Present Continuous and the futurePresent Continuous and the futureWe already know how to use the present continuous tense to talk about present time. I’m wearing a blue shirt today.She’s reading a book right now.We’re learning English these days.We’re not learning Chinese.In these sentences we use present continuous for the present time (now).

We can also use present continuous to talk about future time if we say when. Look at these sentencesI’m playing football on Saturday.She’s travelling to Paris on Thursday.We’re going to the cinema tonight.

These sentences are talking about arrangements made for the future. We usually use this tensewhen we are sure that the action or situation will happen The football match is arranged and everybody knows about it.I’m playing football on Saturday.She bought her plane ticket last week and she’s travelling to Paris on Thursday.

Going toGoing toAnother way to talk about plans for the future is by using

be + going to + verb I’m going to watch TV tonight.I’m not going to watch TV tonight.She’s going to buy a new coat for the winter.

be + going to+ verb shows that a decision(idea) was made about something we want todo in the future. One way to understand this

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Lesson Lesson What are you going to do?What are you going to do?2121

decision before

FutureSpeaking nowPast

I’m going to…

idea is to look at the time line. I made the decision to watch TV before I saidI’m going to watch TV tonight.I’m not going to watch TV.

We can also use be + going to + verb to predict things that happen in the future or are starting to happen a short time after now. Predicting means guessing what’s going to happen.Look at the dark clouds. It’s going to rain!I feel dizzy. I’m going to faint.Look at the ball. It’s going to go into the goal.

WillWillAnother way to talk about the future is to use the word will + verb.I don’t have time now. I will do my homework tomorrow.

We often use the contraction.I will speak I’ll speakyou will speak you’ll speakhe will speak he’ll speakshe will speak she’ll speakit will speak it’ll speakwe will speak we’ll speakyou will speak you’ll speakthey will speak they’ll speak

I don’t have time now. I’ll do my homework tomorrow.Soon you’ll speak English very well.He’ll be here in an hour.

We can use will to talk about decisions that we make at the time we’re speaking. I’ll cook breakfast now.

Here is the time line again.

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Decision now

Speaking nowPastFuture

I will...

The formal negative of will is will not. We often say won’t. Please wait. This won’t take more than a minute.I won’t be at school tomorrow. I need to go to the dentist.The door is open. Will you close it? No, I won’t.

Here’s a chart to help you remember.

We also use will when we talk about things which we know are going to happen (facts). The film will start at 8:00 p.m.Next year will be a leap year (366 days).My bus will be here in two minutes.

We also use will to predict the future. We use will to talk about our opinion about the future, what we think is going to happen.It was hot yesterday. It’ll be hot today.We had too much ice cream. We’ll get stomachaches.

Of course, the future has special time words. We know about tomorrow and the day aftertomorrow. Now we are going to talk about minutes, hours, months and years.

It’s noon now.If I want to talk about something that is happening right now, I say this minuteIf I want to talk about something that is happening at 12:01, I say in a minute.If something is happening between noon and 12:01, I can say in the next minute.If I want to talk about something that is happening at 12:05, I can say in a few minutes.If I want to say that something is happening between now and 12:05, I say in the next few minutesor during the next few minutes.

If I want to talk about something that is happening at 1:00 p.m., I say in an hour.If something is happening between now and 1:00 p.m., I can say in the next hour or in an hour.If I want to talk about something that is happening between noon and 3:00 p.m., or even 5:00p.m., I say in the next few hours.

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Formal Positive Informal Positive Formal Negative Informal NegativeI will speak I’ll speak I will not speak I won’t speakyou will speak you’ll speak you will not speak you won’t speakhe will speak he’ll speak he will not speak he won’t speakshe will speak she’ll speak she will not speak she won’t speakit will speak it’ll speak it will not speak it won’t speakyou will speak you’ll speak you will not speak you won’t speakwe will speak we’ll speak we will not speak we won’t speakthey will speak they’ll speak they will not speak they won’t speak

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Here are some time expersesion for the future

this afternoon I am going to go to the park this afternoon.this evening We are going to the cinema this evening.tonight I am going to stay up late tonight.tomorrow What are you going to do tomorrow?tomorrow morning What time are you getting up tomorrow morning?tomorrow afternoon She is going to meet her friend tomorrow afternoon.tomorrow evening We are going to the restaurant tomorrow evening.tomorrow night I am working very late tomorrow night.the day after tomorrow I am going to start a new job the day after tomorrow.

