future time in english

12/12/2014 Future time in English

http://www2.gsu.edu/~eslhpb/grammar/lecture_8/future.html 1/8

Future Time in English

Hear the Lecture

No "Future Tense" But Lots of "Future Time" Choices

Although English does not have a simple verb form for "future time" thatcorresponds to the simple present tense and the simple past tense, we havemany different ways to talk about future time. Or, better, we can talk aboutthe future in many different ways. Like the old example that claims that NativePeoples in Canada and Alaska have many different words for "snow"--orwords for many different types of "snow"--English has many different ways totalk about different aspects of future time.

I'm belaboring this point because I think it is important to realize that all ofthese ways of talking about the future are not just synonyms for each other. You can't always substitute one for another and maintain the same meaning.

Here are the future time uses of a variety of verb forms:

will includes a meaning of "future certainty" and"promise"

shall in the U.S. mostly used for ritualizedcommunication and sayings: We shallovercome. I shall return. And in introductionsin textbooks about what will be included--Inchapter 3, we shall do xyz. Or, someone cansay something like Shall we begin? or someother polite command.

be going to +verb

refers to a future action or event or state thatgrows out of current plans or current causes--notice that the pronunciation for "going to" issomething like "gonna"--in all types of U.S.English except for formal speaking, of course. What're you going to take next semester?



presentprogressive

This verb form that is commonly used forthings happening in present time can also beused for future time. Context is all! Notice theuse of the future time adverbials in theexamples.

simple present Used in 2 ways.

First, for a scheduled event: The new storeopens tomorrow morning.

Second, in a subordinate clause when the mainclause has a future time meaning and structure.

After he studies Spanish, he willtake a trip to Mexico.

Because she loves warm weather,she's going to move to Florida.

modal +progressive

As in He will be studying sociology nextsummer. However, all of the modals can beused for various senses of certainty as in Shemight be visiting Mexico over the break.

be (about) to the be (about) to + verb version is used forfuture requirements--and has an official feel toit--something about the implementation of arule or a necessity

the be about to+ verb version means thatsomething is planned for the near future

be fixing to in the Southern U.S., this expression refers tosomething in the very very very near future--immediately--at once. If you ask a Southernerto do something, and the reply is "I'm fixingto." That means "right now." It's not adelaying tactic but an expression of immediateintent



future time inthe past

The idea is that the central time is the past--likein a biography or autobiography or history textor novel. Then, the writer talks aboutsomething in the future--out in front of thatcentral past time. While Franklin Rooseveltwas not a serious student, he was destined tobecome a major agent for change in U.S.national and international policy. He was tochange ideas about U.S. structure and statusfundamentally.

modal + perfect In this use, we look ahead to a future time andsay that something will be completed at thatfuture time point. You will have read most ofthe Longman Student Grammar by the end ofthe semester. Generally, these statements aremade with will but other modals can be usedfor statements of a weaker level of certainty. You might have enjoyed some of the reading!

In the 2nd edition of their Grammar Book, Marianne Celce-Murcia and DianeLarsen-Freeman provide additional information about the contrasts amongthese various forms (see pages 126-128):

will future predictions: John will take asociology course next semester.

"spontaneous decision when the personhas control over the action": Thephone rings and a person says: I'll getthe phone. Or, I'll answer. Or, I'll getit.

be going to + verb future predictions in a less formal stylethan with will: John's going to take asociology course next semester.

future intentions based on previous



plans and decisions: John is going toteach in Mexico when he gets hismaster's degree.

future certainty based on currentcondition or present evidence: It'sgoing to be cold this afternoon.

present progressive future plans that have already beenmade

I'm leaving for school at 1 pm.

She's going to Venezuela this spring.

simple present Used in 2 ways.

First, for a scheduled event: The newstore opens tomorrow morning.

Second, in a subordinate clause whenthe main clause has a future timemeaning and structure.

After he studies Spanish,he will take a trip toMexico.

Because she loves warmweather, she's going tomove to Florida.

simple present vs.present progressivefor future timemeaning

very much alike but the simple presentis more formal and impersonal--oftenused for travel arrangements and fixedtimetables

present progressivevs. be going to

present progressive emphasizes thatplans have already been made while begoing to focuses on the speaker's plansor intentions. Notice this interesting



example that they give:

Where're are you staying atTESOL?

(a) I'm staying at theMarriott.

(b) I'm going to stay at theMarriott.

