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Imagine someone asks you what you will be doing at eight o’clock tomorrow evening. You might reply, “I will be having dinner.” That is the future continuous — a tense that lets us see an action stretched out in time, already under way at a future moment.
Many learners reach for the future simple (will do) for everything and never quite realise what the continuous adds. This guide explains how to build the future continuous, the four main reasons we use it, and exactly how it differs from the future simple and the future perfect.
Key Takeaways
- The future continuous is formed with will be + the -ing form: I will be working.
- Its main use is an action in progress at a future time: At 8pm tomorrow I will be studying.
- It is also used for polite enquiries (Will you be paying by card?) and to predict the present (Don’t call now — she’ll be sleeping).
- It contrasts with the future simple (a whole event) and the future perfect (a completed action by a future point).
- Typical time markers are at 8pm tomorrow, this time next week, and all day tomorrow.
How to Form the Future Continuous
The future continuous is one of the easiest tenses to build because the form never changes with the subject. You simply take will be and add the present participle (the -ing form) of the main verb.
| Subject | will be + -ing |
|---|---|
| I | I will be working |
| You | you will be working |
| He / She / It | he will be working |
| We | we will be working |
| They | they will be working |
In speech and informal writing, will is usually contracted to ’ll: I’ll be working, she’ll be travelling, we’ll be waiting. Notice that the only part that changes is the main verb, which always carries the -ing ending.
Apply the usual -ing spelling rules: double the final consonant in running and sitting, drop the silent e in making and writing, and change -ie to -y in lying and dying.
When We Use the Future Continuous
The future continuous has four main uses. The first is the core one; the others grow naturally out of it.
1. An action in progress at a future time. This is the heart of the tense. The action begins before a future moment and is still happening at that moment.
At 8pm tomorrow I will be having dinner.
This time next week she will be flying to Rome.
Don’t arrive at noon — we will be eating then.
2. Polite enquiries about plans. Asking Will you be...? sounds gentle because it treats the action as already expected rather than demanding a decision.
Will you be using the car this evening?
Will you be paying by card or cash?
3. Predicting the present. We use it to guess what is probably happening right now, based on what we know about someone’s habits.
Don’t phone her now — she will be sleeping.
It’s 9am, so they will be having their meeting.
4. Planned or expected events. We use it for things that will happen as part of the normal course of events, often without any special decision.
I will be seeing Tom on Friday, so I’ll pass on your message.
The committee will be meeting again next month.
Time Expressions and the Timeline
Because the future continuous focuses on a moment within an ongoing action, it pairs naturally with expressions that pinpoint a future time or period.
- At a precise point: at 8pm tomorrow, at midnight, at this exact moment next week
- Around a future moment: this time tomorrow, this time next week, by then
- Over a future period: all day tomorrow, for the next few hours
- When another event happens: when you arrive, while you are travelling
On a timeline, the action starts before the marked time and continues after it. The marker simply shows a moment when the action is already in full swing: When you arrive at six, I will be cooking — the cooking began earlier and carries on past six.
Future Continuous vs Future Simple
The choice between will do and will be doing changes how we frame the action. The simple presents it as a complete event; the continuous presents it as ongoing.
Future Simple (will do)
- A complete, single future event
- A decision made at the moment of speaking
- Promises, offers, and predictions
- Example: I will call you at six.
Future Continuous (will be doing)
- An action in progress at a future point
- Stresses duration around a moment
- Polite enquiries and expected events
- Example: At six I will be calling clients.
Compare: I will work tomorrow simply states the fact that work will happen, while At 10am tomorrow I will be working places you inside the activity at that hour. Both are correct; they answer slightly different questions.
Future Continuous vs Future Perfect
Learners often mix up will be doing and will have done. The difference is whether the action is still happening or already finished at the future moment.
In progress vs completed
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Future continuous will be + -ing |
Action still in progress at the future time | By 9pm I will be cooking dinner. |
| Future perfect will have + past participle |
Action finished before the future time | By 9pm I will have cooked dinner. |
In the first sentence the cooking is still going on at nine; in the second it is already done and dinner is ready. Choose the continuous to picture the activity, and the perfect to look back on a completed result.
Negatives, Questions, and Common Mistakes
The negative places not after will, usually contracted to won’t be. Questions invert will and the subject.