Notice that we don’t say on before these words.I’m going to go to school tomorrow.NOT I’m going to go to school on tomorrow.

We use ON only for the days of the week, dates and for the weekend.on Mondayon Monday the first of Auguston the weekend

NOTE: In the US, people say on the weekend, but in the UK they say at the weekendIt is easy to talk about weeks, months and years, too.this weeknext weekthe next few daysthis monthnext monththe next few monthsthis yearnext yearthe next few years

yesterdaybefore

nightlast { week

month

tonighttomorrowtomorrow nightthe day after tomorrownext week/month/year

Now Present

Past Future

Here is a review of how we can make sentences to talk about future time.

Example: What is John going to do on Monday the first?He’s going to call his girlfriend.

What is John going to do on Tuesday the third?________________________________________________________

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7

call his play watch a girlfriend soccer movie

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

go shopping dinner with stay homeat mall mom/dad

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

go to meeting the theater at work

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

paint go to the go onapartment bank holiday

29 30 21

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Present Continuous He is visiting He isn’t visiting Is he visitingfriends on the friends on the friends on theweekend. weekend. weekend?

We are having a We aren’t having Are we havingparty on Friday. a party on Friday. a party on Friday?

Be Going To I am going to eat I am not going to Am I going todinner at home. eat dinner at home. eat dinner at home?

She is going to She isn’t going to Is she going tobuy a new car. buy a new car. buy a new car?

Will We will see you We won’t see you Will we see youtomorrow. tomorrow. tomorrow?

They will be here They won’t be Will they besoon. here soon. here soon?

Statement Negative Question

Exercise 1 : Answer the questions about John. Use the information from the calendar.

What is John’s plan for Friday the sixth?________________________________________________________Where is John going to go shopping on the eighth?________________________________________________________Who is John going to meet for dinner on Wednesday the eleventh?________________________________________________________What is John going to do on Saturday the fourteenth?________________________________________________________Where is he going to go on the sixteenth?________________________________________________________When is John going to have a meeting at work?________________________________________________________What is John going to do on Sunday the twenty-second?________________________________________________________When is John going to go to the bank?________________________________________________________Where is John going to go on Friday the twenty-seventh?________________________________________________________

Example: I am playing football on Saturday.I’m not playing football on Saturday.

I will clean up my bedroom.___________________________________________My parents are going to go on holiday next week.___________________________________________My brother is studying all day tomorrow.___________________________________________My mother is going to buy a new car next year.___________________________________________You will call your friends tomorrow.___________________________________________They will answer the telephone.___________________________________________We’re meeting them next week.___________________________________________I’m going to go for dinner with them.___________________________________________We will sit together for a couple of hours.___________________________________________They are going to study English.___________________________________________

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Exercise 2: Make the sentences negative.

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Example: Where are you going to meet?We are going to meet at the mall.

________________________________________________We are going to the movies tomorrow.________________________________________________No, we aren’t going to leave early.________________________________________________First, I will drink some soda.________________________________________________I am going to eat dinner in a restaurant tomorrow night.________________________________________________My sister is playing golf next Sunday with my parents.________________________________________________Yes, she’ll get the books.________________________________________________No, I’m not going to have a party.________________________________________________No, the weather won’t be good tomorrow.________________________________________________Yes, I will swim in the ocean tomorrow.________________________________________________I’m going to watch TV.

ReadingReading

1). Where are Bea and Jan going?2). Will they go early?3). What time does the library open?4). Who are they meeting there?5). How long are they going to study?6). What exam will they study for?7). When is their exam?8). How long will they study?9). What did they get on their last test?10). Were their parents happy?

Exercise 3: Write the questions.

