There are a number of different ways of referring to the future in English. It is important to remember that we are expressing more than simply the time of the action or event. Obviously, any ‘future’ tense will always refer to a time ‘later than now’, but it may also express our attitude to the future event.
The simple future refers to a time later than now, and expresses facts or certainty. In this case there is no ‘attitude’.
The simple future is used:
The future continuous is made up of two elements:
the simple future of the verb ‘to be’ + the present participle (base+ing)
The future continuous refers to an unfinished action or event that will be in progress at a time later than now. The future continuous is used for quite a few different purposes.
Eg: This time next week I will be sun-bathing in Bali.
Eg:You’ll be missing the sunshine once you’re back in England.
Eg: Will I be sleeping in this room?
Eg: I’ll be eating with Jane this evening so I can tell her.
Eg: Next year will she still be wearing a size six?
The future perfect is composed of two elements
the simple future of the verb “to have” (will have) + the past participle of the main verb
The future perfect tense refers to a completed action in the future. When we use this tense we are projecting ourselves forward into the future and looking back at an action that will be completed some time later than now. It is most often used with a time expression.
The future perfect continuous is composed of two elements
the future perfect of the verb “to be” (will have been) + the present participle of the main verb (base + ing)
Like the future perfect simple, this form is used to project ourselves forward in time and to look back. It refers to events or actions that are currently unfinished but will be finished at some future time. It is most often used with a time expression.