Future tense in English

In English, as in most Germanic languages, there is no simple future tense. Futurity is expressed either by using words that imply future action ("I go to Berlin tomorrow.") or by employing an auxiliary construction that combines certain present tense verbs with the stem of the verb which represents the true action of the sentence.

The tradition that English has a future tense traces to the period of 300 years, from 1066 to about 1350, when Anglo-Norman was the official language of England. Norman French, unlike English, is a Romance language; and the Romance languages, unlike Germanic languages, do have a simple future tense.

The most common auxiliary verbs used to express futurity are will, should, can, may, and must. Of these, "will" is the most neutral and it is the most commonly used. "Should" implies obligation or commitment to the action contemplated. "Can" implies the ability to commit the action but does not presuppose obligation or firm commitment to the action. "May" expresses the least sense of commitment and is the most permissive; it is also a verb used in the auxiliary construction that suggests conditionality. "Must," by contrast, expresses the highest degree of obligation and commitment ("I must go") and is temporally nearest to present time in its expression of futurity ("I must go now.")

To wit:

* I shall/will go
* I should go
* I can go
* I may go
* I must go

To express futurity in the negative, a negative adverb - such as "not" or "never" is inserted after the auxiliary verb, as in all other auxiliary constructions.

* I shall/will not go
* I should never go
* I cannot go
* I may never go
* I must not go

In all of these, action within a future range of time is contemplated. But in all cases, the sentences are actually voiced in the present tense, since there is no proper future tense in English. It is the implication of futurity that makes these present tense auxiliary constructions amount to a compound future quasi-tense.

Note that some commentators, especially in England, prefer that the first person, whether 'I' or 'we' decline with 'shall' as the auxiliary and that the other two persons decline with 'will'. This does not describe, nor has it ever described, common usage anywhere in the world, although there are people who follow it. [1] It was originally suggested in Chambers's 17th century grammar.

This reality, that expression of futurity in English is a function of the present tense, is born out by the ability to negate the implication of futurity without making any change to the auxiliary construction. When a verbal construction that suggests futurity (such as "I shall go") is subsequently followed by information that establishes a condition or presupposition, or the active verb stem itself contradicts a future indicative application of the construction, then any sense of future tense is negated - especially when the auxiliary will is used within its literal meaning, which is to voluntarily 'will' an action. For example:

* Person A says: "You will go now. You will not stay."
* Person B answers: "I shall go nowhere. I will stay."

The second 'will', in B's response, is not only expressing volition here but is being used in contradistinction to the usual first person 'shall' in order to achieve emphasis. Similarly, in the case of the second and third persons, 'will' operates with 'shall' in reverse.

For example:

A: Will he be at the café at six o'clock?
B: He will be there. [Normal affirmation]
BUT B: He shall be there.

[Stresses that this is not the usual pattern that was previously established or to be expected (Last time he was late or did not show up)]

Additional auxiliary constructions used to express futurity are labelled as follows:

Future Continuous: Auxiliary + Verb Stem + Present Participle

* I shall/will be going
* You will be singing
* He will be sleeping
* We may be coming
* They may be travelling
* It will be snowing when Nancy arrives
* It will not be raining when Josie leaves

Future Perfect: Auxiliary + Verb Stem + Past Participle

* I shall/will be gone
* You will have sung
* He will have slept
* We may have come ("We may be come" can still be used poetically, but it is obsolete in speech)
* They may have travelled
* It will have snowed
* It will not have rained

Future Perfect Habitual (or Future Perfect Continuous): Auxiliary + Verb Stem + Past Participle + Present Participle

* I shall/will have been going
* You will have been singing
* He will have been sleeping
* We may have been coming
* They may have been travelling
* It will have been snowing
* It will not have been raining
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_tense