the present and six tenses totalk about the past They are several ways to talk about the future

1.4.1 Present time

According to Angela Downing and Philip Locke, (1992), there are twomain tenses which are used to talk about present time They are the simple presenttense and the present continuous or progressive tense

1.4.1.1 Simple present Tense

First, as its name implies, simple present tense indicates actions occurring inthe present Let’s see the following examples,

The moon is full tonight. (Patricia M., 2001: 79)Next, the simple present tense can be also used for statements generallyregarded as true, regardless of time (something happens all the time or is true ingeneral), for instance:

The moon travels around the earth and the earth and moon together around the sun. (Chautauqua, 1896: 79)

Then, the simple present also indicates habitual, repeated, customary orpermanent actions or conditions, for example:

I drink one cup of coffee in the morning and one at night…enough to keep me awake for a little while (Walter C R., 1929: 130)

The post office is open at seven in the morning and shuts at 6 in the evening ( Goby and Thomas H, 1815: 250)

Last, the simple present tense narrates single events (quoting from books,notices, letters, formal declaration, proclamations, and concise announcement of ascheduled event, demonstrations, sports commentaries) Let’s see the followingexample:

And the batter hits the ball into the outfield for another home run for the Yankees. (Andrea D., 2008: 169)

1.4.1.2 Present continuous tense

In English, the present continuous tense in used in the following situations:Firstly, the present continuous is used in situations that are temporary foraction happening exactly now, for example:

She is eating her lunch, struggling with some applesauce.

(Camie M, 2002: 17)

Besides, it is also used in situations that are temporary for action happeningaround now: the action may not be happening exactly now, but it is happening justbefore and just after now, and it is not permanent or habitual, for instance:

When Paul gets home at six, I am sitting at the kitchen table trying to convince myself that I am awake.

(Susan B, 2000: 130)Secondly, the present continuous tense is also used when we describetemporary habit or repeated activity Following sentence is illustrated example:

These days all I’m hearing are good reports about you and the part.

1.4.2 Past Time

There exist six tenses to talk about the past in English They are simple pasttense; past continuous tense; present perfect tense; past perfect tense; present perfectcontinuous tense and past perfect continuous tense

1.4.2.1 Simple past tense

First, we use the simple past tense to talk about state or event that happened

in the past and in completed or finished, for instance:

I called her this morning to remind her (Robb J D., 2006:15)

Next, the simple past tense is used to talk about an event with duration thatapplied in the implication that it no longer applies in the present Let see thefollowing example:

He was in the army for 4 years and served in Vietnam He now owns his own leather shop, the “PIKES PEAK SADDLERY’ in Colorado Springs (Robert L W.& Margaret A G W., 1988: 43)

Then, we also use the simple past tense to talk about habitual or repeatedactions in the past, for example:

He went to Pilgrimage many times (Attarde I P., 2007: 257)

Last, the simple past tense is used to narrate successive actions or events.Look at the following examples:

At first, German troops defeated Russian soldiers, captured many towns and advanced deep into Russian Then in 1942 and 1943, the Russian army struck back and started to drive the Germans out of Russian An army consisting of American, Canadian, British and other allied troops invaded France.

(Alan E & Thelma B., 2004: 100).

The old lady pulled her spectacles down and looked around the room, then she put them up and looked out under them (Mark T., 1992: 2)

1.4.2.2 Past continuous tense

The most common use of the past continuous tense is talk about somethingthat was happening around a particular time in the past, for example:

What were you doing from 8 to 9 o’clock last night? – I was watching

TV (Robert L A, 1996: 2008)

Besides, we can use the past continuous and the past simple tense together.When this happens, the past continuous describes a longer, background action orsituation and the past simple describes the action or events, for example:

When I woke up this morning, it was raining and my cat was singing

in the kitchen (Henry A S, 2007: 65)

Last but not least, he past continuous is also used to talk about gradualdevelopment Let’s see the following example:

The sun is rising (Susan B., 2000: 120)

1.4.2.3 Present perfect tense

Firstly, the present perfect tense describes a situation that begun in the pastand that continues into the present, for instance:

My mother has wanted to visit India when she was a little girl.

