There are many ways of talking about the future, usually reflecting the speaker’s attitude. These are the main ones:

shall/will/’ll
- a decision or offer made at this moment
If you want to sell some furniture, I’ll put an ad in the local newspaper for you.
- a prediction
This poster will definitely attract people’s attention.

going to
- something already decided or (less often) arranged
We’re going to use Veronica’s ideas for the banner, and that’s why she’s been put in charge of the project.
- a future result of a present situation
Our advertising campaign did nothing to improve sales, so this is going to be a very bad year for us.

present continuous
- something already arranged or (less often) decided
I’m being interviewed on the radio tomorrow about my new book.

present simple
- Time and conditional clauses introduced by if, unless, when, as soon as, etc.
I’ll show you my proposal for the advert as soon as I get to the office.
- A timetable, usually not involving the speaker (this is much less common than the structures above)
My train leaves in ten minutes.

future continuous
- a temporary event in the future
This time tomorrow I’ll be working on my next commercial.
- a future event that will happen as a matter of course, independently of the wishes or intention of anyone concerned
I try to avoid Jeremy Matthews as much as possible, but I’ll be seeing him at the marketing conference.

future perfect
- an event or situation that will be finished before a particular time in the future
I’ll have finished this project by Friday.


These activities practise this Grammar: