Dear All,

There are several different ways in English that you can talk about the future:

- Predictions/statements of fact
- Intentions
- Arrangements
- Scheduled events

Predictions/statements of fact

The auxiliary verb will is used in making predictions or simple statements of fact about the future.

The sun will rise at 6.30 tomorrow.
Lunch break today will be 10 minutes longer than usual.
In the year 2050 all students will have their own computers in school.
If you help me, I will help you.
Do you think she will come soon?
You won't pass your exams if you don't start working harder.
I know my parents won't let me go to the party.
Will it snow for Christmas?
I know she's sick, but will she be back in school tomorrow?

Intentions

The auxiliary verb going to is used in talking about intentions. (An intention is a plan for the future that you have already thought about.)

We're going to buy a new car next month.
I'm going to work in a bank when I leave school.
In the new year I'm going to stop eating so much junk.
He's not going to go to the dance. He's got too much work.
I'm not going to watch TV until my science project is finished.
Are you going to play basketball after school?
What are you going to have for lunch today?

Note: going to is often used in the past tense to talk about an unfulfilled intention. Examples: I was going to study for my grammar test, but I had no time. / He was going to call you, but he couldn't find his mobile phone. / My grandmother was going to visit us, but she fell and broke her arm.

Arrangements

The present continuous tense is used in talking about arrangements. (An arrangement is is a plan for the future that you have already thought about and discussed with someone else.)

I'm meeting my mother at the airport tomorrow.
Our grandparents are visiting us this Christmas.
Sorry, I can't stay after school today; I'm playing tennis with Jun-Sik.
My sister's going to the dentist tomorrow.
I'm not returning home for the holidays, so I can come to your party after all!
Are you doing anything on Sunday morning?
Do you know if he is going to the dance with Maiko next week?

Scheduled events

The present simple tense is usually used to refer to future events that are scheduled (and outside of our control).

Hurry up! The train departs in 10 minutes.
I leave Frankfurt at 5 o'clock in the morning and arrive in New York
She has an appointment with the headmaster after school today.
There's no need to hurry. The train doesn't leave for another 30 minutes.
When does the meeting begin?

Below is a list of some of the less common tenses, followed in each case by examples. Note that the continuous tenses convey the idea of an event or state going on for a period of time:

More tenses

Present perfect continuous

I have been working in the garden all day, and now I'm extremely tired.
She has been living in a one-room apartment since she left home.
How long have you been playing the piano?
He's been learning German for two years, but he still can't speak it very well.
We've been painting our house since last Friday, but we're still a long way from finishing.
We haven't been living in Germany very long.
Why are you sweating? Have you been running?

quiz

Past perfect continuous

I had been working in the garden all day, and all I wanted to do was sleep.
She had been living in a one-room apartment for a year before getting married.
How long had you been playing the piano before the accident with your hand?
He'd been learning German for two years, but he stopped when he returned to Japan.
We'd been painting our house for two weeks, but we were still a long way from finishing.

Future continuous

At this time next week I will be sitting in the plane on the way to New York.
Don't call me after 10 o'clock. I'll be sleeping.
If you want to see Miho tomorrow, you will have to go to the school. Shewill be taking a test all afternoon.
I won't be working on my car this weekend. My mother-in-law will be here.

Future perfect

I hope my mother will have finished cooking dinner by the time I get home.
You can come at 6 o'clock. I will have done my homework by then.
There's no point calling her at home. She will have left for work already.
On June 25 2020 they will have been married for 60 years.

Future perfect continuous

By the time I retire I will have been working here for 45 years!
If she reaches her 60th birthday, she will have been smoking for half a century!

quiz

Future forms from hacersivil

Prefixes: A prefix (affix) is a word, or letter(s) placed at the beginning of another word (a base word) to adjust or qualify its usage or meaning. The opposite of prefix is suffix.

un-
in-
il- (+ adj. starting with l)
ir- (+ adj. starting with r)
im- (+ adj. starting with m or p)

The Zero Conditional

We can make a zero conditional sentence with two present simple verbs (one in the 'if clause' and one in the 'main clause'):

If + present simple, .... present simple.

