Grammar lesson on will be doing and will have done with examples for ESL students
Study this example situation:
- These people are standing in a queue to get into the cinema.
- Half an hour from now, the cinema will be full.
- Everyone will be watching the film.
- Three hours from now, the cinema will be empty.
- The film will have finished.
- Everyone will have gone home.
I will be doing something (future continuous)= I will be in the middle of doing it:
- This time next week I’ll be on holiday. I’ll be lying on the beach or swimming in the sea.
- You have no chance of getting the job. You’ll be wasting your time if you apply for it.
Compare will be (do)ing and will (do):
- Don’t phone between 7 and 8. We’ll be having dinner.
- Let’s wait for Liz to arrive and then we’ll have dinner.
Compare will be-ing with other continuous forms:
- At 10 O’clock yesterday, Sally was in her office. She was working. (past)
- It’s 10 O’clock now. She is in her office. She is working. (present)
- At 10 O’clock tomorrow, she will be in her office. She will be working.
We also use will be-ing to talk about complete actions in the future. For example:
- The school principal will be making a statement about the crisis later today.
- Will you be going away this summer?
- Our best player is injured and won’t be playing in the game on Saturday.
We use will have (done) (future perfect) to say that something will already be complete before a time in the future. For example:
- Sally always leaves for work at 8.30 in the morning. She won’t be at home at 9 O’clock. She’ll have gone to work.
- We’re late. The film will already have started by the time we get to the cinema.
Compare will have (done) with other perfect forms:
