Introduction
Future continuous tense is used to denote an action that will happen in future and is expected to continue till a particular period time. It is also known to be future progressive tense.
Structure of the Future Continuous Tense
| Subject + Helping verbs (will + be) + present participle form of the verb + the rest of the sentence |
In the table given below, the structure of the future continuous tense as per the type of sentences –
| Types of sentence | Rule | Examples |
| Positive | Subject + Helping verb (will + be) + Past participle form of the verb + the rest of the sentence | 1. I will be writing a book. 2. They will be playing in the garden. 3. It will be raining tomorrow. |
| Negative | Subject + Will not be/Won’t be + Past participle form of the verb + the rest of the sentence | 1. I will not be writing a book. 2. They won’t be playing in the garden. 3. It will not be raining tomorrow. |
| Interrogative | Will + Subject + Be + Past participle form of the verb + the rest of the sentence | 1. Will I be writing a book? 2. Will they be playing in the garden? 3. Will it be raining tomorrow? |
| Negative Interrogative | Will + Subject + not + be + Past participle form of the verb + the rest of the sentence (or) Won’t + Subject + be + Past participle form of the verb + the rest of the sentence | 1. Will I not be writing a book? 2. Will I not be playing in the garden? 3. Will it not be raining tomorrow? |
Application of the Future Continuous Tense
The future Continuous Tense is majorly used in five scenarios. In the table below, each scenario is explained well with an example:
| Scenarios | Examples |
| Highlighting about an action that will take place over a period of time rather than all at once | 1. He will be travelling across the country for the next few days. 2. We will be hosting guests during Christmas vacations. 3. The host will be announcing the winners of the reality show at 9 p.m on Sunday. |
| For comparison between the present and the future | 1. This time next week, they will be leaving to New York for further studies. 2. He might not be popular now, but he will be having many followers in the future. 3. The portal is having many technical issues currently but engineers will be resolving it over the weekend. |
| To highlight multiple actions that will happen at a particular time | 1. I will be leaving for work at 10 a.m, so I can drop her off at school as well. 2. Shalu told me that she cannot come to the party tomorrow because she will be travelling to her native place. 3. While I will be busy with my prayers, she will be watching TV. |
| To mention interrupted action yet to happen in future | 1. We will be watching movie when he arrives today. 2. I will be seeing you when your plane arrives. 3. She will be performing at the cultural festival tonight, so she will not meet Raj when he comes. |
Commonly made mistakes in Future Continuous Tense
1. Use of simple future Instead of future continuous
For Example:
A. I will sleep at 11 p.m. (Incorrect)
B. I will be sleeping at 11 p.m. (Correct)
2. Not adding “Be” after “Will”
For Example:
A. I will reach tomorrow. (Incorrect)
B. I will be reaching tomorrow. (Correct)
3. Use of Present Continuous instead of Future Continuous
For Example:
A. I am going tomorrow at 6 p.m. (Incorrect)
B. I will be going tomorrow at 6 p.m. (Correct)
4. Use of “Going to” instead of “Will Be”
For Example:
A. I am going to be preparing breakfast at 9 a.m. (Incorrect)
B. I will be preparing breakfast at 9 a.m. (Correct)
5. Not using Present Participle (-ing) form of the verb
For Example:
A. She will be sleep when we arrive. (Incorrect)
B. She will be sleeping when we arrive. (Correct)
Point to note
Always remember that future continuous tense is only used with action verbs like reading, cooking, walking and more.
Whereas with stative verbs like knowing, believing, seeming, and more ‘will be’ is not used as it will sound quite odd.
For Example: