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Verb Tenses - Lesson 109

The Future with 'Will'

Lesson 109 - learn the future tense with will: how to form it, when to use it, common mistakes, examples and a short video.

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How to form the the future with 'will'

How To Form The Future With Will:

For positive statements take a subject (I, my friend...) after this put the auxiliary verb Will (I will..., my friend will...) then we use the compliment of the verb. If we put this all together we have: I will stay, my friend will stay. Notice the contraction of will, I'll, you'll, he'll. To form negatives place not after the auxiliary verb will. I will not stay. My friend will not stay. Notice the contraction of will not, I won't, you won't, he won't.To form questions change the position of the auxiliary verb will with the subject. Will I stay? Will my friend stay? We can then put a question word at the beginning of the sentence. Where will I stay? How long will my friend stay? The table below sets out the form of the future simple with will:

Affirmative Negative Interrogative
I will stay I will not stay Will I stay?
You will stay You will not stay Will you stay?
He will stay He will not stay Will he stay?
She will stay She will not stay Will she stay?
It will stay It will not stay Will it stay?
We will stay We will not stay Will we stay?
You will stay You will not stay Will you stay?
They will stay They will not stay Will they stay?

The following video explains how to form the Future Simple with Will:

When to use it

  • Predictions about the future, often with I think / probably. It will rain later.
  • Spontaneous decisions made at the moment of speaking. The phone's ringing — I'll get it.
  • Promises, offers and refusals. I'll help you. I won't tell anyone.
  • Facts about the future. She'll be twenty next month.

Signal words & time expressions: tomorrow, next week, soon, later, in the future, probably, I think, I expect

Watch the video lesson

Video transcript

Hi. How to make the future with will. So let's take a subject, I, the dog, then you put the auxiliary verb will, and then you put the verb you want to use: explain. So you have: I will explain. You will explain. He will explain. She will explain. It will explain. We'll explain, notice you can contract will to 'll, so we'll explain. You'll explain. They'll explain. To make negatives put not after the will. I will not explain. You will not explain. He will not explain. We will not explain. You will not explain. They will not explain. Notice you can contract will not to won't. I won't explain. I will not explain. I won't explain. To make questions change the position of the subject and the auxiliary verb will. Will I explain? Will you explain" Will he explain? Will she explain? Will it explain? Will we explain? Will you explain? Will they explain? If you want you can put a question word before. So for example: Why will I not explain? OK, there's a question for you. So that's how to form the future simple with will. In the next video I'll explain when to use it and that's a lot more complicated. So, see you there. Bye.

Common mistakes to avoid

Not quite…Better
Look at those clouds — it will rain.Look at those clouds — it's going to rain. — with present evidence, prefer going to.
I think I help you.I think I'll help you. — use will for an offer.

Frequently asked questions

‘Will’ or ‘going to’?

Use will for predictions based on opinion and for decisions made as you speak; use going to for plans already made and predictions based on what you can see.

Is ‘shall’ the same as ‘will’?

Shall is a more formal or old-fashioned alternative, still common in offers and suggestions with I and we: Shall I open the window?

Continue the course

This lesson is part of our free English Verb Tenses course — work through it in order or jump to what you need next.

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