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Unit 8 Summary: ?The Future Tenses? Unit 8 goes into great detail to explain how the Future Tenses are formed and their usages, giving examples of each. This is important because it helps the student/teacher to better know how to identify them. In all there are seven tenses that can be used when discussing future events. The first one mentioned is the Future Simple, which is used to talk about ?Future Facts and Certainties,? ?Promises,? ?Prediction (Based on no present evidence, as opposed to ?be going to?),? ?Assumptions/Speculations,? ?Spontaneous decisions (contrast with ?be going to? for planned events),? and ?Threats.? Secondly we have the Future Continuous. It is used to ?say that something will be in progress at a particular moment in the future, to ?predict the present,? to say what we think or guess might be happening now,? ?for polite inquiries referring to other people?s plans, but not to try to influence the listeners Intentions,? and ?to refer to future events which are fixed or decided (without suggesting personal intentions).? The Future Perfect tense is the third tense discussed. It is ?used to say that something will have been done, completed or achieved by a certain time in the future.? The usage for the fourth tense mentioned (the Future Perfect Continuous) is ?to say how long something will have continued by a certain time.? In the future tenses there is also the ??Going to? Future tense. It is used to express ?Intentions,? ?Predictions based on present evidence,? and ?Plans (decisions made before speaking).? The last two tenses are also used as Present Tenses but with different usages; and, in this particular instance (in the future tense form) it would be used ?to speak about something that will happen in the future.? The Present Simple can be used as a future tense ?to suggest a more formal,? ?For timetables and schedules,? and ?to suggest a more impersonal tone (often implying an outside compulsion).? Lastly, the Present Continuous can likewise be used as a future tense when talking about ?definite arrangements,? and ?for decisions and plans without a timeframe.? The Future Simple Form in the Affirmative is as follows: ?I shall/will? ?You will? ?He/She/It will + Verb? ?We Shall/Will? ?They will? The Future Continuous Form in the Affirmative consists of ?subject + will + be + verb + ing (present participle).? The Future Perfect Form in the Affirmative consists of ?will + have + present participle.? The Future Perfect Continuous Form in the Affirmative is ?will + have + been + verb + ing.? The ?Be Going + Infinitive (?Going to? Future) Form in the Affirmative consists of the ?Verb ?to be? in the present, plus ?going to,? plus the base form of the verb.? It was brought out in this unit?s lesson materials that we should note that this tense might cause some confusion to the student as the structure appears so similar to the present continuous. This is especially the case when the present continuous uses the structure ?to go.? The dissimilarity can be found in the fact that the ?be going to? arrangement is always followed by a verb. The Present Simple Form in the Affirmative is Subject + base form + [s/es]. The Present Continuous Form in the Affirmative is Subject + aux. verb ?be? + verb + ing Teaching ideas suggested for the Present Simple were having the class discuss: ?with present simple in time clauses,? ?going on a holiday, what will you take?,? ?predicting future changes in the next X number of years using different topics, ?predicting what you will be like in X number of years? and the use of ?songs.? Teaching ideas for the Future Continuous tense were: ?arranging diaries/dates,? ?trying to get out of an engagement that you don?t want to go to,? and ?illustrative situations.? Teaching ideas for the Future Perfect tense were to have the students to ?fill in future diaries and elicit questions in the future perfect tense,? ?invent and discuss an extremely successful career,? ?chose a famous historical personage and note down important dates in his/her life,? etc. Teaching ideas for the Future Perfect Continuous tense were to have the students to do a survey going around the class and asking the other students how long they will have been ?going to? school/learning English/working/living in their present house by summer?. Teaching ideas for the ?Going to? future tense were such things as having the students to ?make holiday/birthday party plans,?? playing the ?going to? game,? and developing an ?itinerary form a courier.? Also, ?for young learners the teacher could have them to plan what they are going to do when they grow up?. And, the older learners could ?plan future successful careers?. Lastly, the teacher might have the students to ?make predictions based on evidence? or to use ?songs? to discuss the ?going to? future tense. Ideas for teaching the Present Simple tense in the future tense form were: ?compiling or sharing information from railway and airline schedules,? ?writing press releases about the student?s future company plans,? or ?discussing weekly timetables?. Teaching ideas suggested for the Present Continuous when used in the future tense form were having the class discuss their ?diaries and schedules,? and to do ?role-play.?
