'Will' and 'shall': Future - Page 2 of 3

Exercises: 1 2 3

‘Will’ and ‘shall’: Future

Exercise 2

Use the verbs in the box and will or won’t to complete these sentences. Use short forms of will when you can.

be ~~(x2)~~ – come – get – lend – pass – see – stay – turn on – win (x2)

EXAMPLE: I won’t be at the office on time. There’s a lot of traffic.

Exercises: 1 2 3

Will: Form

Grammar chart displaying the structure of the future tense using 'will' in positive, negative, question, and short answer forms with all subject pronouns.

Download full-size image from Pinterest

Will is an auxiliary verb. This means that:

We use will + infinitive: I‘ll be (or will be) at home next Saturday.
Will has a negative form: I won’t be (or will not be) at home next Saturday.
We put will before the subject in questions: Will you be at home next Saturday?
We use will in short answers: Yes, I will. / No, I won’t (or No, I will not).

Will: Use

We use will to talk about things that we think will happen in the future.

He will love your new coat.
They won’t win this match.

🔍 Note that it’s common to use will with the expressions I think, I don’t think, I hope, etc., or also with I’m sure, I’m not sure, perhaps, etc.

I hope they will arrive soon.
I don’t think they‘ll win.
I’m sure you‘ll be fine.
Perhaps I‘ll be late.

We use will for promises or refusals.

I will lend her the money.
I won’t help you.

We use will when we make decisions at the moment of speaking (instant decisions).

A: There’s no milk in the fridge. B: I’ll go to the shop to buy some more.
A: This box is very heavy. B: Don’t worry. I’ll help you.

Shall I…? Shall we…?

We use Shall I…? or I’ll when we offer to do things for other people.

Shall I make some coffee? (=Do you want me to make coffee?)
I‘ll make some coffee.

We use Shall we…? to suggest doing something.

Shall we go to the cinema? (=Do you want to go to the cinema?)