The Future Continuous Tense

The future continuous tense, sometimes also referred to as the future progressive tense, is a verb tense that indicates that something will occur in the future and continue for an expected length of time. It is formed using the construction will + be + the present participle (the root verb + -ing).

The simple future tense is a verb tense that is used when an action is expected to occur in the future and be completed. For example, let’s suppose you have a meeting tomorrow at five o’clock.

I will arrive at five o’clock.

I will arrive is the simple future tense of the verb to arrive. You arrive once; beyond that, you can’t keep on arriving. However, once you get there, you may be doing something that goes on continuously, at least for a certain period of time.

At five o’clock, I will be meeting with the management about my raise.

Will be meeting is the future continuous tense of the verb to meet. The construction will + be + the present participle meeting indicates that the meeting isn’t going to happen in an instant, all at once. It will have a duration. The will + be + present participle construction always indicates the future continuous tense.

e.g.Michael will be running a marathon this Saturday.

e.g.Eric will be competing against Michael in the race.

e.g.I will be watching Michael and Eric race.