(Jeff C M., 2003: 96)

Secondly, the present perfect tense is used for the action happened beforenow whose time is not definite, for example:

I have read the instruction, but I don’t understand it.

Thirdly, despite its name, the present perfect tense normally does not refer

to actions occurring in the present Instead, it most often refers to action completed

in the past that have results or consequences in the present time Look at thefollowing examples:

Perhaps, the lift has broken down, or the door handle has fallen off and you can’t open the door (Kelvin O, 2004: 199)

Stan has broken his leg, so he can not go on the ski trip with us.

(Jeff C, Stacy M, 2003: 96)

Fourthly, the present tense is used for the action happened before now, but

it could be repeated in the present or future time, for example:

I have read that book several times, and it made impression on me which no other book ever did (Church, M., 1843: 94)

1.4.2.4 Past perfect tense

First, the past perfect tense is used for an action completed in the past prior

to some other past event, for instance:

The building had burnt completed by the time the fire department arrived (Sarah S T, 2004: 206)

Next, we use the past perfect tense for an action or stare that occupied oroccurred in duration of time before the second action happened in the past, forinstance:

She had studied English for 6 years before he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the age 33, where he lived with another Costa Rican couple (Suansanm G, Larry S, 2001:334)

And, the past perfect tense is used for recent past action with results in thepresent, for example:

Tom had had a bad crash (Jeff C, Stacy M, 2003: 96)

1.4.2.5 Present perfect continuous tense

Firstly, we use the present perfect continuous tense for temporary state orevent or action leading up to the present time, for instance:

I have been reading this book for 2 hours ( I am still reading now).

Secondly, the present perfect continuous tense is used for temporary habitleading up to the present time Look at the following examples:

She has been taking swimming lessons since last month

I have been playing chess, collecting, and reading chess books for 3 weeks.

(Association for the Advancement of Psychotherapy, 1971:309)Thirdly, the present continuous tense is used for temporary action withpresent result, for example:

You don’t understand because you haven’t been listening carefully

(Dawson J L., 1995: 443)

1.4.2.6 Past perfect continuous tense

First, we use the past perfect continuous tense for an action or habit takingplace over a period of time in the past prior to some other past events, for instance:

Lan started waiting at 9 a m I arrived at 11 a.m When I arrived, Lan had been waiting for two hours ( Otto J., 1933:27)

Second, the past perfect continuous tense is used for a past action that is inprogress gets interrupted by another past action Let see the following example:

We had been planning to vacation in Vung Tau but changed our minds when so much of it got badly flooded (Clara P B, 1976: 181)

Briefly, in this part, six tenses namely simple past tense, past continuoustense, present perfect tense, past perfect tense, present perfect continuous tense, andpast perfect continuous tense are introduced to express the past in English timeexpression

1.4.3 Future time

This paper focuses on ways of expressing future in English and howVietnamese learners learn and use them effectively, so in this part, we will talk

about some main and other expressions of future in English, they will be detailed inthe next chapter.

According to Betty S A., 1999, there are seven tenses that are used toexpress the future in English They are simple present tense; present continuous

tense; be going to + Infinitive; simple future tense; future continuous tense; future

perfect tense; future perfect continuous

When we talk about plans which are arranged for a particular time in thefuture, we use the present continuous tense

The simple present tense is used to express timetables, programmes, andfixed plans

The structure be going to + Infinitive is used to talk about intention that

already decided in near future, and prediction future

We use the simple future tense for a statement or future fact, intention ordecision to do something at the moment of speaking, willingness to do or not to dosomething in the future

When we want to express an action or state which starts before a point oftime and will probably continuous, or to express the future action without intention,

or to describe what we assume someone else is doing at this moment, we use thefuture continuous tense

The future perfect tense is used to talk about something will be completedwhen considering from a point in the future

We use the future perfect continuous tense to show the duration of anactivity or state, or to describe an activity leading up to a time in the future

