Collins Cobuild English Grammar (92 page)

The modals
will
and
shall
are used in several other ways, usually with some element of future time. For more information, see
Chapter 5
.

general truths

4.54
    If you want to talk about general truths and to say what can be expected to happen if a particular situation arises, you use
will
.

When peace is available, people
will go
for it.
An attack of malaria can keep a man off work for three days. He
will earn
nothing and his family
will go
hungry.

indicating certainty

4.55
    If you are sure that something will happen because arrangements have been made, you can use the
future progressive
.

I’
ll be seeing
them when I’ve finished with you.
She’
ll be appearing
tomorrow and Sunday at the Royal Festival Hall.
I’
ll be waiting
for you outside.
I understand you’
ll be moving
into our area soon.
They’ll spoil our picnic. I’
ll be wondering
all the time what’s happening.
Our people
will be going
to their country more.

Note that a time adverbial or an adverbial of frequency is normally required with the future progressive.

4.56
    If you are referring to something that has not happened yet but will happen before a particular time in the future, you can use the
future perfect
.

By the time you get to the school, the concert
will have finished
.
Maybe by the time we get there he’
ll
already
have started
.
By then, maybe you’
ll have heard
from your sister.

Note that you must indicate the specific future time referred to by using a time adverbial or another clause.

indicating duration

4.57
    If you want to indicate the duration of an event at a specific time in the future, you can use the
future perfect progressive
.

By the time the season ends, I
will have been playing
for fifteen months without a break.
The register
will have been running
for a year in May.

Note that you need to use a time adverbial to indicate the future time and an adverbial of duration to state how long the event will last.

Other ways of talking about the future

be going to

4.58
    If you are stating an intention that something will happen, or if you have some immediate evidence that something will happen fairly soon, you can use
be going to
followed by an
infinitive
.

I’
m going to explore
the neighbourhood.
Evans knows lots of people. He’
s going to help
me. He’
s going to take
me there.
You’
re going to have
a heart attack if you’re not careful.
We’
re going to see
a change in the law next year.

planned events

4.59
    You can use
be due to
and
be about to
to refer to planned future events that you expect to happen soon. They are followed by infinitive clauses.

He
is due to start
as a courier shortly.
The work
is due to be started
in the summer.
Another 385 people
are about to lose
their jobs.
Are
we
about to be taken over
by the machine?

Time adverbials with reference to the future

firm plans for the future

4.60
    The
present simple
is used to talk about timetabled or scheduled events. The
present progressive
is used to state firm plans that you have for the future. A time adverbial is necessary unless you are sure that the hearer or reader knows that you are talking about the future.

My last train
leaves
Euston
at 11.30
.
The UN General Assembly
opens
in New York
later this month
.
Tomorrow morning
we meet up to
exchange
contracts.
I’
m leaving
at the end of this week.
My mum
is coming
to help look after the new baby

vague time reference

4.61
    When you want to make a general or vague reference to future time, you use an adverbial that refers to indefinite time.

I’ll drop by
sometime
.
Sooner or later
he’ll ask you to join him there.
In future
she’ll have to take sedentary work of some sort.

Here is a list of indefinite time adverbials that are used mainly with future forms:

in future

in the future

one of these days

some day

sometime

sooner or later

tomorrow

4.62
    Adverbials that include the word
tomorrow
are mainly used with references to future time.

We’ll try somewhere else
tomorrow
.
Shall I come
tomorrow night
?
He’ll be here
the day after tomorrow
.
This time tomorrow
I’ll be in New York.

next

4.63
    Some adverbials that are mainly used with reference to future time include the word
next
. If you are using a specific day or month such as
Saturday
or
October
, you can put
next
either before or after the day or month. Otherwise,
next
is placed in front of the time reference.

Next week
Michael Hall will be talking about music.
Next summer
your crops will be very much better.
I think we’ll definitely be going
next year
.
Will your accommodation be available
next October
?
The boots will be ready by
Wednesday next
.
A post mortem examination will be held on
Monday next
.
She won’t be able to do it
the week after next
.

     In American English,
next
is always placed in front of the time reference.

Other uses of verb forms

4.64
    So far in this chapter, the commonest and simplest uses of the various verb forms have been dealt with. However, there are also some less common uses of tenses.

Vivid narrative

the present

4.65
    Stories are normally told using the past. However, if you want to make a story seem vivid, as if it were happening now, you can use the
present simple
for actions and states and the
present progressive
for situations.

There’
s
a loud explosion behind us. Then I
hear
Chris giggling. Sylvia
is
upset.
The helicopter
climbs over
the frozen wasteland.
Chris
is crying
hard and others
look
over from the other tables.
He
sits down
at his desk chair,
reaches
for the telephone and
dials
a number.

Forward planning from a time in the past

4.66
    There are several ways of talking about an event that was in the future at a particular time in the past, or that was expected to occur. These are described in the following paragraphs.

events planned in the past

4.67
    The
past progressive
can be used to talk about events planned in the past, especially with some common verbs such as
come
and
go
.

Four of them
were coming
for Sunday lunch.
Her daughter
was going
to a summer camp tomorrow.
My wife
was joining
me later with the two children.

4.68
    The
past simple
of
be
can be used in structures used to express future events, such as
be going to
,
be about to
, and
be due to
. The implication is usually that the expected event has not happened or will not happen. For more information on
be going to
, see paragraph
5.231
.

I thought for a moment that she
was going to cry
.
He
was about to raise
his voice at me but stopped himself.
The ship
was due to sail
the following morning.

Referring to states rather than activities

4.69
    Certain verbs are mainly used in the present simple or past simple rather than the present progressive or past progressive. These are called
stative verbs
. The most common stative verbs are listed in the Reference Section. They include verbs that refer to lasting emotions and mental states, such as
love
,
like
,
want
and
know
; verbs that refer to the senses, such as
see
and
hear
; and verbs that refer to permanent states, such as
keep
,
fit
and
belong
.