Warm-up

Out loud, before anything else — don't worry about mistakes, just talk.

SPEAK

This time next year — where do you think you'll be, and what do you think will already be finished? Say the first thing that comes to mind.

Listen in on this conversation

Jess: What time are you setting off tomorrow?

Tom: About eight. I'll be driving past your street around half eight, actually.

Jess: Perfect timing — by then I'll have packed everything.

Tom: How long has the kitchen been out of action now?

Jess: Six weeks and counting. By the time it's finished, we'll have been living on takeaways the whole time.

Jess and Tom use three different ways of talking about the future in just a few lines. Can you spot all three? Say them before you check.

Check your answer CLICK

1. "I'll be driving past your street" — will be + -ing, a snapshot of something in progress at a specific future moment.
2. "I'll have packed everything" — will have + past participle, finished before that moment arrives.
3. "we'll have been living on takeaways" — will have been + -ing, the stretch of time behind that moment.

These three structures don't just say what will happen — they say exactly when, in relation to a point in time. That precision is what today is about.

Today: the grammar of looking ahead precisely — will be doing, will have done, and will have been doing — so you can talk about deadlines, moments caught in progress, and how long things will have lasted, all with confidence.

Right in the Middle of It

The tense for a snapshot of the future — something already happening at a specific moment.

Spot the pattern

"I'll be working at nine tomorrow — call after ten if it's urgent."
"This time next week, I'll be lying on a beach somewhere."
"Will you be needing the meeting room this afternoon? I could use it myself for an hour."

What's the shared machinery, and what's the third sentence doing that's different? Say it, then check.

Check the pattern CLICK

will / won't + be + -ing. Use it for an action already in progress at a specific future point — imagine a clock stopping at that exact moment. The third sentence uses the same form as a polite question about someone's existing plans — it just checks the natural flow of things, without pushing anyone to decide right now.

will / won't + be + verb-ing (+ at [time point] / this time [tomorrow / next year])

    A "Will you be + -ing...?" question sounds softer than "Are you going to...?" — it simply checks your plans, with no pressure to decide anything on the spot.
  

Quick check

1. This time tomorrow, you'll be mid-flight. Describe it — use the continuous form of fly:

"This time tomorrow, I over the Atlantic."

2. You want to borrow a colleague's laptop later — ask politely, without pushing for a decision, using use:

"Sorry to ask — will you your laptop this afternoon? I could really use it for an hour."

Now say it

SPEAK

Talk about this time next year, out loud, using will be + -ing throughout:

Where do you think you'll be living?
What will you probably be doing for work or study?
Who do you think you'll be spending most of your time with?
What do you think you'll still be worrying about?

SPEAK

Flip it: ask me one polite "Will you be...?" question about my plans for later today or this week — check the flow of things, don't demand a decision.

By Then, It'll Be Done

The tense for a deadline — something finished before a specific future point, not during it.

Spot the pattern

"By June, we'll have paid off the loan."
"She'll have finished her exams by the end of May."
"Don't call before seven — I won't have left the office yet."

What's the shared machinery, and what time-word keeps appearing? Say it, then check.

Check the pattern CLICK

will / won't + have + past participle. Use it for something completed before a specific future point — the deadline word is almost always by (by June, by seven, by the time...). Nothing is happening AT that moment; it's already behind you.

will / won't + have + past participle (+ by [time point] / by the time...)

    The key contrast: AT vs BY. "I'll be working at nine" places you in the middle of something happening right then (future continuous). "I'll have finished by nine" places the finish line before or at that point — the job is already done (future perfect). Swap the two time-words and the whole meaning breaks.
  

Quick check

1. Guests arrive at seven. Reassure your partner about dinner — use cook, with the deadline by seven:

"Don't panic — by seven, I dinner."

2. Reassure a nervous colleague about the budget — negative, use spend, deadline by Friday:

"Relax — by Friday, we the whole budget."

Now say it

SPEAK

Tell me three things that will genuinely be true by this time next year, using will have + past participle each time:

Something about money…
Something about work or study…
Something about a habit or a relationship…

How Long Will That Be?

