Learn: grammar tenses are like the camera settings of English. They don’t just show when something happens, but how it happens: in a flash, in progress, or over time. They turn plain sentences into living stories. Without them, everything sounds stuck in the moment. Mastering tenses means you can control time, action, and emotion just like a director controls a movie scene.
Revise: you first met the present tenses back in forms 3 and 4, so it’s time to give them a quick refresh! Here you can revise the Present Simple and the Present Continuous before moving on: Present Simple, Present Continuous , Present Simple vs Present Progressive. From form 8 you might remember another present tense: Present Perfect Simple . You explored the past tenses in form 8, so it’s time to refresh your knowledge about this grammar tense as well: Past Tenses. Back in forms 5 and 6, you already discovered some ways to talk about the future — it’s time to bring them back to mind: Usage of "Be going to", Future Simple. WILL.
The formation of the grammar tenses in a nutshell:
Learn: in this unit, you’ll explore more specific ways to talk about the future. You’ll see how English uses not only "will" and "be going to", but also the Present Simple and Present Continuous to express future plans and events. Let's start by exploring how the Present Simple can be used to express future. Watch the video:
Key takeaways:
We use the Present Simple to talk about future events that are fixed, scheduled, or timetabled.
“The flight leaves at 6 a.m.” / “The concert starts at eight.”
“The flight leaves at 6 a.m.” / “The concert starts at eight.”
It’s common for public events, transport timetables, and official schedules.
“The train arrives at noon.” / “School finishes at three.”
“The train arrives at noon.” / “School finishes at three.”
The tense shows that the future event is certain and part of a plan that cannot change easily. It is often used with time prepositions and expressions like "at", "in", "on", "tomorrow", "next week", etc.
“My exam begins on Monday.”
“My exam begins on Monday.”
In time clauses introduced by "when", "while", "before", "after", "until", "as soon as", "once", "if", "unless", we use the present simple to refer to a future action. The structure: main clause (future) + time clause (present simple).
Let's explore in detail the following example:
"I’ll call you when I get home."
Main clause: "I’ll call you". This part tells what will happen in the future. It uses “will” to show the future action.
Time clause: "when I get home". This part tells when the main action will happen. It starts with the time word “when” and uses the present simple (get), even though it refers to the future.
Time clause: "when I get home". This part tells when the main action will happen. It starts with the time word “when” and uses the present simple (get), even though it refers to the future.
Learn: let's continue and see how the Present Continuous works for the future. Watch the video:
Key takeways:
Present Continuous isn’t only for “now.” We can also use it to talk about planned future actions focusing on personal plans or arrangements. We show it’s future by adding a time expression.
"I’m teaching English tomorrow."
"We’re not swimming later."
Use future time expressions such as: "tomorrow", "tonight", "later", "next week / month", "in November". Structure: subject + am/is/are + verb-ing + future time phrase
"She’s meeting her friends tomorrow."
"She’s meeting her friends tomorrow."
Svarīgi!
The key difference: we use the Present Simple for fixed schedules or timetables, while the Present Continuous is used for personal plans or arrangements that are already decided.
"The train leaves at 6 p.m." (Present Simple — a fixed timetable)
"I’m meeting my friend at 6 p.m." (Present Continuous — a personal plan or arrangement)
"I’m meeting my friend at 6 p.m." (Present Continuous — a personal plan or arrangement)
Svarīgi!
The key difference: we use "will" for instant decisions – made at the moment of speaking or predictions based on opinion, while we use "be going to" for plans decided earlier or predictions based on evidence.
“I’m hungry – I’ll make a smoothie.” (a spontaneous decision made now)
“I’m going to make a smoothie after the gym.” (a plan decided earlier)
“I’m hungry – I’ll make a smoothie.” (a spontaneous decision made now)
“I’m going to make a smoothie after the gym.” (a plan decided earlier)
Atsauce:
To Fluency "Using the Present Simple to Talk about the Future (And a Bonus Idiom)" on youtube.com
Maltalingua English Language School "Present Continuous for Future – English Grammar Lesson (Intermediate)" on youtube.com