Future: other expressions to talk about the future

 We use a number of expressions with main verb be when we refer to the future, especially the immediate future.

Be about to

We use be about to + base form of the verb to refer to things that we expect to happen very soon. We often use it with just, for emphasis:

The ferry is about to leave.

The driver is about to collect them. Shall I phone to stop him?

We’re just about to set off for a walk. Do you want to come?

Warning:

With time expressions, we don’t use be about to, we use the present simple:

Hurry up, please! The coach is about to leave!

Hurry up, please! The coach leaves in five minutes!

Not: The coach is about to leave in five minutes!

Be on the point of

We can also use be on the point of + -ing form to refer to things that we expect to happen very soon. Be on the point of is similar to be just about to:

I was on the point of leaving my job but then I got promoted so I changed my mind.

Be due to

We use be due to + base form of the verb to talk about things that are scheduled:

The visitors are due to arrive at the factory at 10:30.

Be to

Be to + base form of the verb has a number of meanings. It is rather formal.

Obligations

Be to refers to what someone is obliged or required to do. We also use it to refer to formal decisions:

[referring to an obligation]

If I am not to tell anyone, then that’s simply not fair.

[making decisions at a business meeting]

So, George is to contact the Stockholm office, and Patricia is to speak to the Elsico representative. Agreed?

Commands and instructions

We can also use be to when we give someone commands or instructions:

You are to report to the head office by 8.30 am.

She’s not to be late. OK?

See also:

• Commands and instructions

Headlines

Be to is common in newspaper headlines to refer to events which have been fixed or decided. We don’t always use the verb:

Prime Minister to announce emergency plan on climate change. (a headline – used without a verb) (Full form: The Prime Minister is to announce an emergency plan on climate change.)

Participle Clauses

A participle is a form of a verb - either ING or Past Participle (3rd form of a verb). A participle clause is a subordinate clause which begins with a participle. They act like adverbs and are linked to the main clause of a sentence. They usually show things like event order, time, cause and effect:

Stepping on camera, I relaxed completely. (When I stepped on camera)
Filmed inside, the footage was too dark to use. (Because it was filmed inside)
Fried in lemon, the fish would taste delicious. (if the fish were fried in lemon)
Turning round slowly, I tried hard not to make a sound. (As I was turning round slowly)

It is very important to remember that participle verbs do not change their form to show tense. This actually happens in the main clause, and participle clauses usually mimic the same tense as the main clause:

Stepping on camera, I relaxed completely. (When I stepped)
Stepping on camera, I relax completely. (When I step)
Stepping on camera, I will relax completely. (When I step - future time clause)

However, it is possible to put a tense in a participle clause by itself. For example:
Knowing I was filming today, I wore a shirt.

Participle clauses often have implied subjects. This means that the subject of the participle clause is the same as the subject of the main clause and so it is omitted in the participle clause. For example:
Seeing the mistake, she corrected it immediately. (When/ because she saw)
Feeling unwell, he went to the doctor. (Because he felt unwell)

However, it is possible for a participle clause to have its own subject – and this is a little bit more formal. So, for example:
Seeing she had made the mistake, she corrected it immediately.

Be careful not to make a pariticiple clause with a confusing subject:
Seeing it fall, the tree hit me in the back. (This implies the tree saw it fall - Better to say 'As I saw it fall' or 'When I saw it fall')
Feeling weak, the boy attacked the man. (Who is feeling weak here? - Better to say 'While the man was feeling weak, the boy attacked him') 

To make a participle clause negative, we use ‘not’, and this comes before the participle verb.  So, for example:
Not knowing the baby slept, she phoned.
Not seeing the bus, the dog stepped into the road.
Not saying anything, she poured the glass of water over his head.

However, the ‘not’ can come after the participle verb depending on your meaning. So, for example:
Not knowing the baby slept, she phoned. (Because she didn't know the baby slept.)
Knowing not to call because the baby slept, she waited until the next day. (Because she knew not to call...)

To make clear that one action is finished before the action in the main clause is begun, we use Having + the past participle. And this basically works the same way as ‘because’ or ‘after’. So, compare:
Putting away the equipment, they talked about going home. (While putting away...)
Having put away the equipment, they went home. (After they had put away...)

Other examples:
Having been to France, I can speak French. (Because I have been)
Having unpacked the suitcases, she took a shower. (After unpacking.)
Having decided what to do, I made my move. (Because I had decided)

Finally, all sorts of prepositions can sit before the participle verb to further emphasise or clarify events’ order, time, cause and effect. Words like after, before, since, while and with. So for example:

After eating, we sat on the couch.
Before leaving for work, they watched TV.
While waiting, I thought about my family.
Since coming to England, I have met a lot of new people.
By practising every day, she passed her driving test. (Because she practised - this describes the method)
Without knowing it, I had ruined everything. (Although I didn't know it)

Inversion 2

Inversion happens in English for emphasis, dramatic purpose or formality. In order to invert, the subject verb object order of a normal sentence is changed in some way. 

