The document discusses several English verb tenses and modal verbs used to talk about the future, including will, be going to, may, might, present continuous, and present simple. It provides examples of how each is used, when each is used to indicate plans, predictions, possibilities, habits and other meanings. It also compares the uses of will and be going to as well as may and might. The document aims to explain the proper uses and meanings of these English verb constructions.
3. One of the most common ways to talk about the future is
with will, for example: I will call you tonight. We often call
this the "future simple tense", but technically there are no
future tenses in English. In this construction, the
word will is a modal auxiliary verb.
• Form: (Will + Infinitive)
• Examples:
•Affirmative sentences:
He will play football.
He'll play football.
•Negative sentences:
He will not play football.
He won't play football. or He'll not play football.
•Questions:
Will he play football?
4. Here are the three main ways that we use will to talk
about the future.
No plan
We use will when there is no prior plan or decision to
do something before we speak. We make the
decision at the time of speaking. Look at these
examples:
-Hold on. I'll get a pen.
-We will see what we can do to help you.
-Maybe we'll stay in and watch television tonight.
In these examples, we had no firm plan before
speaking. The decision was made at the time of
speaking.
We often use will with the verb think:
-I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow.
-I think I'll have a holiday next year.
-I don't think I'll buy that car.
5. Prediction
We often use will to make a prediction about the
future. Again, there is no firm plan. We are saying
what we think will happen. Here are some examples:
-It will rain tomorrow.
-People won't go to Jupiter before the 22nd
century.
-Who do you think will get the job?
Be
The verb be is an exception with will. Even when we
have a very firm plan, and we are not speaking
spontaneously, we can use will with be. Look at these
examples:
-I will be in London tomorrow.
-There will be 50 people at the party.
-The meeting will be at 9.30 am.
7. May
We can use 'may' to ask for permission. However this
is rather formal and not used very often in modern
spoken English
-May I borrow your pen?
-May we think about it?
-May I go now?
We use 'may' to suggest something is possible
-It may rain later today.
-I may not have time to do it today.
-Pete may come with us
8. Might
We use 'might' to suggest a small possibility of something.
Often we read that 'might' suggests a smaller possibility
that 'may', there is in fact little difference and 'might is
more usual than 'may' in spoken English.
-She might be at home by now but it's not sure at all.
-It might rain this afternoon.
-I might not have time to go to the shops for you.
-I might not go.
For the past, we use 'might have'.
-He might have tried to call while I was out.
-I might have dropped it in the street.
9. May and Might
There are two exceptions to this rule.
First, might is the past tense of may. So you have to
use might when you are referring to the past. For example, even if
it's likely that Annie went to a party last night, Dean shouldn't say,
“Annie may have gone to the party’; he should say,
“Annie might have gone to the party.”
The second exception is when you're talking about something not
happening, it can be better to use might because people could
think you're talking about permission if you use may. This is
clearer with an example. If you aren't sure whether you'll go to the
party, and you say, "We may not go to the party," it can be
misinterpreted to mean you don't have permission to go to the
party, particularly in writing, where voice inflections don't help
guide the meaning. But if you say, "We might not go to the party,"
then your meaning is clear. It's the safer bet.
10. Similarly, we can use the modal
auxiliaries may or might to say that there is a chance that
something is true or may happen.May and might are
used to talk about present or future events. They can
normally be used interchangeably, although might may
suggest a smaller chance of something happening.
Compare the following:
I may go into town tomorrow for the Christmas sales. And
James might come with me!
What are you doing over the New Year, Ann? ~ Oh,
I maygo to Scotland, but there again, I might stay at
home.
If you go to bed early tonight, you may / might feel better
tomorrow.
If you went to bed early tonight, you might feel better
tomorrow.
One of my New Year resolutions is to go to the gym twice
a week! ~ And pigs might fly!
11. Modal Example Uses
May May I have Asking for
another cup of permission
coffee?
China may Future possibility
become a major
economic power.
Might We'd better phone Present possibility
tomorrow, they
might be eating
their dinner now.
They might give us Future possibility
a 10% discount.
13. FORM: [am/is/are + present participle]
Examples:
-You are watching TV.
-Are you watching TV?
-You are not watching TV.
Use 1: Now
Use the Present Continuous with Normal Verbs to
express the idea that something is happening
now, at this very moment. It can also be used to
show that something is not happening now.
14. Use 2: Longer Actions in Progress Now
In English, "now" can mean: this second, today,
this month, this year, this century, and so on.
