Future Continuous Tense

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The future continuous (also called the future progressive) is an English verb form used to describe actions that will be in progress at a particular moment in the future.   This can be a time or date, or it can be another action.

This is not a common verb form. Less than .1% of English verbs are in the future continuous.

Keep reading to learn the rules and reasons for using and forming the future continuous, including loads of charts and examples!

It is important to realize that continuous and progressive are different names for the same thing. In some places, progressive is more common, but continuous is a more common term overall.

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USing the Future continuous

When we see a continuous verb, it tells us that something is in progress at a particular time. With the future continuous, that time is in the future. This can be a time or date (next weekend, tomorrow at 5, on November 3rd) or it can be another action in the future.

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Chart for Future Continuous Tense In English

Here are some example sentences:

Don’t call her at 8. She will be flying to Denver then.

I will probably be running when you come home.

Try to be quiet when you come home tonight. Everyone will be sleeping.

In these examples, the continuous action (will be flying, will be running) will start before the other specific action (come home) or time (at 8), and continued after that action or time.

We can also use the future continuous to show that a future action will continue over a period of time.

I’m going to be studying all next week.

We will be traveling for most of 2019.

Forming the Future continuous

There are two options for forming the future continuous: will or going to.

Formula With Will

To form the future continuous with will, use will be and the continuous form of the verb, with -ing.

subject + will be + VERBing

Conjugation with Will

Here is a complete conjugation table:

Future Continuous Tense Verb Conjugation with Will

	Singular		Plural
1st person	I	will be working.	we	will be working.
2nd person	you	will be working.	you	will be working.
3rd person	he	will be working.	they	will be working.
	she	will be working.
	it	will be working.

Formula With Going To

To form the future continuous with going to, you need to use the correct present form of the verb to be (am/is/are). Then use going to be. Then use the -ing form of the verb.

subject + am/is/are + going to be + VERBing

Conjugation with Going to

Here is the going to conjugation table:

Future Continuous Tense Verb Conjugation with Going To

	Singular		Plural
1st person	I	am going to be working.	we	are going to be working.
2nd person	you	are going to be working.	you	are going to be working.
3rd person	he	is going to be working.	they	are going to be working.
	she	is going to be working.
	it	is going to be working.

Other Forms

Questions

In the future continuous, you have more than one helping verb. To make a question, move the subject after the first helping verb (be or will).

Will you be eating out tonight?

When will you be arriving in Philadelphia?

Are you going to be sleeping when I get home?

What are you going to be reading next semester?

Negative Sentences

To form a negative, insert not after the first helping verb (be or will).

I will not be eating out tonight.

She will not be running.

We are not going to be reading Nabokov.

I am not going to be sleeping when you get home.

The Passive Voice

Making a passive sentence in the future progressive is extremely complex and extremely rare. In the conventional passive, putting be in the future progressive results in the unnatural combination of be and being: …will be being… or …going to be being…

For this reason, we recommend using the get passive in the future progressive. Put get in the future progressive (is going to be getting, are going to be getting, will be getting) and then the perfect form of the main verb.

We are going to be getting picked up by my mom.

If we miss another payment, we’ll be getting kicked out!

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Adverbs of Frequency

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What are Adverbs of Frequency?

Adverbs are an important part of speech in English. Just like adjectives describe nouns, adverbs are words that describe verbs. There are of course many different ways we can describe a verb. We can talk about how something happens, why it happens, when it happens. Adverbs of frequency tell us how often—or how frequently—an action happens.

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The Most Common Adverbs of Frequency

Some of the most common adverbs of frequency are shown in the image. It is very common for teachers and textbooks to show adverbs of frequency with percentages next to them to explain their meaning; for example: 80% of the time = usually. Be careful. It is important to note that these can only be very rough estimates. It is more useful and accurate to say that usually is more than sometimes but less than always. The exceptions are always, which means 100% of the time, and never, which means 0% of the time.

Rules for using adverbs of frequency

Adverbs of frequency often describe habits, routines, and repeated actions, so they are frequently used with the simple present tense.

It is sometimes difficult to know where to put adverbs of frequency in a sentence. When describing a simple verb tense, with no auxiliary verbs, adverbs of frequency generally come between the subject and the verb. Look at these examples:

We never travel in the fall.

Lydia generally takes the train to work.

They sometimes have wine with dinner.

The exception to this rule is when the main verb in the sentence is to be. If the sentence is a subject + BE + noun or subject + BE + adjective sentence, put the adverb of frequency after be.

Munir is always late.

This is never a good sign.

We are usually the first ones in line.

The adverbs often, sometimes, generally, frequently, usually, and typically can go at the beginning of a sentence, as you can see here:

Generally Lydia takes the train to work.

Sometimes they have wine with dinner.

Usually we are the first ones in line.

Note that no comma is necessary when an adverb of frequency starts a sentence.

It is also possible to put these same adverbs at the end of a sentence, though this is more common in spoken English than in writing:

Lydia takes the train to work generally

They have wine with dinner sometimes

We are the first ones in line usually

Chart Showing Common Adverbs of Frequency