There still exist some other ways to express the future in English by using

the structures to be to + Infinitive (to express an action will be formed), to be due

to + Infinitive (to express arrangements), to be about to + Infinitive (to refer to

something that will happen very soon), to be on the point of + gerund or noun (to

refer to something that will happen in the very immediate future); or using some

certain verbs like plan, decide, hope, propose; or using subjunctive mood; or using modal verbs ( may, might, can, could, should)…

However, a detailed discussion of the ways of expressing future in Englishwill be discussed in chapter II

1.5 Summary

This chapter attempted to point out an overview of time expression inEnglish (two tenses are used to express the present, six tenses used to express thepast and more than 7 ways are used to express the future) Some general as well asdetailed information are mentioned in this chapter These are basic sources to carryout a study on the ways of expressing future in English and How Vietnameselearners learn and use them effectively Ways of expressing the future in Englishwill be mentioned in chapter II in details, and how Vietnamese learners learn anduse them effectively will be presented in chapter III

CHAPTER II: WAYS OF EXPRESSING THE

English has different forms of expressing the future: be going to, will and

shall, present tense forms, be to, be about to, I’m sure that…, I hope that…, It is possible to do…, It is likely that…

These verb forms can express intentions, choices, decisions, plans,

schedules, promises, expectations, and predictions In most cases, these forms are

very close in meaning Sometimes the future form we choose can make what we saysound more formal or less formal, more immediate or less immediate (Bland S K,1996: 75)

Quirk R et al (1985) and Leech G (1987) regard the five most frequently

used expressions of future time in English as being will, be going to, the present progressive tense, the simple present tense and will + progressive infinitive Swan (1995) adds be about to and be to and Nehls (1988) states that all modal

auxiliaries, as well as hope, expect and promise, can also be used to express future

time

From the above category, in this chapter, the main ways of expressing the

future time in English will be presented They are be going to + infinitive; present

continuous tense; simple present tense; simple future tense; future continuous tense;future perfect tense; future perfect continuous tense; and some other ways

2.1 Be going to form

This is a common way of expressing future time

I called my aunt last night and I’m going to see my parents on Saturday. (Water H, Arthur W, 1906: 7403)

However, be going to also has other uses:

Firstly, we use be going to form to express a prediction based on a present

situation or the speaker’s certainty, for instances:

I think I am going to sick anyway I felt my throat close as if I had gulped back-tasting medicine (Kim G, 2004: 159)

At present, I felt my throat close so in the future I might be sick.

Secondly, we also use this structure to express the speaker’s intention Let’ssee the following examples:

He’s going to buy protection for some one against his death, and he

is going to pay for it (Water H.& Arthur W., 1906: 7403)

The action buy protection and pay for it is decided before near future.

2.2 Present continuous tense

We use the present continuous tense to talk about plans that are arranged for

a particular time in the future

This construction is used very often with verbs of movements such as come,

go, leave, arrive, start, travel, drive, and fly…, for example:

A: What time is Cathy arriving tomorrow?

B: At 10.30 I’m meeting her at the station (Raymond M., 2004: 38)

It is used with verbs of state and condition, for instance:

My parents are staying with me for the weekend

Nick is laughing at Jackie’s silly jokes (Ramsamooj V G., 2000: 43)

Besides, this construction is also used with other verbs Look at thefollowing examples:

I’m bringing the apple for dinner.

I’ m meeting Charlotte for lunch tomorrow.

(Debra P.; Sheila D., Steve E & Elaine W., 2008)Actions in above examples are arranged for a particular time, such as

tomorrow, next week, for the weekend…

2.3 Simple present tense

First, we use the simple present tense when we talk bout timetables,

programmes etc (for example, for public transport, cinemas, etc.), for instance:

Our train leaves at 8 am over Southern Pacific’s famous ‘Shasta’ route through rugged mountain for Portland.

( Atchison T & Santa F Railway Company, 1928: 48)What time the train leaves or the film begins are timetables

Second, we can use the simple present tense for people if their plans arefixed like a timetable, for instance:

I begin my work at Swan Laundry on Monday

(George W & Bill S., 1999: 56)

Tom and I get married at three o’clock in St Mary’s Church on Saturday (Julie A., 2008: 259)

2.4 Simple future tense

First, the simple future tense is used for a statement of future fact This can

be certain fact or uncertain fact Look at the following examples:

They will strike their blow tomorrow evening end, conquerors or conquered They’ll be here on Monday morning (actions happened

as certain facts.) (American periodicals, 1858: 398)

I believe it’ll rain tomorrow but I also know I might be wrong.

