Aspects of the Future Tense  

What are the aspects of the future tense?

Although English has no future tense in the strict sense (i.e., it has no verb form specific to future
meaning), we commonly refer to several structures that are used for future meaning as belonging
to the “future tense.” The most common of these structures begin with will or a form of the
verb be + going to. For example:

 “I will go with you.”

 “I am going to send you an email.”

While these verb markers tell us that the action takes place in the future, it is the aspect of the
verb that tells us how the event will be temporally structured. The combination of the future
marker and the aspect results in the verb structures that we usually call the future simple,
the future continuous (or future progressive), the future perfect, and the future perfect
continuous.
For the purpose of clarity, our example sentences will all use will, but it should be remembered
that, in each of the examples, we can replace will with another modal verb of future meaning
(shall, might, would, could, etc.) or with a form of be + going to.

Future Simple
The future simple structure is the combination of the future tense and the simple aspect. The
future simple is used to express actions and events that will occur at a given moment in the
future. The simple aspect emphasizes the action or state as a whole. The structure is formed
using will + the base form of the verb (the infinitive without to). For example:

 “We will go to a private school when we are older.”

 “They will move next door to us soon.”
 “I will be famous in the future.”

Future Continuous
The future continuous structure is the combination of the future tense with the continuous
aspect. It is used to express actions and events that will be in progress at a given moment in the
future. The future continuous is formed using will + be + the present participle. For example:

 “They will be playing outside when their father arrives.”

 “I won’t answer my phone later because I’ll be driving.”
 “We will be eating dinner at 7 o’clock.”
Like other structures that reflect the continuous aspect, it is usually only used with action verbs,
not with stative verbs. For example, we couldn’t say “I will be knowing John later” or “She will
be seeming sad this evening.”

Future Perfect
The future perfect is the combination of the future tense and the perfect simple aspect. It is used
to express actions and events that will be completed at a given moment in the future. It is formed
using will + have + the past participle. For example:

 “She will have eaten before she arrives.”

 “We will have seen that movie already.”
 “I will have spent a lot of money after this weekend’s festivities.”

Future Perfect Continuous

Finally, the future perfect continuous is the combination of the perfect and continuous aspects
with the future tense. It is used to emphasize that an action will be in progress until a given
moment in the future, at which time the action will stop. Like the future continuous, it is
typically not used with stative verbs, but only with action verbs. It is formed using will + have
+ been + the present participle. For example:

 “We will have been waiting for a long time when the bus finally comes.”
 “My little sister will have been sitting quietly for an hour when the movie finishes.”
 “I will have been cleaning all day when you arrive, so I’ll be too tired to go out.”