Future Continuous (will be -ing)

Level: B1. The future continuous lets you freeze a moment in the future and look at an action already happening then. Picture tomorrow at noon: I’ll be sitting on a train. Not starting, not finished — in the middle of it.

The rule

The future continuous (also called the future progressive) is built from three parts: will + be + the -ing form of the main verb. It does not change with the subject — I, you, he, we, they all take will be working.

Its core meaning is an action in progress at a specific time in the future. You are not interested in when the action starts or ends; you picture it as already unfolding at that future moment. That moment is usually made clear by a time phrase: at 8 o’clock tonight, this time next week, when you arrive.

A second everyday use is for a future event you expect as a matter of course — something that will happen anyway because of a plan or routine, with no special decision behind it: I’ll be passing the post office, so I can post your letter. This is why questions in the future continuous sound softer: Will you be joining us for dinner? simply asks about your plans, while Will you join us? can sound like a request or even pressure.

A state verb — one that describes a condition rather than an action (know, like, want, believe, own, need) — is not normally used in any continuous form, so it stays in the simple future: I will know the result tomorrow, not I will be knowing.

The forms

Example sentences

Common mistakes

• ❌ This time tomorrow I will fly to Tokyo. → ✅ This time tomorrow I’ll be flying to Tokyo. For an action in progress at a future moment, use will be + -ing, not the simple future.
• ❌ She will be knowing the answer soon. → ✅ She will know the answer soon. State verbs like know do not take the continuous.
• ❌ I will be work late tonight. → ✅ I will be working late tonight. The main verb must be in the -ing form after be.
• ❌ Will you using the car tonight? → ✅ Will you be using the car tonight? Do not drop be in the question.
• ❌ He won’t coming to the party. → ✅ He won’t be coming to the party. The negative still needs be + -ing.
• ❌ I’ll be to study at six. → ✅ I’ll be studying at six. After be you need the -ing form, not to + verb.

A short conversation

A: Will you be going past the station later? B: Yes, I’ll be driving into town at about five. Why? A: Could you pick me up? I’ll be waiting outside the library. B: No problem. This time tomorrow we’ll both be sitting in traffic together.

Usage notes

• Contractions. In speech and informal writing, will shortens to ’ll (I’ll be working) and will not to won’t (won’t be working). Short answers keep the full will/won’t: Yes, I will.
• Time markers. The future continuous almost always pairs with a time reference: at + clock time, this time tomorrow/next week, by then, when/while + present-tense clause. After when and while, use the present, not will: When you arrive, I’ll be waiting.
• Matter-of-course future. Use it to show an event needs no special effort or decision: I’ll be seeing her on Monday anyway. This is common when offering help without making a fuss.
• Politeness. Questions in this form ask about plans rather than press for a favour, which is why Will you be needing anything else? sounds more considerate than Do you need anything else?

Compared with…

• Future perfect looks at an action that will be finished before a future time, using will have + past participle: By six I will have finished dinner (it is over) versus At six I will be having dinner (it is still going on). See Future Perfect (will have done).
• Going to future states intentions and predictions from present evidence: I’m going to study tonight (my intention) versus I’ll be studying tonight (picturing it in progress). See Going to for Future (plans and predictions).
• You first met the plain future in Will for the Future (predictions and decisions), and the ongoing “now” form in Present Continuous (am/is/are -ing).

Quick recap before you practise.

Practice

Quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

How to say it

• will sounds like “wil”; its contraction ’ll is barely a breath after a pronoun — I’ll is said almost like “aisle”, we’ll like “wheel”.
• won’t rhymes with “don’t” (long o), not with “want” — keep them apart: I won’t (will not) is different from I want.
• be is a quick, unstressed “bi” here; the stress falls on the main -ing verb: I’ll be WOR-king, she’ll be WAI-ting.

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