1. Reduced Conditionals:
Conditionals are sentences in English which express the result or possible result of a real or imagined action. The usually start with if:

If you go to town, will you get me a cola? (1st conditional)
If I were an animal, I would be a dog. (2nd conditional)
If I had stayed longer, I would have learned a new language. (3rd conditional)

In second and third conditionals we can remove the if and invert the subject and auxiliary verb. This is considered to be more formal and so more polite. In the case of the second conditional, if the verb is an action we use were and the infinitive.

Were I an animal, I would be a dog.
Were I to go on holiday, I would go to Jamaica. (If I went on holiday...)
Had I stayed longer, I would have learned a new language.

To invert a first conditional in this way, we need to use the word ‘should’. Should makes a first conditional more polite and more tentative. Then we remove the if and invert the subject and auxiliary verb as normal. So:

If you should go to town, will you get me a cola?
Should you go to town, will you get me a cola?

Negatives in these forms are not contracted. So:

Should you not go to town…
Were I not a human…
Had I not left so early…

2. Adverbs of place or movement:
Adverbs of place or movement usually come after the verb in a clause.When an adverb of place or movement is put at the beginning of a clause, then the whole verb phrase, and not just the auxiliary verb, can be put before the subject. This is done for dramatic effect and is usually conveyed in a written style and even more so when introducing a new noun - such as in a story. So, for example:

The spy came through the window. 
Through the window came the spy (adverb of movement + complete verb phrase + subject)

300 men would stand in the pass.
In the pass would stand 300 men. (adverb of place + complete verb phrase + subject)

This is common with shorter adverbs in speech, such as: here & there. If a pronoun is used instead of a noun, it must go before the verb.

There sat my father. There he sat.
On ran the racers. On they ran.
I opened the box and out jumped a puppy! I opened the box and out it jumped.

3. Consequences of an adjective:
We can use so plus an adjective, then we invert the normal subject and auxiliary verb, and finally we use ‘that’ to emphasise how strongly something’s description affected us and what the consequence was. We can do the same thing with a noun using such.

So beautiful was she that I fell in love immediately (so + adjective + inversion + that + consequence)
Such a beautiful woman was she that I fell in love immediately. (such + noun + inversion + that + consequence)

Inversion 1: After Negative or Limiting Adverbs

Inversion happens in English for emphasis, dramatic purpose or formality. This type of inversion uses negative and limiting adverbs these are a group of adverbs which limit the meaning of a verb or make it negative. Examples are:

never, hardly, no, rarely, seldom, little, barely, no sooner...than, in no way, under no circumstances, nowhere, not (+time), (only+ time). This is not a complete list.

To invert a sentence move the adverbial to the beginning of the sentence and invert the subject and auxiliary verb:

‘I had never met someone so interesting.’ becomes ‘Never had I met someone so interesting.’
'He won't often go to work.' becomes 'Not often will he go to work'
'You should not leave this room for any reason' becomes 'Under no circumstances should you leave this room.'
'She hasn't seen him anywhere.' becomes 'Nowhere has she seen him'

Notice that if the auxiliary verb is negative in the first sentence, it becomes affirmative in the inverted sentence and the 'not' moves to the front.

In cases where the tense does not use an auxiliary verb in the affirmative, such as the present simple or the past simple, one must be added. 

Present Simple:
‘I rarely go outside.’  becomes  ‘Rarely do I go outside.’
'They don't ever know what to do' becomes 'Never do they know what to do.'
'She almost never loses' becomes 'Scarcely does she lose.'

Past Simple: (Notice how the verb changes from past tense to infinitive)
‘She seldom worked very hard.’ becomes ‘Seldom did she work very hard.’
'We never went to the shopping centre.' becomes 'At no time did we go to the shopping centre.'
'He didn't react at all.' becomes 'In no way did he react.'

Some negative or limiting adverbials require you to complete a whole clause before the inversion takes place. 

‘I didn’t know what to do until I saw what had happened.’ becomes ‘Not until I saw what had happened did I know what to do.’

In this case, ‘Not until I saw what happened’ is the adverbial clause. The inversion takes place after this, in the main clause. This happens with 'Not +time' and 'Only + time'.

Not + until / before + clause
Only + when / as / after / while / once + clause

Other examples are:

'Only when they met again did he tell her'
'Not before he admitted the truth did they let him go'
'Not since Paris had they seen such a beautiful sunrise.'
'Only now could he see how wonderful a car it was.'

'Hardly' puts the inversion in the adverbial clause. It uses 'than' and 'when' to connect with the main clause.

‘Hardly had I got home than the dog started barking.’
'Hardly had he got into the bath when the phone rang.’

Little did they know means they didn't know. The subject can be changed. Little can also be combined with nouns to show a lack of something, such as food or time.

‘Little did they know that he had stolen all of their money.’ (They didn't know he had stolen all of their money)
'Little did he know that they would never meet again.' (He didn't know that they would never meet again.)
'Little time did they have to explain.' (They didn't have time to explain)
'Little patience does she have on a good day!' (She doesn't have any patience on a good day!)

