Future Continuous Tense: When And How To Use?

The future continuous tense is an important tense that we often use to talk about events and actions that will be happening at a time in the future

Generally, it is used to express or denote actions that will be in progress at a specific time in the future. That is why the future continuous tense is also called the future progressive tense.

To use this tense more confidently and efficiently in your day-to-day conversations, you must know everything about it.

In this article, we are going to explore every aspect of the future continuous tense and learn when and how to use this tense without making any mistakes.

Let’s get started…

What is the Future Continuous Tense?

The future continuous tense (one of the 12 tenses in English grammar) is the verb tense we use to talk about something that will happen in the future and continue for some time.

That means this tense indicates that some work will start in the future and will continue for some time.

You may have learned the present continuous tense already. Both present and future continuous tenses talk about ongoing actions. In a way, the future continuous tense is the future form of the present continuous tense, and the construction of a sentence is quite similar.

We form a future continuous sentence (future progressive tense) using the construction will + be + verb +ing.

For example, Emma will be working tomorrow evening. 

This future continuous sentence indicates that Emma will start her work at some point in the evening. And she will continue to do her work all evening.

The action will start in the future and continue for an expected length of time. As it is a future progressive action, we have expressed it using the future progressive tense.

10 Examples Of Future Continuous Tense Sentences

1. My cousin will be staying with me till Monday. 
2. William will be working this weekend. 
3. She will be using this computer for the next couple of hours. 
4. Mr. Brown will be taking our history class tomorrow. 
5. Probably your parents will be sleeping when you get home. 
6. They will be making pizza tonight. 
7. He will be waiting for us at the airport. 
8. We will be living together in the hostel.  
9. You will be attending the conference tomorrow at this time. 
10. Emma and I will be running the marathon this Sunday. 

Future Continuous Tense Rule

In the above example sentences, we have used the helping verb (Auxiliary) “will be” and the main in –ing form. You can use this combination (will be and verb ing form) with any “subject” in the future continuous tense.

Simple Future Vs Future Continuous

To understand this tense better, we must understand the difference between Simple Future Tense and Future Continuous Tense.

Suppose a doctor has to perform surgery at the hospital tomorrow at 4 pm. So, two things will happen tomorrow.

Number one, the doctor will arrive at the hospital. And number two, the doctor will do the surgery.

The doctor arrives once; beyond that, he cannot keep arriving. So, it is not a continuous action. However, the surgery is a long process that will take some time. That means it will continue in the future for an expected length of time.

Therefore, we can express the first action using the simple future tense and say, “The doctor will arrive at 4 pm tomorrow.” And, for the second one, we can say, “The doctor will be performing the surgery at 4 pm tomorrow.”

Simple future tense shows that an action or event will happen in the future. In contrast, future continuous tense shows an action will continue for some time in the future. 

Let’s see some more examples to understand this difference.

• I will go to the shopping mall in the evening. (An action will happen)

I will be shopping in the evening. (An action will continue for some time)

• Olivia will invite us for dinner. (An action will happen)

Olivia will be cooking dinner tonight. (An action will continue for some time)

• They will assign this project to James. (An action will happen)

James will be working on this project from Monday. (An action will continue for some time)

Future Continuous Tense Structure With Example Sentences

Now let’s look at the sentence structure of future continuous tense that we use to make different types of sentences.

1. Affirmative Sentence Structure

Subject + Will be + Verb + ing + Object

Examples Of Future Continuous Tense Affirmative Sentences

• I will be giving a speech at the auditorium.
• He will be watching Olivia’s live performance.
• She will be bringing her friend to the party.
• You will be coming for the extra classes from Monday.
• We will be working on this new project together.
• My mother will be making pancakes.
• It will be working by the end of the day.
• They will be flying to Canada tonight.
• Emma will be staying with us.

