When I am or When I will be

[crazyaboutenglish]

Hi, can anyone answer the following:-

Why do I say "am" and not "will be" when the sentence begins with "when"?

"When I am on holiday, I'll go to the beach."

This seems to be correct but I'm talking about the future so why is...

"When I will be on holiday, I'll go to the beach" wrong?

When I'm talking in the past I say...

"When I was on holiday, I went to the beach."

Thanks.

[J&K Tutoring]

Why do I say "am" and not "will be" when the sentence begins with "when"?

1. "When I am on holiday, I'll go to the beach."
This seems to be correct but I'm talking about the future so why is...

2. "When I will be on holiday, I'll go to the beach" wrong?

When I'm talking in the past I say...
3. "When I was on holiday, I went to the beach."



In my opinion they're all equally awkward, but also equally not incorrect. #2 says you will be on holiday and you will go to the beach. Better as:

1,2 I'll go to the beach on my holiday. OR
1,2 On my holiday, I'll go to the beach.

3. On my holiday I went to the beach. OR
3. I went to the beach on holiday.

[hooshdar3]

Hi, can anyone answer the following:-

Why do I say "am" and not "will be" when the sentence begins with "when"?

"When I am on holiday, I'll go to the beach."

This seems to be correct but I'm talking about the future so why is...

"When I will be on holiday, I'll go to the beach" wrong?

When I'm talking in the past I say...

"When I was on holiday, I went to the beach."

Thanks.

'When' is a "subordinate conjunction" and in subordinate clauses, we normally use simple present tense with a future meaning

[5jj]

'When' is a "subordinate conjunction" and in subordinate clauses, we normally use simple present tense with a future meaning

It doesn't have to be a simple present. It can be:
Perfect: You can go home when you have finished.
Progressive: Keep an eye out out for it when you are driving to work tomorrow.
Perfect Progressive: You'll think differently when you have been working here as long as I have.

[Raymott]

Hi, can anyone answer the following:-

Why do I say "am" and not "will be" when the sentence begins with "when"?

"When I am on holiday, I'll go to the beach."

This seems to be correct but I'm talking about the future so why is...

"When I will be on holiday, I'll go to the beach" wrong?

When I'm talking in the past I say...

"When I was on holiday, I went to the beach."

Thanks.

We just don't say it that way in English.
In Spanish you might say, "Cuando estaré de vacaciones ...", but in English, it has to be "When I am on holidays ..."
"When I am in Paris next year, I will ..."; "When I start my next job, I will ..."

One could argue about which construction is more logical, but you can't use "When I will..." in English.

[SoothingDave]

Lavender Blue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"When I am king, you shall be queen" says the old, old song.

[Mohammadhelmi]

It is incorrect to use will after when in positive and negative sentences, but it is correct to use will after when in a question only.

When I am on holiday, I'll go to the beach. It is correct.
When will you be on holiday? It is correct because it is a question.
When I will be on holiday, I'll go to the beach. It is incorrect.
When I was on holiday, I went to the beach.It is correct.

So, you can use either present or past tense after when.

[5jj]

It is incorrect to use will after when in positive and negative sentences, but it is correct to use will after when in a question only.

That is not very helpful. In "What will you do when you are on holiday?", 'will' is not possible in the when clause. It is also possible to say "When you'll do the washing up, I'll cook a three course meal for you". In that sentence , 'll (will) has a meaning similar to 'are willing/prepared to'.

It is more accurate to say that in temporal (time) clauses referring to the future, we do not use 'will' to express certainty about a future action.

We'll leave as soon as/before/after/when your father arrives.

[philo2009]

As others have indicated, although the combination 'when' + future simple (will/shall V) is generally unacceptable where 'when' functions as a conjunction, it is quite possible with the same word functioning as

(1) an interrogative adverb (meaning 'at what time?'), whether occurring in an independent clause, e.g.

When will you be leaving?

or embedded in a nominal subordinate, e.g.

He wants to know when you will be leaving.

(2) a relative adverb, whether adnominal, e.g.

Next Tuesday - when they will sadly be leaving - is the 28th.

(when = at which time)

or nominal, e.g.

That is when we'll be leaving.

(when = the time at which)

[Raymott]

Yes. When I said, We don't say "When I will ... " in English, I meant only in the context being discussed, ie:
* "When I will be doing this, I will do that."
* "When I will be in Paris, I'll visit the Louvre."
* "I'll get this mole checked out when I'll be at the doctor next."

This is a fairly common mistake from leaners whose native language allows this.