Future Tense

[Ash Mehta]

I'm trying to understand the 'Future Tense'. Have I placed the correct tense next to the following sentences. I'm fairly confident that my answers are correct for 1,2 and 4, but I'm having trouble with answer 3. Is there any further information on UsingEnglish.com that will help me gain a better understanding?

1) I'm seeing the doctor at two. a) Present Continuous (with future time marker).
Rule: Pre-arranged plans in the future.

2) Tomorrow will be wet and grey a) Future Continuous
Rule: When a future action fills a specific period of time

3) I'll post it as soon as I finish. a) Future Simple
Rule:

4) We're going to take a holiday at Easter. a) Present Continuous (with a future time marker).
Rule: Pre-arranged plans in the future.

[5jj]

1) I'm seeing the doctor at two. a) Present Continuous (with future time marker).
Rule: Pre-arranged plans in the future.

2) Tomorrow will be wet and grey a) Future Continuous
Rule: When a future action fills a specific period of time
You have one of the 'rules' for the so-called future continuous, but this is not a continuous form

3) I'll post it as soon as I finish. a) Future Simple
This is the present simple used after a conjunction of time

4) We're going to take a holiday at Easter. a) Present Continuous (with a future time marker).
Rule: Pre-arranged plans in the future.
Although the present continuous of GO is part of this, this form is generally known as the 'BE+ going to future'.

5

[Ash Mehta]

Thank you for your swit reply. That clearly didn't go as well as I had hoped. I have gone back through my answers and understand where I went wrong.

Would the following sentence be Future Continuous'?
Tomorrow I'm running in an event.

No.2 - Future Simple - Tomorrow will be wet and grey?

No.3 - Simple Present - I have found the 'as soon as' entry in the A-Z of english Grammar.

No.4 - BE+Going To Future - In a 'Teaching Tenses' book.

Thank you

[5jj]

Would the following sentence be Future Continuous'? Tomorrow I'm running in an event.
Am running - present continuous.

No.2 - Future Simple - Tomorrow will be wet and grey?
I don't like the name 'future simple', but that is what it is still called in some books., so -yes.

No.3 - Simple Present - I have found the 'as soon as' entry in the A-Z of english Grammar.
If Leech claims that 'I finish' is future simple, then he is wrong. Are you sure he was not referring to 'I'll post'?

No.4 - BE+Going To Future - In a 'Teaching Tenses' book.
Rosemary Aitken writes, "This tense is based on the present continuous of going to" (my emphasis added). These words appear in the GOING TO FUTURE section of "Teaching Tenses", not in the DIARY FUTURE (Present Continuous + future time marker) section.

Some updated usingenglish notes on ways of expressing the future will be appearing soon. In the meantime, you may be interested in http://www.gramorak.com/Articles/Future.pdf

[Ash Mehta]

Leech states under 'Future':
1.WILL - There is a future auxiliary WILL+ Verb which is used for prediction or expressing a decision about the immediate future.
3.The Present Simple is more often used for the future in some subordinate clauses. We use the present simple instead of will mainly in clauses of time and in conditional clauses. E.g. as soon as - I'll call as soon as I'm ready.

3) I'll post it as soon as I finish. = Simple Present

[5jj]

Indeed. I thought that Leech could not have claimed that 'I finish' was present simple. He knows what he is talking about when it comes to verbs - usually.

[philo2009]

Bear in mind that tenses are named primarily for their form, not their function.

The same tense-form (simple present, etc.) can, according to context, refer to times other than its name implies.