English Future Tenses Quiz
Do you know when to use will versus going to? Can you tell apart the future perfect from the future continuous? Test your grasp of all five English future forms with 20 multiple-choice questions at B1–B2 level.
Start the Quiz →What This Quiz Covers
English has no single future tense — instead, it uses several different forms to express future time, each with distinct meanings and uses. Choosing the wrong form is one of the most persistent intermediate-level errors, even among learners who are otherwise fluent. This quiz tests your ability to select the correct future form in realistic contexts at B1–B2 level.
The 20 multiple-choice questions cover all five major future forms in English. Each item is set in a natural conversational or written context — travel plans, predictions, promises, scheduled events, and longer-term projections — so that the differences in meaning become clear through use rather than through abstract rules alone.
What You Will Learn
- How to use will correctly for spontaneous decisions, promises, offers, and predictions based on opinion or belief: I'll help you with that.
- When going to is the right choice — for plans and intentions already decided before the moment of speaking, and for predictions based on present evidence: Look at those clouds — it's going to rain.
- How the present continuous signals a fixed personal arrangement involving another person or organisation: I'm meeting Sarah at 6 o'clock.
- Why the present simple is used for timetabled or scheduled events rather than will: The train leaves at 9:15.
- How the future continuous (will be + -ing) expresses an action in progress at a specific future moment: This time tomorrow I'll be flying to Rome.
- How the future perfect (will have + past participle) describes an action completed before a specific future point: By Friday, she'll have finished the report.
- How context clues such as by then, at this time next week, already, soon, tonight signal which future form is needed.
- The most common learner errors — particularly overusing will instead of going to or the present continuous for arrangements, and incorrectly using will inside time clauses.
How to Prepare
Before you start, fix the core contrast in your mind: will = spontaneous or uncertain future; going to = pre-planned or evidence-based; present continuous = confirmed personal arrangement. For the advanced forms, remember that the future perfect answers "will it be done by then?" and the future continuous answers "will it be happening at that moment?"
You can warm up with the Complete the Sentence exercise, where many items practise future forms in gap-fill format. The Flash Cards set includes time expression prompts — by next year, at this time tomorrow — that are strong signals for the future perfect and continuous respectively. For timed practice under pressure, try the Grammar Quiz.
Related Quizzes
Frequently Asked Questions
The core difference is about planning. Use will for decisions made at the moment of speaking, for promises, offers, and predictions based on opinion: I'll call you later. Use going to for plans already formed before the moment of speaking, and for predictions based on visible present evidence: Watch out — you're going to spill that! A common test: if you can see evidence right now pointing to a future result, going to is almost always correct.
The present continuous is used for fixed personal arrangements — plans that involve another person or an organisation and have been confirmed in advance: We're having dinner with the Joneses on Saturday. The key word is "arrangement": the event is in the diary, the other party knows about it, and it would feel odd to cancel without notice. It is not used for general intentions (going to) or timetabled transport and events (present simple).
The future perfect (will have + past participle) describes an action that will be completed before a specific future time: By the time you arrive, I will have cooked dinner. It answers the question "will this be finished by a certain point?" Strong signal phrases include by then, by the time, by next Friday, already. The future perfect is a B2-level structure and appears frequently in academic and professional writing, as well as in IELTS and Cambridge exam tasks.
The future continuous (will be + verb-ing) describes an action that will be in progress at a specific point in the future: At 8 pm tonight I'll be watching the match. It is also used for polite questions about someone's plans, where will alone might sound too direct: Will you be using the car tomorrow? Time expressions that signal the future continuous include at this time tomorrow, this time next week, at noon, while.
English uses the present simple for events on a fixed timetable — transport, shows, classes, and official programmes — because the schedule is treated as a permanent fact rather than a personal decision: The conference starts on Monday. / The last bus leaves at 11:30. This use is restricted to timetabled or officially scheduled events. It does not apply to personal plans; those use going to or the present continuous depending on how firmly they are arranged.
In modern British English, shall is largely interchangeable with will for first-person statements (I shall / we shall), though it sounds formal in everyday speech. Its main practical use today is in first-person offers and suggestions: Shall I open the window? / Shall we go? In American English, shall is very rarely used and learners are generally safe to use will in all contexts except these fixed polite offers and suggestions.
Certain time expressions strongly signal particular future forms. By (then / next year / the time) points to the future perfect. At this time tomorrow / this time next week points to the future continuous. Tonight, soon, later, in a minute are neutral and work with both will and going to. On Monday at 3, this Saturday (fixed diary entries) point to the present continuous for arrangements. When, as soon as, until, after, before introduce future time clauses — the verb inside these clauses must use the present simple, not will.
In English, time clauses introduced by when, as soon as, until, before, after, once, by the time use the present simple (or present perfect) even though the meaning is future: I'll call you when I arrive. (NOT when I will arrive). This is a fixed rule: will is not used inside adverbial time clauses referring to the future. The same rule applies to conditional if-clauses: If it rains, we'll stay in. This is one of the most tested points at B1–B2 level.
The single most common error is overusing will in place of going to or the present continuous. For example, saying I will meet her tonight instead of I'm meeting her tonight (an arrangement). A second very common error is using will inside time clauses: When I will get home, I'll eat instead of When I get home, I'll eat. A third error is confusing the future continuous with the future simple — overlooking the "in progress at a specific moment" meaning that makes the continuous form necessary.
Future tenses appear across all four skills. In IELTS Writing Task 1 (Academic), the future perfect appears in trend descriptions: By 2050, the population will have grown by 20%. In Writing Task 2 and B2 First essays, predictions using will and going to demonstrate grammatical range. In Speaking, using a variety of future forms rather than relying only on will is rewarded. The time-clause rule (when/if + present simple) is regularly tested in B2 First Use of English Part 2 open cloze tasks.