Arsenio’s ESL Podcast: Season 4 – Episode 78 – Grammar – Advanced Future Forms

Advanced grammar for the future?! Oh, yes! You guys will be happy about this. This is the upper-intermediate version, so check out the rules, tune in and do some of these exercises down below!

Present continuous for future

We use the present continuous to talk about future arrangements; plans that have been confirmed.

Experts from around the world are meeting next month.

Present simple for future

We use the present simple to talk about the future when the action is part of a timetable or routine.

My train leaves at 9pm tomorrow.

Future continuous

We use the future continuous to talk about activities in progress at a particular time in the future. The activities are in progress and so they are unfinished.

At this time tomorrow, he’ll be flying to the US.

Future simple

We use the future perfect to talk about activities that will be finished by a certain time in the future.

I will have gone to bed by midnight.

We often use the preposition by with the future perfect. It means ‘some time before.’

Future perfect continuous

We use the future perfect continuous to talk about how long an activity will be in progress before a particular moment in the future.

By 8pm, I’ll have been revising history for five hours.

Be on the verge/point

We use be on the verge/point of to talk about something that is going to happen soon.

They are on the verge of winning the national championship.