Hello, little future cameraman! Do you know about a live stream? It is a video happening right now, for everyone to see. The future continuous tense is like planning a live stream for tomorrow! It shows an action that will be in progress at a specific time in the future. It is not just a plan to start. It is a picture of what you will be in the middle of doing. Imagine saying "This time tomorrow, I will be playing!" You are in the future, playing. That is the future continuous! Today, we will find the must-know future continuous verbs for 3-year-olds. Our guide is a little squirrel named Livey. Livey loves to imagine and share what he will be doing later! He will show us his future live streams from home, the playground, school, and his tree. Let's imagine the future together!
What Is the Future Continuous? The future continuous tense shows a future action in progress. It tells us what we will be doing at a certain time later. The action will have started, and it will still be going on. It is a live picture from tomorrow! At home, you might say "At bedtime, I will be sleeping." You picture yourself in the middle of sleeping. "Will be sleeping" is future continuous. At the playground, you say "At 3 o'clock, I will be swinging." You imagine the swing moving with you on it. At school, you say "During art time, I will be drawing." You see yourself busy with crayons. In nature, Livey says "This evening, the stars will be twinkling." He sees the ongoing twinkling. "Livey will be gathering nuts tomorrow morning." He pictures the action happening. Learning these verbs helps you see yourself in the future.
Why Plan a Future Live Stream? The future continuous is your "in-the-middle-of-it" voice! It helps your ears listen. You can picture what will be happening in a future story. It helps your mouth speak. You can tell people what you will be in the middle of doing later. "Don't call at six; I will be eating dinner!" It helps your eyes read. You will see it in stories about future events. It helps your hand write. You can write about your scheduled life. This tense makes your future plans sound active and real.
When Do We Use the Future Live Stream? We use the future continuous for a few cool reasons.
First, for an action IN PROGRESS AT A SPECIFIC FUTURE TIME. "At noon tomorrow, I will be eating lunch." "This time next week, we will be flying on a plane!"
Next, for a FUTURE ACTION THAT IS THE BACKGROUND. Another short action will happen during it. "I will be sleeping when you come home." (Sleeping is the long background action.)
Also, for POLITE QUESTIONS ABOUT PLANS. "Will you be using this crayon?" This sounds nicer than "Will you use this crayon?"
It is great for imagining a scene. "Tonight, the family will be sitting together. Dad will be reading. Mom will be knitting. I will be listening."
How Can You Find the Future Continuous? Finding this tense is about spotting a special team. The team is: "will be" + a verb ending with "-ing". You need all three words together! Ask this question: "At a specific future time, will I be in the middle of doing this?" If yes, it is likely a future live stream. Look for the helpers! The words "will be". Then look for the "-ing" verb. "Livey will be hiding nuts at 10 AM." There's "will be" and "hiding". You found it! Look for time phrases that point to a specific future moment: "at 5 o'clock", "this time tomorrow", "when you arrive", "during the movie".
How Do We Plan the Future Live Stream? Using it is a three-part job. Here is the formula. "Will be" + Verb-ing. I will be playing. You will be waiting. He will be eating. She will be singing. It will be snowing. We will be learning. They will be building. The phrase "will be" is the same for everyone! To make it negative, add "not" after "will". "I will not be sleeping." "She will not be coming." We can say "won't be". For questions, flip "will" to the front. "Will you be playing?" "Will it be raining?"
Let's Fix Some Live Stream Mix-Ups! Sometimes we forget a part of the team. Let's fix it. A common mix-up is forgetting the "be". Someone might say "I will playing at noon." This is missing the "be". The right way is "I will be playing at noon." Remember the team: will + be + verb-ing. Another mix-up is using a simple time with it. We might say "I will be go to the park." This mixes a continuous form with a simple verb. For a continuous action at the park, say "I will be playing at the park." Or for the simple plan to go, say "I will go to the park."
Can You Be a Future Director? You are a great director! Let's play a game. The "Future Reporter" game. Imagine tomorrow at breakfast time. What will your family be doing? Say it! "At 8 AM tomorrow, I will be eating cereal. Daddy will be drinking coffee. Mommy will be reading the news." Great reporting! Here is a harder challenge. Think of two future actions that will happen at the same time. Use "while". "While I will be taking a bath, my brother will be playing with his toys." You are using the must-know future continuous to direct a scene.
Your Big List of 40 Must-Know Future Continuous Verbs Ready for the live stream list? Here are forty key verbs in their "-ing" form for this tense. Use them with "will be". Practice with Livey! Playing, jumping, running, walking, hopping. Eating, drinking, chewing, swallowing. Sleeping, dreaming, resting, napping. Sitting, standing, waiting, traveling. Working, helping, sharing, building, making. Reading, writing, drawing, coloring, painting, learning. Talking, singing, laughing, chatting. Listening, watching, looking, seeing. Thinking, wondering. Swimming, swinging, sliding, climbing. Raining, snowing, shining. Cooking, cleaning, washing, brushing. Gathering, planting, growing. These are your must-know verbs for the future continuous. Imagine yourself in the middle of these actions tomorrow!
Imagining Yourself in Tomorrow's Action You did it! You know the future continuous tense. It is your "future live stream". It shows an action that will be in progress at a specific future time. It uses "will be" plus "-ing". You know it paints a picture of the future. You can spot the three-word team. You know the simple formula. Livey the Squirrel uses it to imagine his busy tomorrow. Now you can too! You can tell people what you will be in the middle of doing. You can ask polite questions about plans. Your words will create a live movie of the future.
Here is what you can learn from our live stream adventure. You will know what the future continuous tense is for. You will understand it is for actions in progress in the future. You can hear the words "will be" that signal it. You can use the correct "-ing" form of verbs. You have a big list of future-in-progress action words.
Now, let's do some life practice! Your mission is tonight. At bedtime, think about this time tomorrow night. What will you be doing? Tell your grown-up: "This time tomorrow, I will be sleeping in my bed. You will be reading a book. The night will be quiet." You just used the future continuous! Keep directing your future live streams. Have fun, little director!