Future

1. We can talk about future time with different verb forms, for example:

-----> Will: I'll Come with you

-----> Be going to: he's going to come with us.

-----> Present Continuous
We're coming tomorrow.

-----> Present Simple
When he arrives, we'll have dinner.

2. When we talk about events in the future that we expect to happen but are not in our control, we can use will or be going to:

Ann will be (or is going to be) 12 next week.

We won't see (or aren't going to see) those birds again until next spring.

Will they finish (or Are they going to finish) the building soon?


3. When we talk about events in the future that are in our control (i.e. we use will defferently from be going to. We use will at the time we decide what to do; use be going to after we have decided what to do. Look at these examples:


Johnn: Can somebody help me, please?
Helen: Yes, I'll help you.
(Here Helen decided after Johnn asked.)

Now compare:

Carol: Johnn needs some help.
Helen: I know. I'm going to help him.
(Here Helen had decided before Carol spoke.)


4. Look at these examples:

If it rains, they'll stay (or they're going to stay) at home.
We'll have (or we're going to have) lunch after the programme finishes.


When the sentences has two parts that refer to the future, we use the Present Simple after the if, when, before,after,as soon as and until, and in the other part of the sentence we use will or be going to:

When/ Simple Will
after etc

After + it finishes + we'll have lunch


5. We use the Present Continuous to talk about a future arrangment that we have made with someone else:

A: Can you come and see us this evening?
B: I can't. I'm playing squash with Sam.


Peter can't come to the cinema with us tonight because he's meeting Jane for dinner.