Sometimes, we use the Present Continuous to
say that we are in the process of doing a longer
action which is in progress; however, we might
not be doing it at this exact second.
15. Use 3: Near Future
Sometimes, speakers use the Present Continuous
to indicate that something will or will not happen in
the near future.
Use 4: Repetition and Irritation with "Always“
The Present Continuous with words such as
"always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that
something irritating or shocking often happens.
Notice that the meaning is like Simple Present, but
with negative emotion. Remember to put the
words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and
"verb+ing."
16. Functions and Examples
We use the present continuous to talk about something that is
happening at the time of speaking. The action is not finished.
He is speaking to John.
What is she doing?
We use the present continuous to talk about temporary situations.
I am living in London at the moment.
Why is she moving house?
We use the present continuous to talk about changing situations.
You're getting taller and taller every day.
The weather's getting warmer.
We use the present continuous to talk about repeated actions
around the time of speaking.
I'm seeing Jane a lot these days.
We use the present continuous with words such as "always" to
talk about things that happen repeatedly (sometimes to say that
something is irritating or annoying).
She's always complaining about how difficult her life is.
We use the present continuous to talk about future arrangements.
I'm meeting my father at the airport at 5 o'clock tomorrow.
18. FORM : [VERB] + s/es in third person
Examples:
•You speak English.
•Do you speak English?
•You do not speak English.
USE 1: Repeated Actions
Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an
action is repeated or usual. The action can be a habit, a
hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something
that often happens. It can also be something a person
often forgets or usually does not do.
19. USE 2: Facts or Generalizations
The Simple Present can also indicate the speaker
believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and will
be true in the future. It is not important if the speaker is
correct about the fact. It is also used to make
generalizations about people or things.
USE 3: Scheduled Events in the Near Future
Speakers occasionally use Simple Present to talk about
scheduled events in the near future. This is most
commonly done when talking about public transportation,
but it can be used with other scheduled events as well.
USE 4 Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)
Speakers sometimes use the Simple Present to express
the idea that an action is happening or is not happening
now. This can only be done with Non-Continuous
Verbs and certain Mixed Verbs.
20. Functions And Examples
We use the present simple to talk about permanent situations.
She doesn't speak English.
Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
We use the present simple to talk about things that happen
repeatedly.
I go to school every day.
Jack sometimes plays tennis.
We use the present simple to ask for and give instructions.
How do I get to the bathroom?
You go up the stairs and turn right.
We use the present simple in narrative (to tell stories).
At the start of the film, a big spaceship comes to Earth and lands in LA.
Then the aliens eat all the people.
We use the present simple to talk about future scheduled events.
The meeting starts at 10am.
The train leaves at 7.32pm.
We use the present simple in certain introductory expressions.
I hear you went on holiday to Spain this summer.
I gather you're leaving the company.
We use the present simple to do things by using some special
verbs (for example: promise, advise, suggest, apologise, insist,
agree, swear).
I promise I'll never do it again
22. Going to - intention
We use going to when we have the intention to do something
before we speak. We have already made a decision before
speaking. Look at these examples:
-Jo has won the lottery. He says he's going to buy a Porsche.
-We're not going to paint our bedroom tomorrow.
-When are you going to go on holiday?
In these examples, we had an intention or plan before
speaking. The decision was made before speaking.
Going to - prediction
We often use going to to make a prediction about the future. Our
prediction is based on presentevidence. We are saying what we
think will happen. Here are some examples:
-The sky is very black. It's going to snow.
-It's 8.30! You're going to miss the train!
-I crashed the company car. My boss isn't going to be very
happy!
In these examples, the present situation (black sky, the time,
damaged car) gives us a good idea of what is going to happen.
23. We use 'going to' when we want to talk about a plan for the future.
-I'm going to see him later today.
-They're going to launch it next month.
-We're going to have lunch first.
Notice that this plan does not have to be for the near future.
-When I retire I'm going to go back to Barbados to live.
-In ten years time, I'm going to be boss of my own successful
company.
We use 'going to' when we want to make a prediction based on
evidence we can see now.
-Look out! That cup is going to fall off.
-Look at those black clouds. It's going to rain soon.
-These figures are really bad. We're going to make a loss.
-You look very tired. You're going to need to stop soon.
We can replace 'going to go' by 'going'.
-I'm going out later.
-She's going to the exhibition tomorrow.
24. Examples
Affirmative Sentence
I'm going to play handball.
Negative Sentence
I'm not going to play handball.
Question
Am I going to play handball?
Do not mix up with the Present Progressive!
Going to Present Progressive
He's going to read the He's reading the book.
book.