(uncertain fact) (John Ester, 1899: 398)Secondly, we can use the simple future tense to show an intention ordecision to do something at the moment of speaking, for example:

Just wait a minute until I can get down there, and I’ll open the door for you (Making of America project, 1906: 2000)

I’ m hungry! I will get up and get something to eat

(David P., 2000:715)

All actions open the door and get up, get something to eat are intended or

decided to do at the moment of speaking

Thirdly, the simple future tense is used to show willingness to do or not dosomething in the future (often as a promise or a threat), for example:

When I leave, I will give your woman servant a chocolate and if you give me two florins, I will buy you a book and your servant can come and fetch it at my place (a promise) (Mai F M., 2007:128)

But I give him a warning that, if he doesn’t pass this in the book we are now together, I will never speak to him again ( a threat).

(Genevieve W & Richard W., 1918: 59)Besides, the simple future tense can be used in request Look at thefollowing example:

Will you do something for me? (Betty S A,, 1999: 53)

Lastly, we can use negative of Will: “Won’t” in invitation.

A: Won’t you sit down?

B: Oh, I have to go now. (Raymond M, 2004: 38)

When we can’t decide, we use Shall I/ Shall we to ask for advice or

suggestions

A: What will I do after you leave?

B: You can prepare the dinner I will be right back

(Betty S A, 1999: 56)

2.5 Future continuous tense

First, the future continuous tense is normally used with a point of time in thefuture and express an action or state which starts before that time and will probablycontinue after it, for example:

I will begin to study at seven You will come at eight I will be studying when you come (James A M., 1991:193)

Second, we use the future continuous tense to express the future actionwithout intention Let’s see the following examples:

A: Oh dear, I haven’t given Bathy that book back.

B: That’s all right I’ll be seeing him at the music club tonight so I’ll give it to him for you (Bernard C, 1985:72)

Stand there, they will be changing the guard in a minute and you will get a good view (Gordon W, 2003:32)

We also use the future continuous tense to describe what we assumesomeone else is doing at this moment

Don’t phone her now It’s 4 o’clock and she’ll be collecting the

children from school

(Rodney, D H., 1988:192)

2.6 Future perfect tense

The future perfect tense express an activity that will be completed beforeanother time or event in the future (Note : by the time introduces a time clause; thesimple present is used in a time clause) Let’s see the following examples:

By the end of next month, he will have lived here for 10 years.

(Otto J., 1933: 52)

I will have finished my homework by the time I go out on a date tonight Betty S A, 1999: 62)

2.7 Future perfect continuous tense

We use the future perfect continuous tense with for to talk about the duration

of an activity or state up to a time in the future

By the course ends, I will have been studying English for ten months.

(Lin L & Lynn L., 2002:156)Besides, we also use the future perfect continuous to describe an activityleading up to a time in the future

Because members will have been working hard, the last 15 to 30 minutes should be spent in some way that is reinforcing This should

be in the form of refreshments and a game.

(Richard A W & Vincent J G., 1990: 532)

2.8 Others ways to express the future

According to Betty S A., 1999, apart from the above expression, there arestill several ways used to express future time in English as follows:

2.8.1 To be to/ be due to/ about to/ on the point of/ be sure to or be bound to

a To be to + Infinitive

We use this structure to express an action will be formed, because of therequirement, responsibility, an order or a plan, for example:

Next week, the Prime Minister is to go to Europe.

We are to get ten percent wage rise in June.

(Rachel G., Rosemary A., Toni J., 1998:68)

c On the point of + Gerund or Noun:

We use this structure to refer to something in the immediate future

It is understood that the Chancellor is on the point of announcing his resignation. (Lin L & Lynn L., 2002:132)

d To be about to + Infinitive:

This structure can be used to express the immediate future

They are about to leave (= they are on the point of leaving).