2. Negative Sentence Structure

Subject + Will + Not + be + Verb + ing + Object

Examples Of Future Continuous Negative Sentences

• I will not be giving a speech at the auditorium.
• He will not be watching Olivia’s live performance.
• She will not be bringing her friend to the party.
• You will not be coming for the extra classes from Monday.
• We will not be working on this new project together.
• My mother will not be making pancakes.
• It will not be working by the end of the day.
• They will not be flying to Canada tonight.
• Emma will not be staying with us.

3. Question (Interrogative ) Sentence Structure

Will + Subject + be + Verb + ing + Object?

Examples Of Future Continuous Tense Question Sentences

• Will I be giving a speech at the auditorium?
• Will he be watching Olivia’s live performance?
• Will she be bringing her friend to the party?
• Will you be coming for the extra classes from Monday?
• Will we be working on this new project together?
• Will my mother be making pancakes?
• Will it be working by the end of the day?
• Will they be flying to Canada tonight?
• Will Emma be staying with us?

4. Interrogative Negative Sentence Structure

Will + Subject + not + be + Verb + ing + Object?

Examples Of Future Continuous Tense Interrogative Negative Sentences

• Will I not be giving a speech at the auditorium?
• Will he not be watching Olivia’s live performance?
• Will she not be bringing her friend to the party?
• Will you not be coming for the extra classes from Monday?
• Will we not be working on this new project together?
• Will my mother not be making pancakes?
• Will it not be working by the end of the day?
• Will they not be flying to Canada tonight?
• Will Emma not be staying with us?

Uses of Future Continuous Tense

An action or event is going to start and continue in the future.

• You and I will be working on the new project from next week.
• Hopefully, I will be getting some good offers from next month.
• My cousin Monica will be staying with us from Monday.

A future action or event that will continue for a period of time.

• We will be traveling to the north of the country from October to December this year.
• My husband will be attending a conference from 5 pm to 8 pm today.
• Our school will be celebrating its 25^th anniversary for a week from Monday.

An action or event that continues during a moment (specific time/moment) in the future.

• This Friday at 4 pm, I will be watching the football semi-finals.
• My father will be driving me to the airport tomorrow at 6 am.
• She will be taking her driving test at 2.30 on Sunday.

Polite questions

• Will you be staying with us this weekend?
• Will you be joining us for dinner tonight?

Contraction With Future Continuous Tense

We can use the contracted form, especially in informal situations, while using the future continuous tense. Let’s see how we do the contraction.

With Affirmative Sentences 

You need to combine the subject and the auxiliary verb “will” to make the contraction.

• I’ll be giving a speech at the auditorium.  (I will – I’ll)
• You’ll be coming for the extra classes from Monday. (You will – you’ll)
• He’ll be watching Olivia’s live performance. (He will – he’ll)
• She’ll be bringing her friend to the party. (She will – she’ll)
• We’ll be working on this new project together. (We will – we’ll)
• They’ll be flying to Canada tonight. (They will – they’ll)
• It’ll be working by the end of the day. (It will – it’ll)

With Negative Sentences

In negative future continuous sentences, we can make the contraction in two ways.

1. I will not – I’ll not  ( combine the “subject” and the auxiliary verb “will”)
2. I will not – I won’t ( combine the auxiliary verb “will” and not)

You can say, “I’ll not be giving a speech at the auditorium” Or, “I won’t be giving a speech at the auditorium.” Both sentences are correct.

• He won’t be watching Olivia’s live performance.
• She won’t be bringing her friend to the party.
• You won’t be coming for the extra classes from Monday.
• We won’t be working on this new project together.
• It won’t be working by the end of the day.
• They won’t be flying to Canada tonight.

With Interrogative Negative Sentences

You can use the below structure for interrogative negative future continuous sentences.

Won’t + Subject + be + Verb + ing + Object?

• Won’t I be giving a speech at the auditorium?
• Won’t he be watching Olivia’s live performance?
• Won’t she be bringing her friend to the party?
• Won’t you be coming for the extra classes from Monday?
• Won’t we be working on this new project together?
• Won’t my mother be making pancakes?
• Won’t it be working by the end of the day?
• Won’t they be flying to Canada tonight?
• Won’t Emma be staying with us?