Future Continuous: Form, Uses and Examples

The future continuous has three parts: will, be and the main verb with -ing. Like the future simple, it is the same for every subject: I will be going, she will be going, they will be going.

In speech, will becomes 'll: I'll be, you'll be, it'll be. For negatives, use won't be. For questions, put will before the subject: Will you be working tomorrow?

The -ing spelling rules are the same as for the present continuous: write, writing; swim, swimming; lie, lying.

The main use is for an action that will be in progress at a particular time in the future. The action starts before that time and continues after it. We are imagining ourselves in the middle of it.

Time phrases like this time tomorrow, at 8 o'clock tonight and in two years' time are very common. You can also use it with a when clause: When you get home, I'll be making dinner.

Compare it with the past continuous, which does the same thing in the past: At 8 last night I was watching TV. At 8 tonight I'll be watching TV.

We also use the future continuous for something that will happen as part of the normal course of events: a routine, a schedule or an arrangement that already exists. It sounds neutral, not like a new decision or a promise.

Compare: I'll go to the post office (I've just decided, maybe as an offer) and I'll be going to the post office later (I'm going anyway, it is already part of my day). The second form is useful when you offer to do something without making it sound like a big favour.

The question Will you be + -ing? is a polite and neutral way to ask about someone's plans. It does not put pressure on the other person, because it asks only what they are going to do, not what they want to do or if they will agree.

Compare: Will you come to the meeting? (this can sound like a request or an invitation) and Will you be coming to the meeting? (simply asking about their plans). This is very useful at work, in hotels and when you want something from someone, for example: Will you be using the printer this afternoon? For more ways to ask politely, read polite requests in English.

English has many ways to talk about the future, and they overlap. The present continuous for future is for fixed personal arrangements: I'm meeting Sam at six. Going to is for plans and intentions. Will is for decisions, promises and predictions. The guide will vs going to covers those two in detail.

The future continuous adds the idea of an action in progress, or of something that will happen anyway. It is never wrong to use a simpler form, but it often sounds more natural in the situations above.

To talk about an action that will be finished before a future time, use the future perfect: By 9 p.m. I'll have finished my essay. State verbs like know, want, own and believe are not normally used in the continuous: say I'll know the results tomorrow, not I'll be knowing.

In conversation, the future continuous is common in plans, arrangements and polite questions. Will is nearly always shortened to 'll, and be is weak and short, so I'll be working can sound like al-bee-working.

You will also hear it in predictions about what someone is doing right now or soon, often with probably: Don't call her now, she'll probably be sleeping. In American English, people often use I'm going to be + -ing in the same way: I'm going to be working late tonight.