Lesson 9. Future Tense
Introduction
In this lesson you'll learn how to talk about events that happen in the future. You'll also learn some expressions of time. This lesson also includes chapter 4 of the story 'A New Life in Vancouver'.
Talking about the Future
There are a few different ways in English to indicate that an action will happen in the future:
- using the helper verb will
- using be going to
- using the present continuous
- using the present tense
The Helper Verb Will
The helper verb will is used in the following cases:
- quick decisions
- promises
- predictions
The verb will goes before the main verb in the sentence. When a pronoun comes before will is often shortened to 'll and combined with the pronoun. The negative form is won't.
Examples
| She'll meet us for lunch at 1:00. | Elle nous retrouvera pour le déjeuner à 1 heure. |
| The cat will run away. | Le chat s'enfuira. |
| I'll make some more coffee. | Je ferai du café |
| What'll happen if I press the button? | Qu'est-ce qui se passera si j'appuie sur le bouton? |
| That will never happen. | Cela n'arrivera jamais. |
| I won't be going to that restaurant again. | |
| Will you buy it? | Voulez-vous l'acheter? |
| When will it stop raining? | Quand cessera-t-il de pleuvoir? |
| We'll wait for you. | Nous vous attendrons. |
Be Going To
Be going to is used to indicate that something is just about to happen, plans that have been previously decided, and predictions based on evidence.
Examples
| I'm going to go now. | Je vais aller maintenant. |
| She's going to meet us for lunch at 1:00. | Elle va nous rencontrer pour déjeuner à 1h00. |
| We're going to study this afternoon. | Nous allons étudier cet après-midi. |
| What's going to happen when they get here? | Qu'est-ce qui va se passer quand ils arriveront ici? |
| He's never going to do that. | Il ne va jamais faire ça. |
| Dinner is going to be ready in a few minutes. | Le dîner va être prêt dans quelques minutes. |
| Are you going to buy it? | Allez-vous l'acheter? |
| When is it going to stop raining? | Quand va-t-il arrêter de pleuvoir? |
| We're going to wait for you in the restaurant. | Nous allons vous attendre au restaurant. |
Present Continuous
The present continuous can be used to indicate a future event when talking about arranged plans with another person or group, and for personal scheduled events.
Examples
| I'm planning to see my friend tomorrow. | |
| They're flying to London next week. |
Present Simple
The present simple is used to indicate the future with timetables, official schedules, and repeated events.
Examples
| The movie starts at 8. | |
| My class begins on Monday. |
Expressions of Time
time
|
temps |
|
year
|
année |
|
month
|
mois |
|
week
|
semaine |
|
day
|
jour |
|
hour
|
heure |
|
minute
|
minute |
|
second
|
seconde |
|
now
|
maintenant |
|
yesterday
|
hier |
|
today
|
aujourd'hui |
|
tomorrow
|
demain |
|
this morning
|
ce matin |
|
this afternoon
|
cet après-midi |
|
this evening
|
ce soir |
|
last week
|
la semaine dernière. |
|
this week
|
cette semaine. |
|
next week
|
semaine prochaine |
Story: A New Life in Vancouver
Chapter 4: Granville Island
Vocabulary
| shopping district | quartier commerçant |
| marina | marina |
| theater | théâtre |
| shops | magasins |
| ice cream | glace |
| idea | idée |
| ice cream cone | cornet de glace |
| prepare | préparer |
| inlet | bras de mer |
| glistening | scintillant, brillant |
| ferry | ferry |
| view | vue |
| produce | fruits et légumes |
| bag | sac |
| cashier | la caissière |
Ana and Alejandro have been exploring Granville Island, a shopping district that contains a public market, marina, restaurants, theaters and small shops.
As they are walking along the waterfront, Alejandro sees an ice cream shop. “Hey Ana, let’s get some ice cream,” he says.
“That’s a good idea,” she agrees.
They walk into the shop and look at the different types of ice cream on display.
“What kind of ice cream cone are you going to get?” Ana asks her brother.
“I think I’ll get a chocolate cone. How about you?”
“They all look good, but I’m going to get the caramel swirl.”
“Hello,” the lady behind the counter says. “Have you decided what you would like?”
“I’ll have a caramel swirl ice cream cone,” Ana says.
“And I’ll have a chocolate one,” Alejandro adds.
The lady prepares the ice cream cones and hands them to Ana and Alejandro. “That’ll be six dollars,” she says.
They pay the lady and then walk back outside. There are a few small tables in front of the store, but they decide to keep walking. Soon they come to a large open area with several large benches.
“Let’s sit here,” Ana says.
They sit down on one of the benches and watch all the people walking by. In front of them is a small inlet glistening in the sun, and beyond that is Downtown Vancouver. Several people are kayaking on the water. A small pedestrian ferry is slowly approaching.
They sit quietly in the warm sun for a while, eating their ice cream cones. When Alejandro finishes his cone, he says “This is so relaxing. I could sit here all day.”
“It’s a beautiful view of the city from here. I wish I was in one of those sailboats though, slowly sailing away.”
“That would be nice!”
“Let’s go to the market and get some vegetables for tonight’s dinner,” Ana says after a few minutes.
They get up and walk into the market. Inside, the smell of fresh bread and coffee fills the air. People are talking, laughing, and calling out orders. They wander around the crowded market for a while, looking at all the things for sale. Eventually they find a produce vendor.
“What do we need to get?” Alejandro asks.
“We need some carrots, red peppers, onions, strawberries, and blueberries.”
They collect the items and bring them up to the cashier.
“Hello,” says the man at the cash register. “Did you find everything you need?”
“Yes. I think we have everything we need,” Ana replies.
“That’ll be $24.45.”
Ana pays the man and Alejandro picks up the bag with the food in it.
“Thank you,” Ana says as the man hands her the change, “Have a nice day.”
“You, too.”
Ana and Alejandro walk out of the market into the bright, sunny day and head home.
Quiz
Here are some questions to help you practice talking about events that happen in the future.
