slug: future-continuous title: Future Continuous group: tenses order: 10 summary: An action that will be in progress at a specific moment in the future. formula: S + will be + V-ing

When to use it

Future continuous describes an action that will be ongoing at a particular point in the future. It often implies the action started before that point and will still be in progress when the moment arrives.

At 8 o'clock tomorrow, I will be flying to Singapore.

It is also used for polite enquiries about someone's plans: "Will you be using the car tonight?"

Form

will be is fixed for all subjects. Only the -ing form of the main verb changes. will not be can be contracted to won't be.

Examples

• This time next week, she will be sitting on a beach.
• They will not be attending the conference — they have another meeting.
• Will you be joining us for dinner tonight?

Common mistakes

• Confusing future continuous with future simple: "I will work" states a simple decision or prediction; "I will be working" stresses that the activity is in progress at a specific future moment.
• Using it for very short, instantaneous actions ("I will be blinking") — it only sounds natural with activities that have genuine duration.