Essay on futurity in the English language

2. Describe and compare, with examples, ways to express Future Time in

English

In the English language the topic of future is a complicated area of grammar. In fact,

there are different ways to use verbs in order to refer to the future and it is difficult to

analyse and describe the differences between the meanings and uses of the

structures. English does not have a “future tense”, and therefore it has some

grammatical forms which express futurity. Some of these expressions, especially those

shall will

with or are commonly considered to be future tense.

Examples of expressions of future time can be easily found in mission and vision

statements of companies, as well as in business presentations.

In English, futurity can be expressed by simply using the simple present. It usually has

the function of expressing a scheduled and often repeated event.

meets

“The Board every fourth Tuesday from 6-8:30pm” (People’s food co-op website)

Future expressed with the simple present usually requires an indicator of future time

(“every fourth Tuesday”).

It is also possible to express future by using the present continuous, especially when

describing plans and arrangements, because it is clearly about something that will

develop in the future.

are working

“We on extending this package and offering it on desktop PCs too” (saia-pcd.com)

The forms “be to” and “be about to” can also be used to express future, when referring

to something that has already been decided and is in the process of realization.

are to meet

“if we today’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to

meet their own” (www.iisd.org – business strategy)

Some verbs such as “going to”, “planning to”, “intending to” and “expecting to”

already have the meaning of something that has a high probability of happening soon.

are planning to

“we withdraw from press technology in order to focus on new business lines”

(www.kba.com – English site)

Other verbs, such as “expect to” or “want to”, express a future goal which is not

certain, because there’s less probability of the facts to happen (in comparison to the

probability expressed by “going to” or “planning to”).

expect to

“we this business continue to provide a stable and substantial source of profits”

(www.ubs.com)

Moreover, other verbs such as “hope to”, “mean to”, “would like to”, express a goal

which is even more uncertain than the previous expressions.

“We hope that along the way even the youngest participants will be able to orient themselves

with greater awareness” (www.slowfood.com)

“May” and “might” are also used to express a low level of probability of a future

might may).

occurrence (although expresses a probability which is lower than

may disclose

“We personal information and other information available to us”

(usa.autodesk.com)

might email

“We you in case of any problems with the submitted entry” (www.debian.org)