Future Drama
Your friend is carrying four coffees, texting their ex and walking down the stairs. Make a prediction.
Answer: "You're going to drop those coffees!"
Why: Be going to - prediction based on present evidence.
Find the mistake. But be careful: some sentences are already correct.
"I'll text you as soon as I will get home."
Answer: "I'll text you as soon as I get home."
Why: Present Simple in future time clauses after as soon as.
A. "I'll buy a new laptop."
B. "I'm going to buy a new laptop."
Which sounds more like a decision made right now, and which suggests an existing plan?
Answer: A - spontaneous decision; B - existing intention
Your friend's phone is on 1%, and they're about to start a three-hour train journey without a charger.
Make a prediction based on what you can see.
Answer: "Your phone is going to die."
Your flight departs at 6 a.m. tomorrow. You've already booked a taxi for 3:30 a.m.
Complete the sentences.
My flight ___ at 6.
I ___ a taxi at 3:30.
Answers: departs / am taking.
Why: Timetable vs personal arrangement.
Your friend: "Oh no, I completely forgot to buy a birthday present for my mum!"
You decide to help right now. What do you say?
Answer: "I'll help you find something!"
Why: Will - spontaneous decision or offer.
"I'm meeting my dentist at 11 tomorrow."
Correct or incorrect?
Answer: Correct. Present Continuous can describe a fixed personal arrangement.
A. "I'm meeting Alex tomorrow."
B. "I'm going to meet Alex tomorrow."
Which emphasizes an arrangement, and which emphasizes an intention?
Answer: A - arrangement; B - intention or plan. Both can refer to the same event
Your friend says: "I think I'll be a millionaire one day."
Make your own prediction about life in 2040 using a different subject.
Possible answer: "People will probably work fewer hours because of AI."
Why: Will - general prediction or opinion.
Your friend has a job interview tomorrow at 10 a.m. They're extremely nervous.
Make two sentences:
one about their existing arrangement
one about what they'll be doing at 10:15 a.m.
Possible answers:
"They're having a job interview tomorrow at 10."
"At 10:15, they'll be answering interview questions."
Your friend wants to call you tomorrow at 8 p.m., but you have already booked a table at a restaurant for that time.
Explain why you can't talk. Give two possible answers using different future forms.
Answers:
"I'm having dinner with friends tomorrow at 8." - Present Continuous, arrangement.
"I'll be having dinner with friends at 8." - Future Continuous, activity in progress at a future time.
"By the time you arrive, I'll finish cooking dinner."
Is it grammatically possible? How could you make the completed result clearer?
Answer: "By the time you arrive, I'll have finished cooking dinner."
Why: Future Perfect emphasizes that dinner will already be ready when the person arrives. The original isn't automatically ungrammatical.
A. "At 9 p.m., I'll watch Netflix."
B. "At 9 p.m., I'll be watching Netflix."
What changes?
Answer: A presents watching Netflix as a future action or plan. B describes the activity as already in progress at 9 p.m.
Imagine it's 11 a.m. tomorrow. Describe three things that different people will be doing at that exact time.
Possible answer: "I'll be working, my sister will be studying, and my best friend will be sleeping."
Why: Future Continuous.
It's Monday. Your friend has a presentation on Friday, but they haven't started preparing.
Complete the dialogue naturally.
A: "When ___ you ___ (start) preparing?"
B: "Tonight. I've already made a plan."
A: "And ___ you ___ (finish) everything by Thursday?"
B: "Hopefully! I don't want to be working on it on Friday morning."
Answers:
"When are you going to start preparing?"
"Will you have finished everything by Thursday?"
Why: Planned intention and completed result before a deadline.
Your friend is getting married next Saturday. The ceremony starts at 4 p.m., and the photographer is arriving at 3 p.m.
Complete the sentences.
The ceremony ___ (start) at 4.
At 3:30, the photographer ___ (take) pictures.
By 5 p.m., the couple ___ (exchange) their vows.
Answers: starts / will be taking / will have exchanged
"This time tomorrow, I'll have been sitting on a plane to Bangkok."