I won’t be working next Monday. (negative)
Will you be joining us for lunch? (yes/no question)
What will you be doing this time tomorrow? (wh- question)
Now the errors to avoid. The most common is forgetting be or using a stative verb in the continuous.
I will working at noon. → say: I will be working at noon.
She will be know the answer. → say: She will know the answer. (stative verb)
Will you be to come tonight? → say: Will you be coming tonight?
I will be have dinner at eight. → say: I will be having dinner at eight.
In speaking exams, the future continuous shows range and earns marks. When asked about your plans, try “This time next week I’ll be...” instead of a flat “I will...” — just remember that stative verbs like know, own, and believe stay in the simple form.
Practise the Future Continuous
Test yourself with gap-fill exercises and get instant feedback on every answer.
Complete the SentenceExercises to Practise on LexFizz
- Complete the Sentence — fill in the correct future form (will do vs will be doing)
- Cloze Dropdown — choose the right future tense from a dropdown menu
- True or False — identify correct and incorrect future continuous usage
- Quiz — multiple-choice questions on the future tenses
- Flash Cards — review future continuous forms with spaced repetition
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Frequently Asked Questions
The future continuous tense describes an action that will be in progress at a particular time in the future. It is formed with will be plus the -ing form of the main verb: At 8pm tomorrow I will be working. It emphasises the ongoing, unfinished nature of the action at that future moment, rather than its beginning or end. The same form is also used for polite enquiries and for actions we expect to happen as part of the normal course of events.
The future continuous is formed with the subject + will be + the present participle (-ing form) of the main verb: I will be working, you will be working, he will be working, we will be working. The form does not change with the subject, which makes it simpler than many tenses. The negative is will not be (won’t be) + -ing, and questions invert to will + subject + be + -ing, as in Will you be joining us?
We use the future continuous mainly for an action that will be in progress at a specific future time: This time next week I will be flying to Rome. It is also used for polite enquiries about someone’s plans (Will you be using the car tonight?), for predicting the present (Don’t phone now — she will be sleeping), and for actions expected to happen in the normal course of events (I will be seeing Tom on Friday, so I’ll ask him then).
The future simple (will do) presents a future action as a single, complete event or a decision made at the moment of speaking: I will call you at six. The future continuous (will be doing) presents the action as ongoing or in progress at a future point: At six I will be calling clients. Use the simple for the whole event and the continuous to stress that the action surrounds a particular moment in time.
Common time expressions include at 8pm tomorrow, this time next week, this time tomorrow, at midnight, in an hour, all day tomorrow, and when you arrive. These phrases pinpoint a moment or period in the future during which the action is already underway. The action typically starts before that moment and continues after it, which is exactly what the continuous form expresses.
To form a question, invert will and the subject: Will + subject + be + -ing. For example: Will you be staying for dinner? or What will you be doing at this time tomorrow? Yes/no questions like Will you be using the printer? are often used as polite, indirect enquiries because they sound less direct and less demanding than Will you use the printer?
Questions in the future continuous, such as Will you be paying by card?, sound more polite because they ask about plans that are already expected to happen rather than requesting someone to do something. They avoid the sense of imposing a decision. This is why shop assistants, receptionists, and waiters often use the form: it treats the action as a natural part of the situation rather than a demand.
The future continuous (will be doing) describes an action in progress at a future moment: At 9pm I will be cooking. The future perfect (will have done) describes an action that will be finished before a future moment: By 9pm I will have cooked dinner. In short, the continuous looks at an action still happening, while the perfect looks back at an action already completed by the future deadline.
Generally no. Stative verbs such as know, believe, own, like, and seem describe states rather than actions in progress, so they are not normally used in the continuous form. We say I will know the result tomorrow, not I will be knowing the result. If you want to talk about a future state, use the future simple (will know, will own) instead of the future continuous.
Practise by: (1) Writing sentences about your day tomorrow using at + time and this time next week. (2) Comparing pairs of sentences in the future simple and future continuous to feel the difference in meaning. (3) Using LexFizz’s Complete the Sentence and Cloze Dropdown games to choose the correct future form. (4) Turning statements into polite questions (Will you be...?). (5) Reviewing the negative and question patterns until won’t be and Will you be...? feel automatic.
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