| Future simple
| Be going to
| Future Continuous
| Future Perfect
|
| decisions taken at the moment of speaking (on-the-spot decisions)
| actions intended to be performed in the near future
| actions in progress at a stated future time
| actions finished before a stated future time
|
| hopes, fears, threats, offers, promises, warnings, predictions, requests, comments etc, esp. with: expect, hope, believe, I’m sure, I’m afraid, probably etc
| planned actions or intentions
| actions which are the result of a routine (instead of the Present Continuous)
| Note: by or not … until/till are used with
Future Perfect.
Until/till are normally used with Future Perfect only in negative sentences.
|
| actions or predictions which may (not) happen in the future or actions which we cannot control and will inevitably happen
| evidence that something will definitely happen in the near future
| when we ask politely about people’s arrangements to see if they can do sth for us or because we want to offer to do sth for them
| Future Perfect Cont.
|
| duration of an action up to a certain time in the future
|
| things we are not yet sure about or we haven’t decided to do yet
| things we are sure about or we have already decided to do in the near future.
| Present Simple (with future meaning)
| Present Continuous
(with future meaning)
|
| timetables / programmes
| fixed arrangements in the near future
|
| SHALL IS USED:
| WILL IS USED:
|
| with I/we in questions, suggestions, offers or when asking for advice.
| to express offers, threats, promises, predictions, warnings, requests, hopes, fears, on-the-spot decisions, comments (mainly with: think, expect, believe, I’m sure, hope, know, suppose and probably).
|
TIME EXPRESSIONS USED WITH:
| Future Simple & Be going to
| Future Perfect
| Future Perfect Continuous
|
| tomorrow, tonight, next week / month, in two / three etc days, the day after tomorrow, soon, in a week/month etc
| before, by, by then, by the time, (until is used only in negative sentences with this tense)
| by …for
|