Your friend simply means they'll be in the middle of a flight tomorrow. Which form is more appropriate?
Answer: "This time tomorrow, I'll be sitting on a plane to Bangkok."
Why: Future Continuous describes an activity in progress at a particular future moment. Future Perfect Continuous would need a meaningful duration leading up to that moment.
Two writers make predictions about their books:
A. "By December, I'll have written my novel."
B. "By December, I'll have been writing my novel for two years."
One of them is confident about finishing. The other isn't necessarily planning to finish by December.
Which writer is which? Can writer B still finish the novel by December? Explain.
Answer: A predicts a completed novel. B focuses on the duration of writing, without specifying whether the novel will be finished. Yes, B could also finish by December.
The world in 2050
Complete these predictions using the correct forms.
By 2050, scientists ___ (develop) new treatments for many diseases.
At this time in 2050, people ___ (use) technologies we can't even imagine today.
By 2050, researchers ___ (study) the effects of AI on society for decades.
Answers: will have developed / will be using / will have been studying.
It's 2026. You started working remotely in 2021 and plan to continue until at least 2031.
Complete the sentences.
By 2031, I ___ (work) remotely for ten years.
This time next Monday, I ___ (work) from a café.
By the end of 2031, I ___ (save) enough money to take a year off, hopefully.
Answers: will have been working / will be working / will have saved.
Why: Duration, future activity in progress and completed result.
Your friend started dating someone in January 2024. They still haven't defined the relationship. Imagine it's January 2027, and nothing has changed.
Make two sentences: one emphasizing how long the situation has continued and another describing what they still won't have achieved.
Possible answers:
"By January 2027, they'll have been dating for three years."
"They still won't have defined their relationship by then."
Why: Future Perfect Continuous for duration; Future Perfect for an unachieved result by a future deadline.
Find and correct the mistakes in this message:
"By next June, I will have been knowing my boyfriend for five years. We will have been married in September, and this time next year we will have lived in our new apartment."
Assume the couple's wedding is scheduled for September next year, and they will be in the process of living in the apartment this time next year.
Possible correction:
"By next June, I will have known my boyfriend for five years. We're getting married next September, and this time next year we'll be living in our new apartment."
Why: Stative verbs, future arrangements and activities in progress at a future point.
Emma started working for a company in October 2021.
Compare these three predictions:
A. "By October 2031, Emma will have worked for the company for ten years."
B. "By October 2031, Emma will have been working for the company for ten years."
C. "In October 2031, Emma will be working for the company."
Your challenge:
Which sentences tell us that Emma's total experience at the company will reach ten years?
Which sentence focuses most clearly on the duration of an ongoing activity?
Does sentence C tell us how long Emma will have worked there?
Answer key:
A and B.
B - Future Perfect Continuous.
No. C only describes a situation in progress at a future time.
Imagine it's October 2036. Make three predictions about your own life.
something you will already have achieved
something you will be doing at a particular time
something you will have been doing for at least five years
Possible answers:
"I'll have bought my own apartment."
"This time in October 2036, I'll be travelling around Japan."
"I'll have been running my own business for seven years."
Read this situation:
It's October 2026. Mia has booked a one-way ticket to Tokyo for January 2027. Her flight leaves at 9 a.m. She plans to study Japanese every day after moving. She's already accepted a job that starts in February. She hopes to reach an advanced level of Japanese by January 2030.
Complete Mia's message using six different future constructions.
"My flight ___ (leave) at 9 a.m. on January 15th. I ___ (fly) to Tokyo that morning! I ___ (start) my new job in February - everything is already arranged. I think life there ___ (be) amazing. This time next year, I ___ (work) and studying in Tokyo. By January 2030, I hope I ___ (reach) an advanced level of Japanese, and I ___ (study) the language for three years."
Answers:
leaves - Present Simple
am flying - Present Continuous
am starting - Present Continuous
will be - Future Simple
will be working - Future Continuous
will have reached - Future Perfect
will have been studying - Future Perfect Continuous