These examples need more context,but the idea is that (a) describes plansthat have been made while (b) is aboutthe speaker and her/his intentions.

They remind us thatstative verbs not usedwith the presentprogressive and that'strue for the futuretime meanings as wellas the present timemeanings--so begoing to is used--oranother form

As you would expect, the presentprogressive is used with action verbsrather than stative verbs:

Getting a new car is thesetting for their examples:

*The red car is belongingto me tomorrow."

The red car is going tobelong to me tomorrow.

The red car will belong tome tomorrow.

will vs. be going to They say: "Will and be going to aresometimes interchangeable when begoing to expresses the speaker'scertainty and will is used to make astrong prediction. However since begoing to is a present-tense form, it isused especially when there is evidencein the present to support the prediction;this is not necessarily the case withwill."



And they--that is, these two formsdiffer--also differ in that will is usedfor quick, 'on-the-spot' decisions,whereas be going to is used with morepremeditated ones.

What can I give Jill for herbirthday?

Oh, I know. I'll get herthat new novel.

*Oh, I know. I'm going toget her that new novel."

Teaching Issues

How are we to teach students to use these forms accurately and fluently? Ascomplete as they are, the charts of forms don't help us a great deal in thepreparation of teaching materials because they don't tell us anything muchabout the contexts in which the forms are used. Well, I know that the fixing toform is used by Southerners in conversation to promise immediate action. Thatdoesn't seem like an area that we would want to work with much for ESLstudents--unless they live in the South and have questions about the form. Andthe "on-the-spot quick decision" use of will can be contextualized pretty easily. But, when are the other forms used--in what settings? for what kinds ofcommunication? by what kinds of speakers? How do we write materials? Where do we find authentic examples?

In a dissertation (Suh, 1992) discussed in the Grammar Book, samples of oralcommunication are studied--little narratives of various sorts. The study showsthat we used some verbs to set up or frame a narrative and then other verbs togive the details. For example, in the data studied for future time narratives, begoing to is used to frame the narrative and the details are given with will. Look closely at the passage reprinted by Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freemanfrom the Suh dissertation:

Be going to vs. Will in Narratives from the White House Transcripts (1974)



John Dean is speaking

I think what is going to happen on the civilcase is that the judge is going to dismiss thecomplaint that is down there right now. Theywill then file a new complaint which willcome back to Ritchie again. That willprobably happen the 20th, 21st, 22nd. Then20 days will run before any answers have tobe filed and the depositions will becommenced. So we are eating up an awful lotof time.

Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman suggest setting up shorter frames of 1 or 2sentences that even students at lower proficiency levels can understand and useas models. Their models have be going to set up the story and then can orwill in the details.

Patrick O'Brien is going to marry his American girlfriend so hecan get a green card.

I'm going to study in Spain for a year next year so I'll be fluent inSpanish.

Indeed, when do we communicate about future time at all? These samplesfrom the Grammar Book show one type of future time narrative in which aperson explains what will take place over a period of time in the future. I canimagine that lawyers and doctors--and academic advisors?--use this patternquite a lot. We need to be on the look out for other authentic samples like theone with John Dean.

In trying to collect authentic written examples of future time writing, I foundvery few samples that were entirely focused on the future. Most of those werewritten around the first of the year--in the late fall as predictions start to bepublished about the upcoming year. On the other hand, I found that futuretime references come at the ends of articles and book chapters and studentessays in a strategy for bringing the piece of writing to a close by makingpredictions about what happens next. Clearly we also talk a lot about futureevents--what's happening after class, before dinner, next weekend. I've noticedthis week that some television programs end with future time statements aboutwhat to expect on the next iteration of the show.

My point: we need to find the contexts where future time is used and to work



from those contexts to provide our students with materials that show them howthe future time verbs are used and then give them opportunities to learn tomake such use in their own communication.

Based on these ideas, how would you write materials and lessons to helpstudents learn to use the forms in that chart back at the beginning of thislecture?

Please email me your questions or comments.

References

Biber, D., Conrad, S., and Reppen, R. (1998). Corpus linguistics:Investigating language structure and use. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress.

Celce-Murcia, M. and Larsen-Freeman, D. (1999). 2nd Ed. The grammarbook: An ESL/EFL teacher's course. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

Suh, K. H. (1992). A discourse analysis of the English tense-aspect-modalitysystem. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation in Applied Linguistics, University ofCalifornia Los Angeles.

future time in english

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