Masterclass: Being Polite: How to soften your English

 Summary

In English, politeness is considered to be very important. While it is ok to be direct in informal situations or with friends, it is very important not to come across as rude in formal situations or with strangers.

Requests, suggestions and questions: 

We soften requests, and suggestions and questions by using past forms, continuous forms or both.

Direct: ‘Pick me up on your way to the party this evening!’
More polite: ‘I was wondering if you could give me a lift later.’ 

We can also make requests softer by using a negative question with a question tag. 
 ‘You couldn’t give me a lift later, could you?’ or ‘I don’t suppose you could pick me up tonight, could you?’

Giving Opinions:

We use verbs like reckon, guess, feel to make your opinions less direct. You can also use vague expressions like ‘sort of’, ‘kind of’, ‘a little bit’.

Direct: 'You're too young to get married!'
More polite: 'I reckon you're a little young to be getting married!

It also helps if you make it into a question: 
‘Aren’t you kind of young to be getting married?’

Discussing Problems:

We introduce problems with verbs like seem and appear to soften them.

Direct: ‘You've made a mistake in this report!’
More polite: ‘You seem to have made a mistake here.’

You can also use these to introduce your own problems. 
‘I seem to have lost those reports you wanted’.

Saying No!

We find it really hard to say no! So instead we use tentative language to soften it.

Direct: ‘No, I'm not coming to your party this evening.’
More polite: ‘I’m not sure I'll be able to make it to your party this evening…’

Masterclass: 5 uses of 'wish'

 

1. Wish for a present or past that isn't real

This use of wish is for present or past situations that we want to change, but we understand that they can't.

I wish I were taller. (I am not tall)
I wish I had eaten ice-cream for breakfast this morning. (I didn’t eat ice cream for breakfast this morning)

I wish I were taller is an example of a present wish. It is ‘wish’ plus the past simple. We often use ‘were’ instead of ‘was’ for all pronouns because of the subjunctive (For example: I wish I were, I wish you were, I wish he were...). I could also say:

I wish I knew how to speak Chinese. (I don’t know how to speak Chinese.)

I wish I had eaten ice-cream for breakfast this morning is an example of a past wish. This morning is a past time; we make a past wish. ‘Wish’ is followed by the past perfect, which is had plus the past participle. That indicates true past time.

Negatives and questions are also possible:

I wish you weren't so selfish.
I wish I hadn't left my keys at work.
Do you wish you knew how to drive?
Do you wish you had worked harder at school?

2. Wish for an irritation that can change

Another common form of wish is to use ‘wish’ plus would plus the bare infinitive (verb without 'to'). And this is often in regards to other people and our irritation. For example:

I wish you would make the bed!
I wish people wouldn't throw litter on the street.

This is a present wish, but unlike the wishes I discussed before, this wish means ‘I believe you can change and something can be done.’ Compare:

I wish you would make the bed means ‘I think you can, but you don't, so please do.'
I wish you made the bed means ‘you don't and I don’t think you ever will so…’

It is extremely uncommon to use a first person ‘I’ in this form of wish. This is because we have control over our own actions ourselves, so: 

I wish I would stop talking means 'I want to stop talking, and I believe I can so why don’t I?’

However, in terms of an illness or an addiction, this form is fine. When I say 'I wish I would stop smoking' it means 'I don’t want to smoke anymore, but I can’t stop because I’m addicted.' 

3. Wish = want

Wish followed by the full infinitive (to + verb) is a formal way of saying want. It’s not very common, and only used in special circumstances, for example, when you want to make a polite formal complaint. For example: I wish to see the manager.

We can also use wish followed by ‘for’ to attach an object that you want. And this is most often used in the circumstances of magic. For example: I wish for a pizza.

4. Wish to send ‘good vibrations’

We can use the verb wish followed by two objects, the first of which is most often a pronoun, to send ‘good vibrations’ to somebody. This is more common than hope and it is used in fixed phrases such as: 

I wish you luck for your exam tomorrow.
We wish you a merry Christmas.

5. Wish for the future

This is a trick, because apart from sending good vibrations, as mentioned before, we cannot use the verb wish in this way. We need another verb, and the verb is hope. And this is usually followed by will plus the bare infinitive (verb without 'to'). So, for example:

I hope you will pass your exam.

Register

 

Features of informal English

common words and phrasal verbs

• Don't worry, I'll back you up.

abbreviations, contractions and acronyms

• Call me asap.

simple, short sentences

• I graduated. Then I worked for a small company. They promoted me to manager.
  

Features of formal English

Formal vocabulary and equivalents to phrasal verbs 

• We will support your decision.
  

Fewer abbreviations, contractions and acronyms

• Please contact me as soon as possible.

More complex sentences through use of linkers, passive forms and relative clauses.

• After graduating I started working for a small company where I was promoted to the role of manager.

The future in the past

 

Sometimes when we are talking about past events, we want to refer to something that was in the future at that time. In order to do this, we use the past tenses of verbs we would normally use to talk about the future.

These forms can be used for plans, predictions and events that do happen - and ones that don't happen.

1. