| Past | Present | Future | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | I helped my friend. | I help my friend. | I will help my friend. |
| Perfect | I had helped my friend before we ate dinner. | I have helped my friend too much this week. | I will have helped my friend too many times by the end of the month. |
| Continuous | I was helping my friend when she broke her phone. | I am helping my friend while her mom is at work. | I will be helping my friend with a project next week when she starts school. |
| Perfect-Continuous | I had been helping my friend for many years before she finally thanked me. | I have been helping my friend since we met each other many years ago. | I will have been helping my friend for a week by the time the project is finished. |
Introduction:
The future simple tense in English is used to describe actions that will happen at a later time. It is a straightforward and commonly used tense for making predictions, promises, or decisions made at the moment of speaking.
Formula:
- Affirmative: Subject + will + base verb
- Example: “She will travel to France.”
- Negative: Subject + will not + base verb
- Example: “She will not travel to France.”
- Interrogative: Will + subject + base verb?
- Example: “Will she travel to France?”
Usage 1: Making Predictions
- Description: The future simple tense is often used to make predictions about the future based on personal opinions or external evidence.
- Example: “It will rain tomorrow.”
- Explanation: This sentence is predicting a future event based on the speaker’s judgment. “Will” indicates the future aspect of the prediction.
Usage 2: Expressing Promises or Offers
- Description: When making promises or offering to do something, the future simple tense is commonly used to convey commitment or intention.
- Example: “I will help you with your homework.”
- Explanation: In this case, the speaker is making a promise to help, hence “will” is used to indicate this intended future action.
Usage 3: Decisions Made at the Moment of Speaking
- Description: It is also used for decisions that are made spontaneously, at the moment of speaking.
- Example: “I think I will order pizza tonight.”
- Explanation: The decision to order pizza is made at the moment of speaking, and “will” is used to form the future action that the speaker intends to take.
Usage 4: Statements of Fact about the Future
- Description: The future simple tense can describe future events that are seen as certain.
- Example: “The sun will rise at 6 AM.”
- Explanation: This sentence states a fact about the future, something that is certain to happen, shown by the use of “will.”