What is a Future Tense?

S2-SA1-0406

Grade Level:

Class 1

NLP, Law, History, Social Sciences, Literature, Journalism, Communication

Definition

What is it?

The future tense tells us about actions or events that will happen later. It talks about things that have not happened yet but are planned or expected to happen. We use words like 'will' and 'shall' to show future tense.

Simple Example

Quick Example

Imagine your school bus arrives at 7 AM every morning. If you say, 'The bus will arrive at 7 AM tomorrow,' you are talking about something that is going to happen in the future. It hasn't arrived yet, but it definitely will!

Worked Example

Step-by-Step

Let's change a sentence from present tense to future tense.

Step 1: Identify the verb in the present tense sentence. Sentence: 'I eat my lunch.' The verb is 'eat'.
---Step 2: Think about when the action will happen. For future, it will happen later.
---Step 3: Add 'will' or 'shall' before the base form of the verb. The base form of 'eat' is 'eat'.
---Step 4: Combine 'will' with the base verb. So, 'will eat'.
---Step 5: Form the new sentence. 'I will eat my lunch.'

Answer: The future tense sentence is 'I will eat my lunch.'

Why It Matters

Understanding future tense helps journalists report on upcoming events and lawyers discuss future legal actions. In business, managers use it to plan projects and set future goals. Clear communication about the future is key in almost every career!

Common Mistakes

MISTAKE: Using the 's' or 'es' ending with 'will' (e.g., 'He will goes to school.') | CORRECTION: Always use the base form of the verb after 'will' or 'shall' (e.g., 'He will go to school.')

MISTAKE: Confusing 'will' with 'would' (e.g., 'I would visit my friend tomorrow.') | CORRECTION: 'Would' is for conditional or past future. For simple future, use 'will' (e.g., 'I will visit my friend tomorrow.')

MISTAKE: Using 'is going to' incorrectly with 'will' (e.g., 'It will is going to rain.') | CORRECTION: Use either 'will' or 'is going to', but not both together (e.g., 'It will rain.' or 'It is going to rain.')

Practice Questions

Try It Yourself

QUESTION: Change the sentence to future tense: 'She plays cricket.' | ANSWER: She will play cricket.

QUESTION: Fill in the blank with the correct future tense form: 'My family ____ (travel) to Goa next month.' | ANSWER: My family will travel to Goa next month.

QUESTION: Rewrite the sentence in future tense, making sure the meaning stays the same: 'The shop opens at 9 AM every day.' | ANSWER: The shop will open at 9 AM tomorrow.

MCQ

Quick Quiz

Which of these sentences is in the future tense?

The students are studying.

The students studied yesterday.

The students will study for the exam.

The students have studied a lot.

The Correct Answer Is:

Option C uses 'will study', which clearly indicates an action happening in the future. Options A, B, and D are in present continuous, past, and present perfect tenses, respectively.

Real World Connection

In the Real World

When you book a train ticket on IRCTC, the dates you select are for your future journey. The app tells you, 'Your train will depart on [date] at [time].' This uses the future tense to inform you about an upcoming event.

Key Vocabulary

Key Terms

FUTURE: A time that is yet to come | TENSE: A form of a verb that shows the time of an action | WILL: A helping verb used to form the future tense | SHALL: Another helping verb, often used with 'I' and 'we' to form the future tense

What's Next

What to Learn Next

Great job learning about the future tense! Next, you should explore 'Simple Future Tense' and 'Future Continuous Tense'. These will teach you more specific ways to talk about actions happening at different points in the future.