25Future Progressive: Like the past progressive, the future progressive indicates an action that is interrupted by
another action in the future.
- I will be sleeping when he returns.
- When she arrives, we will be baking a cake. (Notice how the verb that is being interrupted is
conjugated in the future progressive form (will be baking) and the verb that is doing the
interrupting (arrives) is conjugated in the simple present form.)
Future Progressive can also indicate an action that is interrupted by a specific time in the future. (Not an action
that starts or stops in the future - that is simple future -but an action that is INTERUPPTED!)
- Tomorrow at 8 pm, I am going to be watching a movie. (Translation: I am going to start watching
a movie earlier than 8, and will still be watching the movie at 8.) - Tomorrow at 8pm, I will watch a movie. (Translation: I am going to start watching the movie
AT 8.)
The future progressive is formed with “will” plus “be” plus a gerund (ing) word.
Example: I will be waiting
You will be waiting
He will be waiting
She will be waiting
They will be waiting
We will be waiting
ETS will not expect you to differentiate the different uses of simple future and future progressive, so keep it
simple:
just remember that whatever form you see it in, the future tense happens in the future!
Moving on to the trickier tenses: Present Perfect, Past Perfect, Future Perfect, and Subjunctive. The key to
getting verb tense issues correct is learning how to spot the error in the first place!
#4: Present Perfect
How to Find: “has” or ”have” plus the past participle – have seen, has run, have begun, has sung...
Example: I have run
You have run
He has run
She has run
They have run
We have run