Future Progressive Tense

by Craig Shrives

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What Is the Future Progressive Tense? (with Examples)

The future progressive tense is used for an ongoing action that will occur in the future. For example:
  • John will be baking a cake.
  • They will be painting the fence.

Examples of the Future Progressive Tense

Here are some examples of the future progressive tense (shaded):
  • The Moscow State Circus will be performing in Cheltenham for the next 3 weeks.
  • We will be celebrating like kings if it works.
  • The next time you see a spider's web, please pause and look a little closer. You will be seeing one of the most high-performance materials known to man. (Biologist Cheryl Hayashi)
  • She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes.
    • ("She'll" is a contraction of "she will.")

Forming the Future Progressive Tense

The future progressive tense is formed like this:
"will be"
+
[present participle ("verb-ing")]


(This is the construction for singular and plural.)

Forming the Present Participle

The word that ends "-ing" is known as a present participle. It is formed like this:

Add "ing" to most verbs:
  • play > playing
  • shout > shouting
For verbs that end "e," remove the "e" and add "ing":
  • prepare > preparing
  • ride > riding
For verbs that end "ie," change the "ie" to "y" and add "ing":
  • lie > lying
  • untie > untying
For verbs whose last syllable is written [consonant-vowel-consonant] and is stressed, double the final consonant and add "ing":
  • run > running
  • forget > forgetting

The Negative Version

If you need the negative version, you can use the following construction:
"will not be"
+
[present participle]
  • The Moscow State Circus will not be performing in Cheltenham for the next 3 weeks.
  • We will not be celebrating like kings if it fails.
Remember that "will not be" can be said or written (especially in informal writing) as the contraction "won't be."

The Question Version

If you need to ask a question, you can use the following word order for a yes/no question:
"will"
+
[subject]
+
"be"
+
[present participle]
  • Will the Moscow State Circus be performing in Washington?
  • Will we be celebrating like kings?
You can use the following word order for a question-word question:
[question word]
+
"will"
+
[subject]
+
"be"
+
[present participle]
  • When will the Moscow State Circus be performing in Cheltenham?
  • Why will we be celebrating like kings?
You can use the following word order for a choice question:
"will"
+
[subject]
+
"be"
+
[present participle]
+ +
choice A
+
or
+
choice B
  • Will the Moscow State Circus be performing in New York or Washington?
"will"
+
[subject]
+
"be"
+
present participle A
+
or
+
present participle B
  • Will we be celebrating like kings commiserating like paupers?

Infographic for the Future Perfect Tense

future progressive tense

Interactive Verb Conjugation Tables

The tables below show all 12 tenses so you can see the future progressive tense among the other tenses. (You can change the verb by clicking one of the green buttons.)

Top 10 Regular Verbs

Top 10 Irregular Verbs

All 4 Past Tenses

PersonSimple PastPast Progressive TensePast Perfect TensePast Perfect Progressive Tense
  • I
  • you
  • he/she/it
  • we
  • you
  • they
  • past tense
  • past tense
  • past tense
  • past tense
  • past tense
  • past tense
The simple past tense is for a completed activity that happened in the past.
  • was present participle
  • were present participle
  • was present participle
  • were present participle
  • were present participle
  • were present participle
The past progressive tense is for an ongoing activity in the past. Often, it is used to set the scene for another action.
  • had past participle
  • had past participle
  • had past participle
  • had past participle
  • had past participle
  • had past participle
The past perfect tense is for emphasizing that an action was completed before another took place.
  • had been present participle
  • had been present participle
  • had been present participle
  • had been present participle
  • had been present participle
  • had been present participle
The past perfect progressive tense is for showing that an ongoing action in the past has ended.

All 4 Present Tenses

PersonSimple PresentPresent Progressive TensePresent Perfect TensePresent Perfect Progressive Tense
  • I
  • you
  • he/she/it
  • we
  • you
  • they
  • base form
  • base form
  • 3rd pers sing present
  • base form
  • base form
  • base form
The simple present tense is mostly for a fact or a habit.
  • am present participle
  • are present participle
  • is present participle
  • are present participle
  • are present participle
  • are present participle
The present progressive tense is for an ongoing action in the present.
  • have past participle
  • have past participle
  • has past participle
  • have past participle
  • have past participle
  • have past participle
The present perfect tense is for an action that began in the past. (Often, the action continues into the present.)
  • have been present participle
  • have been present participle
  • has been present participle
  • have been present participle
  • have been present participle
  • have been present participle
The present perfect progressive tense is for a continuous activity that began in the past and continues into the present (or finished very recently).

All 4 Future Tenses

PersonSimple FutureFuture Progressive TenseFuture Perfect TenseFuture Perfect Progressive Tense
  • I
  • you
  • he/she/it
  • we
  • you
  • they
  • will base form
  • will base form
  • will base form
  • will base form
  • will base form
  • will base form
The simple future tense is for an action that will occur in the future.
  • will be present participle
  • will be present participle
  • will be present participle
  • will be present participle
  • will be present participle
  • will be present participle
The future progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will occur in the future.
  • will have past participle
  • will have past participle
  • will have past participle
  • will have past participle
  • will have past participle
  • will have past participle
The future perfect tense is for an action that will have been completed at some point in the future.
  • will have been present participle
  • will have been present participle
  • will have been present participle
  • will have been present participle
  • will have been present participle
  • will have been present participle
The future perfect progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will be completed at some specified time in the future.

Video Lesson

Other Future Tenses

The future progressive tense is one of four future tenses. This table shows all four of the future tenses:
The 4 Future Tenses Example
simple future tense I will go
future progressive tense I will be going
future perfect tense I will have gone
future perfect progressive I will have been going

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See Also

Take a test on the future progressive tense See all the tenses What is a verb phrase? Simple past tense Past progressive tense Past perfect tense Past perfect progressive tense Simple present tense Present progressive tense Present perfect tense Present perfect progressive tense Simple future tense Future perfect tense Future perfect progressive tense

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