Bea and Jan are going to go tothe library tomorrow. They will

go early. The library will open at9:00 a.m. They are meeting theirfriends to study. They are going tostudy for a long time. They are takinga mathematics exam on Friday.They will probably study for eighthours. They got a bad score on theirlast test, so their parents were veryangry.

RReeaadd tthhee ssttoorryy aanndd aannsswweerr tthhee qquueessttiioonnss..

ANSWER KEY Lesson 21Exercise 1 : Answer the questions about John.Use the information from the calendar.What is John going to do on Tuesday the third?John is going to play soccer.What is John’s plan for Friday the sixth?He’s going to watch a movie.Where is John going to go shopping on the eighth?He’s going to go to the mall.Who is John going to meet for dinner on Wednesday the eleventh?John is going to meet his parents for dinner.What is John going to do on Saturday the fourteenth?He’s going to stay home.Where is he going to go on the sixteenth?He’s going to go to the theater.When is John going to have a meeting?He’s going to have a meeting at work.What is John going to do on Sunday the twenty-second?He’s going to paint his apartment.When is John going to go to the bank?He’s going to go to the bank on Tuesday the twenty-fourth.Where is John going to go on Friday the twenty-seventh?He’s going to go on holiday.

Exercise 2: Make the sentences negative.

Example: I am playing football on Saturday.I’m not playing football on Saturday.

I will clean up my bedroom.I won’t clean up my room.My parents are going to go on holiday next week.My parents are not going to go on holiday next week.My brother is studying all day tomorrow.My brother isn’t studying all day tomorrow.My mother is going to buy a new car next year.My mother isn’t going to buy a new car next yearYou will call your friends tomorrow.You won’t call your friends tomorrow.They will answer the telephone.They won’t answer the telephone.We’re meeting them next week.We’re not meeting them next week.I’m going to go for dinner with them.I’m not going to go to dinner with them.We will sit together for a couple of hours.We won’t sit together for a couple of hours.They are going to study English.They aren’t going to study English.

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Exercise 3: Write the questions.Example: Where are you going to meet?

We are going to meet at the mall.

When are you going to the movies?We are going to the movies tomorrow.Are you going to leave early?No, we aren’t going to leave early.What will you drink?First, I will drink some soda.What are you going to do tomorrow night?I am going to eat dinner in a restaurant tomorrow night.What is your sister going to do next Sunday with your parents?My sister is playing golf next Sunday with my parents.Will she get the books?Yes, she’ll get the books.Are you going to have a party?No, I’m not going to have a party.Will the weather be good tomorrow?No, the weather won’t be good tomorrow.Will you swim in the ocean tomorrow?Yes, I will swim in the ocean tomorrow.What are you going to do tonight?I’m going to watch TV.

ReadingReading1). Where are Bea and Jan going?

They are going to go to the library.2). Will they go early?

Yes, they will.3). What time does the library open?

It opens at 9:00 a.m.4). Who are they meeting there?

They are meeting their friends.5). How long are they going to study?

They are going to study for a long time.6). What exam will they study for?

They will study for their math exam.7). When is their exam?

Their exam is on Friday.8). How long will they study?

They will study for 8 hours.9). What did they get on their last test?

They got bad scores.10). Were their parents happy?

No, they were angry.

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vocabulary listvocabulary listNOUNS VERBS ADJECTIVES ADVERBS PREPOSITIONaction arrange any after aboutafternoon bring arranged again atarrangement burn black almost forcake call blue also incalendar close broken before oncloud cook cold hard overcontraction eat dark now todecision enjoy dizzy right now withferry faint every soonflag feel exact thenfuture follow excellent todayhair guess few toohaircut hang up formal usuallyidea leave freelake miss funnylamp pick up goodline point hot CONJUNCTIONSmarket predict hungry howmatch pretend indefinite orminute rain last whatmonth ring long whenmorning see negative whichmovie shine next untilnight show newnoon start presentopinion travel readyorange try reallyoven visit samepast understand shortphrase use someplane walk surepresent want veryshirt watchsituation wearsky winspringstomachachestormsurpriseteamtickettomorrowtonighttripvacationvisayesterdayweekwinter