This conditional is used when the result will always happen. So, if water reaches 100 degrees, it always boils. It's a fact. I'm talking in general, not about one particular situation. The result of the 'if clause' is always the main clause.

The 'if' in this conditional can usually be replaced by 'when' without changing the meaning.

For example: If water reaches 100 degrees, it boils. (It is always true, there can't be a different result sometimes). If I eat peanuts, I am sick. (This is true only for me, maybe, not for everyone, but it's still true that I'm sick every time I eat peanuts)

Here are some more examples:

If people eat too much, they get fat.
If you touch a fire, you get burned.
People die if they don't eat.
You get water if you mix hydrogen and oxygen.
Snakes bite if they are scared
If babies are hungry, they cry

The First Conditional

The first conditional has the present simple after 'if', then the future simplein the other clause:

if + present simple, ... will + infinitive

It's used to talk about things which might happen in the future. Of course, we can't know what will happen in the future, but this describes possible things, which could easily come true.

If it rains, I won't go to the park.
If I study today, I'll go to the party tonight.
If I have enough money, I'll buy some new shoes.
She'll be late if the train is delayed.
She'll miss the bus if she doesn't leave soon.
If I see her, I'll tell her.

First vs. Zero Conditional:

The first conditional describes a particular situation, whereas the zero conditional describes what happens in general.

For example (zero conditional): if you sit in the sun, you get burned (here I'm talking about every time a person sits in the sun - the burning is a natural consequence of the sitting)

But (first conditional): if you sit in the sun, you'll get burned (here I'm talking about what will happen today, another day might be different)

The Second Conditional

The second conditional uses the past simple after if, then 'would' and the infinitive:

if + past simple, ...would + infinitive

(We can use 'were' instead of 'was' with 'I' and 'he/she/it'. This is mostly done in formal writing).

It has two uses.

First, we can use it to talk about things in the future that are probably not going to be true. Maybe I'm imagining some dream for example.

If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house.(I probably won't win the lottery)
If I met the Queen of England, I would say hello.
She would travel all over the world if she were rich.
She would pass the exam if she ever studied.(She never studies, so this won't happen)

Second, we can use it to talk about something in the present which is impossible, because it's not true. Is that clear? Have a look at the examples:

If I had his number, I would call him. (I don't have his number now, so it's impossible for me to call him).
If I were you, I wouldn't go out with that man.

How is this different from the first conditional?

This kind of conditional sentence is different from the first conditional because this is a lot more unlikely.

For example (second conditional): If I had enough money I would buy a house with twenty bedrooms and a swimming pool (I'm probably not going to have this much money, it's just a dream, not very real)

But (first conditional): If I have enough money, I'll buy some new shoes (It's much more likely that I'll have enough money to buy some shoes)

Unless = If ..... not

Often when we are talking about present situations, we use unless instead of if...not.

Unless means except if or simply it means if...not.

Both of these examples have the same meaning and refer to the present time.

"You can't go on vacation unless you save some money."

"If you don't save some money, you can't go on vacation."

"You will feel cold if you don't wear a coat."

"You will feel cold unless you wear a coat."

Unless is good to use when it highlights an exception to what is generally true. In this example I only have one reason why i may be late: traffic (vehicles on the road):

"I'll arrive at 10am unless there is traffic."

"I'll arrive at 10am if there isn't traffic."

This next example shows us that sometimes the context can change and unless is not exactly interchangeable with if...not.

"I'll be annoyed if I do not arrive at 10am." - Being late will annoy me.

"I'll be annoyed unless I arrive at 10am." - The only thing that can stop me from being annoyed is arriving at 10am.

B1 BASIC

16 Kasım 2015 Pazartesi

WEEK 8