Have you Ever wondered which future to use in English? Talking about the future in English involves more than just picking a tense—each future form shows a different level of certainty, and thus, purpose.
Whether you’re talking about intentions, decisions, fixed plans, or scheduled events, each tense has a unique nuance.
If you're feeling unsure about which future tense to use—whether it’s going to, will, the present continuous, or even the present simple—then today’s post is here to help with a Strategic Guide to Choosing Your Futures Wisely.
Today, we’ll go through the four main ways to express the future in English, focusing on the different nuances of meaning, rather than simply on the time of the action, which we will explore later on with the continuous and perfect continuous futures.
Understanding these differences will help you sound more fluent and confident.
I can picture the puzzled look on your face just now, this is not what we are ususally taught in school and it might need a slight change of perspective.
Before we Start, Let me Guide you through a quick Mindset Shift,
so you can Benefit the most from what you are about to learn.
I am no ordinary teacher, I'm a Strategic English Coach, so you should expect things like this from me once in a while. It's what in English we call Tough Love,
and you're about to get one of my tough lessons delivered with love, to Equip you with the Tools Needed to endure the stress of a real Battle with English.
Here we go:
It’s Time to Reconsider your Learning Approach and Change your Perspective on the English language.
Stop Fighting it, or you will never be at Peace
Start Observing it, you might Discover things you didn't know
Make Friends with it. You might end up Falling in Love.
English is Not Invincible and it's Not your Enemy either. It's a Powerful Ally. I am the living Proof of this.
As my students often hear me say, Tenses are just like People, We are all Unique, each with some Peculiarities, Virtues and Flaws.
That's what makes us Human, Incomparable and incredibly Fascinating when we create bonds. This, of course, simply requires some of us to be skillfully Managed sometimes, in order to still get along (the same goes for English, think of your parents/in-laws/boss..and apply similar strategies to survive the lifelong relationship and get along!)
So be Mindful of the Peculiarities of each Tense and everything will be alright.
Remember:
To Tame a Beast one Must be Cognizant of it.
Per Domare una Belva bisogna Conoscerla a fondo.
Think you're Ready Now?
Grab your coffee (or espresso, tea or anything you like!)
and let’s Get down to business.
English Future with a Twist
English has different ways to talk about the future, each with a unique twist.
The four different types of future convey different levels of certainty, so it helps to think of them as a scale from less certain to definitely happening.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the four main future structures: