1 m% going Vo -> nifinitlvs finil sliti]] tw'B • / r/imfc I'll fly directly to Los Angeles. (= a decision made without planning) • Everyone says America's a great place - I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time. (= a prediction based on opinion or experience) • I'll be 21 on 2 January. (= a fact about the future) 3 I'll meet you at the airport. (= willingness) be going to + infinitive a First I'm going to stay with Don and Suzanne. (= a decision already made) • The cloud's building up. It's going to rain this afternoon. (= a prediction based on outside evidence) We can sometimes use will instead of be going to to make a prediction based on outside evidence, but when we do, we usually include an adverb: The cloud's building up. It'll definitely rain I It's definitely going to rain this afternoon. We can use will or be going to in the main clause of an if sentence with little difference in meaning when we say that something is conditional on something else: If I don't go now, I'll I I'm going to be late for my next lecture. A We use will, not be going to, when the main clause refers to offers, requests, promises and ability: If my plans change, I'll let you know, of course. (= promise) If you bring your tent, we'll camp on the coast for a few days. (= ability; 'we will be able to camp') In formal contexts, we can use shall instead of will with / or we: 3 in questions that ask about intentions: Shall 11 we see you before you leave? (= Will I / we have the opportunity to see you?) • in statements about the future, although will is more usual: When I finish my course I shall have some time to travel around America, or When I finish my course I will have some time ... present continuous • I'm spending a few days sightseeing. (= event intended or arranged) present simple • Lectures start on 27'h July. (= event as part of official schedule) 14 The future Compare the use of the present continuous for the future and be going to: I'm flying on 15th July at ten in the evening. (= already arranged) I'm going to fly up there if it's not too expensive. (= the speaker intends to fly but has not made the arrangements yet) We tend to avoid be going to go and use the present continuous (be going to) instead: Then I'm going to San Francisco, rather than Then I'm going to go to San Francisco. We can't use the present continuous for future events which are outside people's control: It's going to rain this afternoon, (not It's raining this afternoon.) We can use either the present simple or will to talk about official arrangements: The semester begins on 7th December, or The semester will begin on 7th December. The present continuous is used in informal arrangements: You're not staying with them the whole time, then? (= informal arrangement) (not You don't stay-with them the whole time, then?) We use the present simple, or sometimes other present tenses, to refer to the future in time clauses with a conjunction (e.g. after, as soon as, before, by the time, when, while, until); in conditional clauses with if, in case, provided and unless; and in clauses beginning with suppose, supposing and what if As soon as I book my tickets, I'll let you know, (not As soon as I will book ...) It'll be good to know I can contact them in case I have any problems, (not... in case I will have any problems ...) What if I don't like it? (not What if I won't like it?) I Duttim eonttQUOUg, filling p-@cf®@C arid fulur® p(Mf&el: eent[[iuo;[i& We use the future continuous (will + be + present participle) to talk about something predicted to happen at a particular time or over a particular period in the future: I'll be studying really hard during the semesters. We use the future perfect (will + have + past participle) to make a prediction about an action we expect to be completed by a particular time in the future: By the time you come I'm sure I'll have got to know the city really well. We use the future perfect continuous (will + have been + present participle) to emphasise the duration of an activity in progress at a particular point in the future: When I come to see you, you'll have been living in California for nearly six months. We can also use the future continuous, future perfect and future perfect continuous to say what we believe or imagine to be true: Dad won't be using his car, so I'm sure it's okay to borrow it. (= an activity happening now or at a particular point in the future) They'll have forgotten what I look like. (= an event that took place before now or before a particular point in the future) My plane's been delayed. Don and Suzanne will have been waiting for me at the airport for hours. (= an activity continuing to now) 15 4 be to + infinitive Be to + infinitive is commonly used: • in news reports: Extra lifeguards are to be posted at the beach after a shark was seen swimming close to the shore. 3 to talk about official plans, and rules or instructions: Students are to hand in project reports at the end of semester two. (active) Project reports are to be handed in at the end of semester two. (passive) A We only use is I are I am to + infinitive to talk about future events that people can control: The weather will still be warm even in winter, (not The weather is still to be warm.) We often use be to + infinitive in t/"-clauses when we mean 'in order to': If she is to get a good grade in her project report, she needs to work on her statistics. (= in order to get a good grade, she needs to work on her statistics) Compare: If she gets a good grade in her project report, she will be really surprised. 5 Future in the past A number of forms can be used to talk about a past activity or event that was still in the future from the point of view of the speaker: I was going to see an aunt in Seattle a couple of years ago, but I cancelled the trip because she got ill. (= a plan that didn't happen) I knew I would be feeling awful by the end of the flight. (= a prediction made in the past) (> See Appendix 2.) c We can use was I were to + infinitive and was I were to have + past participle to talk about the g future in the past, particularly in formal contexts. With was I were to + infinitive we don't know whether the event actually happened unless the context makes this clear: First, I flew to New York and then I was to go on to Chicago. (= we don't know whether the speaker went to Chicago or not) A was I were to have + past participle is used for things that were expected, but didn't actually happen: I was to have visited my aunt, but she was taken ill. (= the visit didn't happen) Unlike is I are I am to + infinitive (see B4 above), we can use was I were to + infinitive whether or not people can control the event: Helen left England for Australia in 1964 for what she intended to be a short visit, but it was to be 30 years before she returned to her home country. 16 Choose the most appropriate future form. Sometimes more than one form is possible. 1 You'll freeze if.........yo^.j3