Future Continuous Tense: Will be + ing 

Use ‘will be -ing’ to talk about something that will be happening at a particular time in the future. Will be + ‘ing’ is the future continuous tense. 

The future continuous tense is used to describe an action that will be happening at a specific time in the future. It’s formed using “will be” + the -ing form of a verb. 

Future Continuous Structure 

Subject + Will be + Verb-ing 

Examples: 

• I will be working 
• She will be studying 
• They will be travelling 

You can also use the short form: 

• I’ll be working 
• She’ll be studying 
• They’ll be travelling 

When do you use the future continuous? 

1. To talk about something that will be happening at a specific time in the future: 

This time tomorrow, we’ll be flying to Australia. 

(At that moment tomorrow, the action will be in progress.) 

Don’t phone me after 11pm, I’ll be sleeping. 

 (The sleeping will be happening at that time.) 

2. To talk about plans or routines in progress: 

We’ll be painting our new apartment all weekend. 

(The painting will be ongoing during that time.) 

She’ll be leaving straight after breakfast. 

(A scheduled plan that will be in progress or just starting.) 

3. For polite or indirect questions about future plans: 

Will you be joining us for dinner later? 

Will you be using the printer in the next hour? 

These sound more polite or less direct than simply asking: Are you coming to dinner? 

4. To imagine or predict the future: 

This time next year, I’ll be living in London. 

In 10 years, robots will be doing most of our shopping! 

You’re imagining what life will be like at a specific time. 

Tip: The future continuous tense is less about what will happen after something and more about what will be happening at the same time.