The future continuous tense is used to say that an action or a situation will be going on at a particular moment in the future.
It has the following forms.
| Affirmative | Interrogative | Negative |
| I will be working in the evening. | Will I be working in the evening? | I will not be working in the evening. |
| She will be waiting for his call. | Will she be waiting for his call? | She will not be waiting for his call. |
| They will be examining the candidates. | Will they be examining the candidates? | They will not be examining the candidates. |
With the first person pronouns I and we, shall can be used instead of will. This usage is common in British English. In American English shall is not normally used to make future tenses.
The future continuous tense is also used to refer to future events which are expected to happen in the normal course of events. Note that it does not suggest the idea of personal intention.
- I will be seeing you one of these days.
- You will be hearing from us soon.
Polite enquiries
The future continuous tense can be used to make polite enquiries about people’s plans.
Compare:
- Will you be joining us? (Very polite enquiry, suggesting ‘I just want to know your plans’)
- Are you joining us? (A direct question)