Future continuous
የወደፊት ቀጣይ ጊዜ (future continuous)
I will be working. For an action that will be in progress at a moment in the future, and for polite questions about someone's plans.
The form
will + be + verb-ing, the same for every person. Amharic: እየሠራሁ እሆናለሁ (I will be working).
In Amharic
will + be + ግሥ-ing፣ ለሁሉም ሰው አንድ ነው። በአማርኛ፦ "እየሠራሁ እሆናለሁ"።
| All persons | |
|---|---|
| + | I / she / they will (’ll) be working. |
| − | I / she / they won't be working. |
| ? | Will you / she / they be working? |
| short answers | Yes, I will. / No, I won't. |
- Signal words: at this time tomorrow, at 8 tonight, this time next week, all day tomorrow, when you arrive.
- At this time tomorrow, I'll be flying to Addis.
- Don't call at seven. We'll be eating dinner.
- She won't be working on Christmas Day.
- Will you be using the car tonight?
When to use it
On a timeline, pick a point in the future: the future continuous is a stretch of action around that point, already started and not finished. It is the past continuous moved to the future: At 9 last night I was working → At 9 tonight I'll be working. It is also a polite, soft way to ask about plans, because it doesn't sound like a request: Will you be coming to the meeting? (softer than Will you come?)
In Amharic
በጊዜ መስመር ላይ በወደፊት አንድ ነጥብ ይምረጡ፦ የወደፊት ቀጣይ በዚያ ነጥብ ዙሪያ ያለ፣ የጀመረና ያላለቀ ድርጊት ነው። ወደ ወደፊት የተወሰደ ያለፈ ቀጣይ ነው፦ At 9 last night I was working → At 9 tonight I'll be working። ልመና ስለማይመስል ስለ ዕቅድ በትሕትና፣ በለስላሳ የመጠየቂያ መንገድም ነው፦ Will you be coming to the meeting? (ከ Will you come? የለሰለሰ)
- With when / while, the time clause stays in the present: I'll be waiting when you arrive.
- I'll be waiting outside when you finish your shift.
- Next year at this time, she'll be living in her own house.
- Will you be passing the post office? Could you mail this for me?
- The kids will be sleeping by the time we get back.
Future continuous or will?
will + verb is a complete action or a decision; will be + -ing is an action in progress at a time. When you arrive, I'll make coffee (I start after you arrive) / When you arrive, I'll be making coffee (I'll already be in the middle of it). Will you help me? is a request; Will you be helping at the event? only asks about plans.
In Amharic
will + ግሥ ሙሉ ድርጊት ወይም ውሳኔ ነው፤ will be + -ing በአንድ ጊዜ በሂደት ላይ ያለ ድርጊት ነው። When you arrive, I'll make coffee (ከደረስክ በኋላ እጀምራለሁ) / When you arrive, I'll be making coffee (ቀድሞ በመሐሉ ላይ እሆናለሁ)። Will you help me? ልመና ነው፤ Will you be helping at the event? ስለ ዕቅድ ብቻ ይጠይቃል።
| will (complete / decision) | will be + -ing (in progress) |
|---|---|
| I'll call you at 6. | I'll be driving at 6, so I can't talk. |
| Will you come to the party? (invitation) | Will you be coming to the party? (asking about plans) |
- State verbs don't take it: I'll know the results tomorrow (not I'll be knowing).
- I'll be working late tonight, so I'll eat at work.
- When the movie starts, we'll be sitting in our seats.
- This time next month, you'll be enjoying your vacation.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I will be working at 8. | will + be + -ing. | |
| At 9 tonight I'll be working, so don't call. | In progress at a future moment: future continuous. | |
| I'll be waiting when you arrive. | After when, use the present. | |
| She will know the answer tomorrow. | know is a state verb. | |
| Will you help me? | A request uses will + base verb. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
Don't come at 7. We ___ dinner.
This time tomorrow I ___ (fly) to Washington. (three words, or short form)
I'll be waiting for you when you ___.
Which is a polite question about plans, not a request?
She won't ___ working on Sunday. (one word)
Which is correct?
At 10 a.m. Monday, the kids ___ in class.
Will you be using the car tonight? — No, I ___. (short form)
The future continuous is the ___ moved into the future.