They seem to be about to do something that they are not pleased to

do (Otto J., 1993:35)

e Be sure to / Be bound to + Infinitive

These structures are used to indicate certainly that something will certainlyhappen in the future, for example:

John is sure to arrive soon (Bernard C., 1985:87)

He is bound to secure his own salvation He is bound to provide for his family (Timothy D., Serrano E D.,1836:380)

2.8.2 Certain Verbs + to –infinitive

In English, particularly in written English, we can also use some of verbsthat refer to the future, instead of a future form These verbs are used to expressintentions and plans for the future

We plan/ intend/ decide/ hope/ propose/ arrange to build a new green tree park here.

2.8.3 Subjunctive mood

Firstly, the subjunctive mood is used for conditions contrary to fact Acondition that cannot be true is known as a condition contrary to fact, for example:

If I were ten year younger, I would remarry (Eugene H E :47)

The present of a condition is signaled by the condition If because the condition is contrary to fact the subjunctive mood were is used.

Secondly, the subjunctive mood is used in that clause Clauses introduces

by that or clauses in which that is implied frequently express wishes,

recommendations, demands , orders, formal motions, or parliamentary resolutions.Consider the following sentences:

I wish that I were Prime Minister (Recommendation)

We ask only that the guiltiest be punished (an order)

(Eugene H E.,1997: 48)

In that clauses, the pronoun that can be omitted from the first three of the

preceding sentences without changing meaning and without altering the require foremploying the subjunctive mood

Thirdly, the subjunctive mood is used for idiomatic expressions TheEnglish language has certain constructions that remain fixed in the subjunctive

mood These idiomatic constructions include: be it said, come what may, God bless you, far be it from me, and suffice it to say.

She must be here by now.

Second, might or may is used to express an opinion that we think has agood possibility of being true Let’s see this sentence:

He might come this morning.

Third, we use could to express possibility which is one of many This form

is not as strong as might or may It is just one of a number of possibilities.

Mary could arrive late.

Fourth, can’t is used to express an opinion that we are 100 sure that it is nottrue Look at following example:

She can’t be serious.

Besides, we can use ought to, should and shouldn’t to give advice and give

recommendations

You ought to learn harder.

Last, we use had better to express intention and give advice Consider two

sentences below:

He had better give up smoking.

He is not feeling well He had better not go out.

2.8.5 Future expression in time clauses

According to Betty S A., 1999 First, a time clause begins with such words as

when, before, after, as soon as, until, while, and includes a subject and a verb The

time clause can come either at the beginning of the sentences or in the second part

of the sentence Some times the present progressive is used in a time clause toexpress an activity that will be in progress in the future, for instance:

While I am traveling in Europe next year, I’m going to save money by staying in youth hostels.

Occasionally, the present perfect is used in a time clause It emphasizes thecompletion of the act before the other act occurs in the future, for instance:

I will go to bed after I have finished my work (Betty S A., 1999: 55)

2.8.6 Future expression in complex sentences

According to Betty S A., 1999, there is a future time relation between thetense in the main clause and the tense in the subordinated clause in a complexsentence (All following examples are from this book.)

Firstly, when the tense in the main clause is in present tense, we can use thefuture tense in the subordinate clause to show an action that is to come, forexample:

She is studying hard now because there will be an exam soon.

Secondly, when the tense in the main clause is in the future tense, we use apresent tense in the subordinate clause to show an action of the same time Look atthe following example:

She will study harder even though she has so many chores to do.

Besides, we can also use a present perfect tense in the subordinate clause toshow an action that will happen before the main action Let’s see the followingexample:

There will still be other minor adjustment to do even though they

have completed the main task.

Lastly, when the tense in the main clause is in the future perfect tense, wecan use the present tense or present perfect tense in the subordinate clause to

By the time he contacts her, she will have sprouted leaves in her hair The candidates will have undergone 10 interviews by the time they have succeeded in the preliminary stage.

In general, we have more than seven ways to express the future in English

We can base on the context and the purpose of statements to choose an appropriateway

to/ to be due to/ to be sure to…, certain verbs like hope, plan., intend, propose…,

subjunctive mood, modal verbs such as (may, might, can, could, should…) to

express the future in English There will be a basic source for the next chapter inorder to know how Vietnamese learners learn and use the ways of expression thefuture form in English effectively

CHAPTER III: HOW VIETNAMESE LEARNERS LEARN AND USE THE WAYS OF EXPRESSING

FUTURE IN ENGLISH effectively

In order to fulfill the aim of the thesis, this chapter deals with the study ofthe thesis, the methodology, data analysis to find out the difficulties and suggested

to overcome these difficulties

3.1 Survey

3.1.1 Questionnaire

To get the information from the subjects, a questionnaire was designed with

2 exercises including exercise I with filling 15 gaps with appropriate verb tense and

9 multiple choice answers in exercise II (see Appendix)

Exercise I is filling gaps with appropriate verb tense, focuses on typicalerrors often made by students depend on the similarities and differences betweentheir mother tongue (Vietnamese) and English to give appropriate verb tenses ingiven sentences The purpose for making this exercise is to find out the difficultieswhen learning English tenses, then we will have method of teaching and learningthem effectively

Exercise II is nine multiple-choice answers This exercise focuses on howmaster the students’ understandings about English future expressions, respondentswere asked to circle the best answer for each sentence They also include differentexpressions of the future in English

_ Question 1 focuses on the expression of the simple future in Englishrealized on the prediction

_ Question 2 aims at the expressing of the simple future and the presentcontinuous tense in their future meaning

_ Question 3 identifies the differences between the expressing future of thesimple present tense and the simple future

_ Question 4 and 5 help to identify the usage of be going to to express the

future in English when the speaker is expressing a prior plan

_ Question 6 and 7 require the right verb tense going with the speaker’swillingness to express the future meaning in English.

_ Question 8 and 9 are to investigate students’ desire for method of teachingEnglish tense

3.1.2 Subject

100 students participated in this study A case of study of first-year students(50 students) at Hanoi Open University (HOU) and students at Language LinkCenter (50 students) They are at pre-intermediate level of English

3.1.3 Procedure

In order to elicit well-founded data collection to make some reliableconclusion, a survey questionnaire was formulated with the help of 100 first- yearstudents of faculty of English and modern languages at HOU

The questionnaire was copied and given to each student in March, 2010 Theprocess of giving questionnaire to right students selected was not easy because thestudents learned in different classes It took a week to collect 100 responses

3.2 Results

The questionnaires collected from the informants were listed and classified

in the table as follows:

The table 3.1 aims to identify how students use verb tense (See in the nextpage)

Table 3.1: How students use verb tense

Blank/

Verbs

Students’ usage (%)Present

continuous

Future(begoingto)

Simplefuture

Presenttense

Othertense

Wrong Omitted

Table 3.2: How students master other expressions of future in English

As the table shown , the errors to reach a peak of percentage are errors in

confusing the different expressions of future in English between be going to form

and the other expressions( 80% in no 2 and no 4) The errors in wrong choice ofsimple present with other expressions of future are 70% in no.5 and no.6

Another significant discovery is that 21% of the informants think that theteachers themselves should provide the explanation; on the contrary, 27% of themconfirm that students should explain the tense and the rest 52% prefer both theteacher and students should do so

3.3 Finding and analysis

Through the above results, we have finding and analysis as follows:

The table 3.1 indicates how students use verb tense (see in the next page).General results are shown in table 3.1 Most students tend to use the simplefuture

In gap (1), the expected tense is the present continuous Here, the speakerthinks that his friend has already arranged what to do for next week It may be

considered as a planned future event 35% students used Will future form Perhaps they see the time adverb next week When talking about what one has arranged to

do, present continuous is preferred Only a few students (25 %) did it correctly

Gap (2) with the verb think, in this case it is an action verb Here the verb

think means decide So, the present continuous tense is expected to use There is a

positive sign that more than half of the students recognized this (53 %)

Gap (3) is same as gap (1)

Table 3.1: How students use verb tense

Blank/

Verbs

Students’ usage (%)

Presentcontinuous

Future(begoingto)

Simplefuture

Presenttense

Othertense Wrong Omitted