Consider the following questions:
-What are you going to do after work today?
-Do you have any plans this weekend?
-What do you do after finishing your class?
To answer these above questions, you might be tempted to use “will” in your responses. For
example, “I will go to the beach” or “I will go to the cinema with my friends”. However, English
speakers rarely use simple future tense (will + bare infinitive) when speaking about future.
In real life , there are 4 different ways to talk about future plans, intentions, wishes, expectations,
predictions. And most of the time it is not with “will”. Let’s consider the following ways.
1. Scheduled Events and Timetables.
When talking about Scheduled Events and Timetables which can not change, present simple
tense is widely used. For example:
-What time does the train leave on Tuesday morning?-The train leaves at 7:45 a.m on Tuesday
morning.
-When does the next train arrive?- The next train arrives in 10 minutes
-What time does the meeting start on Saturday morning?-The meeting starts at 9 a.m.
2. Plans/ Arrangements
Think about the following questions:
-What are you doing this weekend?
-Where are you going for your summer vacation?
-Where are you celebrating the holidays this year?
These are common questions about your plans or arrangements, and the present continuous form
is generally used to talk about future plans or arrangements.
3. Intentions/Predictions with evidence

Intension is something you want to do, something you’ve thought about but you haven’t made
any arrangements. Let’s have a look at the following examples.
-I am going to start exercising and eating on a diet after the next year. I have been eating too
much and gaining weights over the holidays. (No arrangements are made by you want to do it)
This forms is also used when you make a prediction based on evidence. For example:
-Look at the black clouds coming in! It is going rain shortly (The rain is predicted based on the
evidence of black clouds in the sky)
4. Predictions without evidence/Factual Statements/Immediate Decisions
Look at these questions and think about how to answer them?
-What do you think life will be like in 2030?
-What will happen if you do not pass the exam?
-Do you think it will rain while we are on vacations? Should we pack a rain coat?
Finally, talking about the future with “Will” when we make a prediction based on your believe,
think or feel, not on any evidence for it. For example:
-Cars will fly and people will move to another planet to live.
-I do not think it will rain. That would be very unusual for July.
Now it’s your turn to talk about the future!