The tense for the stretch of time behind a future point — not just the fact, but the duration.

Spot the pattern

"By then, I'll have been living here for ten years."
"When she retires, she'll have been teaching for three decades."
"By the time the train arrives, we'll have been waiting two hours."

Compare: "By June I'll have finished the course" (done) vs "By June I'll have been training for a year" (duration). What's the difference? Say it, then check.

Check the pattern CLICK

will / won't + have + been + -ing. Use it when the DURATION itself is the point — how long something will have been going on by a future moment — not just the single fact that it happened. "Will have finished" names one achievement; "will have been training" names the whole stretch of time behind it.

will / won't + have + been + verb-ing (+ for [duration] by [time point])

Quick check

1. You're renting your flat, moving out next spring, exactly five years after moving in. Describe it — use rent:

"By the time we move out, we this flat for five years."

2. Mark a language-learning milestone this June, using study:

"This June, I English for two years."

Now say it

SPEAK

Tell me about something you'll have been doing for an unusually long time by this time next year — a habit, a job, a relationship, somewhere you live. Use will have been + -ing.

This Time Next Year

Everything together, out loud. This is the whole point of the lesson.

Round 1 — you talk

Imagine someone asks you: "So, where do you see yourself this time next year?"

Talk for one full minute. Try to cover all three:

something you think you'll be doing at a specific moment (a habit, a routine, a snapshot)
something you're confident will be finished by then (a deadline, a goal, a debt)
how long you'll have been doing something by that point (a job, a relationship, living somewhere)

01:00

Round 2 — you ask

SPEAK

Now ask me the same question, other direction. Build your questions out loud with today's grammar:

"Will you be...?" — one polite question about my plans for a specific time.
"Will you have...?" — one question about something you think I'll have finished by a certain point.
"How long will you have been...?" — one question about a duration by a future point.

Round 3 — pin it down in writing

Write a 3–5 sentence answer to "Where do you see yourself this time next year?" Use all three of today's forms; the checker will tell you which ones it finds.

Mix It Up

Real conversation never tells you which form to use. Here everything's shuffled.

Which form fits?

1. "Don't ring the doorbell before six — I ___ a shower."

2. "___ you ___ the office car this weekend? I might need to borrow it."

3. "By the time we land, the kids ___ for six hours straight."

Fix the mistakes

Each one has a single grammar slip. Say the correct version out loud first, then type the whole sentence.

4. "By the summer, she will have been work here for two years."

5. "I'll have finished the report at Friday, so you can read it then."

6. "Someone's knocking — I'll be answering the door."

7. "By December, we will have knew each other for ten years."

What Do You Remember?

A quick reminder from more basic grammar

1. A fixed plan already in the diary uses the present continuous, not "will". Fill the gap with the correct form of meet:

"I the dentist on Thursday — it's booked."

2. Which form fits a decision made before now, without a fixed time yet? "We ___ repaint the kitchen this autumn — we decided last week."

Check your answer CLICK

are going to + base verb — for an intention decided in advance, before a fixed time exists. Compare with today's three forms: those all attach the action to a specific future POINT, not just a general intention.

Say first, then check — fresh situations, no looking back

1. Warn a friend you can't answer calls at a specific time tomorrow, using drive:

"Text me instead of calling — at midday tomorrow I to the airport."

2. Reassure someone the whole house will be ready before a party — deadline by Saturday, verb paint:

"Don't worry about the mess — by Saturday, we the whole house."

3. Mark a milestone in a long daily routine, using commute:

"By this December, I to this job for six years."

One last minute of talk

SPEAK

Close the loop: which of today's three forms felt most natural to use, which one still needs thinking time, and why do you think "by" and "at" cause the most trouble?

Can you now...?

We said: three forms so you can talk about deadlines, moments caught in progress, and how long things will have lasted. Tick what's true:

I can describe what will be happening at a specific future moment, using will be + -ing.
I can promise something will be finished before a deadline, using will have + past participle.
I can talk about how long something will have been going on by a future point, using will have been + -ing.

    Anything unticked — go back to that tab and run its speaking round again. The checkers will still be there.
  