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Overview of future times

 Verb time

Use

Form

Examples

- Simple future

- To talk about predictions (hopes, promises, etc.) for the future;

- To talk about prior plans;

- To express willingness (decisions made at the moment of speaking, but that refer to future actions).

Affirmative:

Subj. + will + verb (bare infinitive)

Subj. + be (sim. pres.) + going to + verb (bare inf.)

Researchers will investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution next year.

Negative:

Subj. + will not + verb (bare infinitive)

Subj. + be not (sim. pres.) + going to + verb (bare inf.)

Researchers will not investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution next year.

Interrogative:

Will + subject + verb (bare infinitive)

Be (simp. pres.) + subj. + going to + verb (bare inf.)

Will researchers investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution next year?

 

 Verb time

Use

Form

Examples

- Future progressive

- To talk about actions that will be in progress at a specific time in the future.

Affirmative:

Subject + will + be + verb + ing

Subject + be (simp. pres.) + going to + be + verb + ing

Researchers will be investigating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution next year.

Negative:

Subject + will not + be + verb + ing

Subject + be not (simp. pres.) + going to + be + verb + ing

Researchers will not be investigating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution next year.

Interrogative:

Will + subject + be + verb + ing

Be (simp. pres.) + subject + going to + be + verb + ing

Will researchers be investigating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution next year?

 

 Verb time

Use

Form

Examples

- Future perfect

- To talk about actions that will be complete before another action or time in the future.

Affirmative:

Subject + will + have + verb (past participle)

The researchers will have investigated the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution for a long time when they publish their findings.

Negative:

Subject + will not + have + verb (past participle)

The researchers will not have investigated the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution for a long time when they publish their findings.

Interrogative:

Will + subject + have + verb (past participle)

Will the researchers have investigated the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution for a long time when they publish their findings?

 

 Verb time

Use

Form

Examples

- Future perfect progressive

- To talk about the duration of actions that will be in progress before another action or time in the future.

Affirmative:

Subject + will + have + been + verb + ing

 

 

Researchers will have been investigating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution for years when they publish their findings.

Negative:

Subject + will not + have + been + verb + ing

Researchers will not have been investigating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution for long when they publish their findings.

Interrogative:

Will + subject + have + been + verb + ing

Will researchers have been investigating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution for long when they publish their findings?

 

Notes:

The examples used were adapted from Galante et al. (2018).

For timelines that illustrate the use of the different verb tenses, please refer to http://www.eslcharts.com/verb-tenses-chart.html

 

References:

Azar, B. S.; & Hagen, S. A. (2009). Understanding and Using English Grammar (4th ed.). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall Regents.

Galante, J.; Dufour, G.; Vainre, M.; Wagner, A; Stochl, J.; Benton, A. (2018). A mindfulness-based intervention to increase resilience to stress in university students (the Mindful Student Study): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Public Health. 3(2), pp.72-81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(17)30231-1