Unit 12 future tense

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FUTURE SIMPLE

TƯƠNG LAI THƯỜNG

Prepared by Nguyen Trung Kien

Will structure

The future simple tense is composed of two parts: will/shall +

base verb Will and shall are often contracted to 'll

Affirmative form (Positive)

I + shall / will + work

we

you

he/she/it + will + work

they

1 I shall/will write her tomorrow.

2 We shall/will go shopping together during the holidays.

Will structure

Note: 'Will' is used with all persons 'Shall' can be used instead of 'will'

with I/we In modern English, particularly in American English,

'shall' with a future reference is rarely used.

Negative form

I SHALL + NOT

we /SHAN'T/ + WORK

I

you WILL + NOT

he/she/it /WON'T/

we + WORK

they

Will structure

Interrogative form (Question)

To form interrogative sentences we use will with all persons:

WILL I WORK?

we

you

WILL he/she/it WORK?

they

Will you open the window, please?

Will you do it for me?

Will structure

Note: We use shall to make offers, ask for advice or suggestions,

etc (mainly in British English)

1 Shall I close the door?

2 Shall we go to picnic tomorrow?

3 Shall I study English?

'Shall' is also used as an imperative in formal or legal written

statements:

1 The Chairman shall be present at the Company's general

meetings

2 The accused shall be present during the trial

Will the use

We use will when there is no prior plan or decision to do something

before we speak We make the decision at the time of speaking

(spontaneous decision) to volunteer to do something (the action is

decided at the moment of speaking)

Look at these examples:

 Hold on I'll get a pen

 We will see what we can do to help you

 Maybe we'll stay in and watch television tonight.

 I'll close the window.

 I'll have a cup of tea, please.

 The phone is ringing

- I'll answer it.

 - Oops, I dropped my pencil.

- I'll pick it up

In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking The decision was made at the time of speaking.

Will the use

To predict future events (for example, to say what we think or

believe will happen), we use both 'will' and 'going to' We often use will with the verb think:

 I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow

 I think I'll have a holiday next year

 I don't think I'll buy that car.

! But note that we use 'going to' (not 'will') to make predictions

about events when there is a concrete evidence:

Look at those dark clouds in the sky It is going to rain soon

Will the use

To make promises or threats

Examples:

1. I'll be there at 7 p.m., I promise.

2. I'll tell your parents what you did.

To request help or to offer help

Examples:

1 Will you please help me to do my homework?

2 That suitcase is too heavy I’ll help you

Will the use

With words and expressions such as:

probably, possibly, perhaps, (I'm) sure, (I) expect

Examples:

1. I'll probably get there by my car.

2. You must read this book I'm sure you'll like it.

3. I expect Tom will pass his exam

Will the use

To talk about consequences (with if, when, provided,

unless, as, as soon as, as long as, etc.)

Examples:

1. If it begins to rain, I'll certainly nead an umbrella.

2. She will tell him when he calls

When the main verb is be even if we talk about

planned events

Examples:

1. I'll be in Athens tomorrow.

2. I'll be at a conference next week

Will exercises

Make positive, negative and questions with the followings:

1 they / call / us

 Positive: ………

 Negative: ………

 Question: ………

2 John / dial / the number for you

 Positive: ………

 Negative: ………

 Question: ………

3 he / marry / his girlfriend

 Positive: ………

 Negative: ………

Will exercises

Will or be going to?

Rule of thumb 1

'Going to' is a kind of present tense – look at its form! – so you use it when you want to talk about a future situation that is

already connected to the present, e.g because there’s present evidence, or because a plan is already in motion:

Examples:

 I think it’s going to rain – I just felt a drop

 They’re going to retire to the country – they’ve already bought a little cottage

 In other cases, where there is no implicit or explicit connection

to the present, use will:

 The concert will be over by midnight

Will or be going to?

And/or: Rule of thumb 2:

When you’re making predictions, you can use will or going to

more or less interchangeably

Examples:

 I think it’s going to rain

 I think it will rain

When you’re expressing an intention or decision, use will if you’re making the decision as you speak; use going to if you have

already made the decision:

Examples:

Can you give me a hand?OK I’ll light the barbecue.Can you give me a hand?No, sorry I’m going to bath the baby.

Will or be going to?

 And/or Rule of Thumb 3:

To talk about the future use will This is the rule that most learners operate on Statistically, it is a safe bet Will is much more common than going to in all meanings (prediction and intention) and all

registers (conversation and writing) In fact, will is the most common modal verb in English Future meaning is more often expressed by will than any other form So, when in doubt, use will (These facts come

from the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English which is based on a 40-million word corpus of spoken and written text).

 And/or Rule of Thumb 4:

Use will in writing and going to in speaking While this is not as reliable

as Rule of Thumb 3, it is supported by corpus evidence Going to is

most common in conversation (although never as common as will),

and more common in American than British conversation It is

relatively infrequent in written English.

fin