Future Tenses in English: WATCH THIS to Finally Learn How to Use Them (LOTS OF EXAMPLES) 😀

Learn how to talk about the future in English. We cover the present simple, continuous, and be going to with lots of examples. Enjoy!

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HOW TO USE FUTURE TENSES IN ENGLISH

The example I gave at the start of the video was this:

"My sister is coming tonight. She gets in at 5:10. I’m picking her up and then we’re going to get dinner."

I used the present continuous, simple, and be going to.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS FOR FUTURE ACTIONS

We use them when we have arranged something. When something is fixed.

For example:

My sister is coming tonight (she has a plane ticket)
I'm picking her up (we agreed to do this)
Paul is working tonight (he has to work - it has been arranged)
We’re having dinner with our friends on Friday (we have arranged this and our plans are fixed).

USING THE PRESENT SIMPLE TO TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE

This is for when something is on a timetable or schedule. For example:

She gets in at 5:10 (flights are on a schedule)
We open at tomorrow at 7:30 AM (this is what an owner of a cafe or shop might say)'
The movie starts at 8 (the cinema is on a timetable)

BE GOING TO FOR FUTURE INTENTIONS

This is the most common tense (it's not literally a tense, but don't worry about that) when talking about the future.

We use this when we want to put the focus on intention.

We’re going to get dinner (we don't have specific plans yet)
We’re going to visit my wife’s family this spring (no official dates)
I’m going to clean the house before my sister arrives
Sarah can’t make it to the party because she’s going to study for her exam (Sarah is a good girl, but can be boring. That's why we broke up with her - see here: https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&vide... )

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOING TO AND THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS

In this example: I’m going to take the IELTS exam this summer - this shows intention. The exam hasn't been booked yet.

However, in this example: I’m taking the IELTS exam this summer - it suggests that a date has been fixed.

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Leave a comment below giving an example of one of these tenses. Thank you for watching!

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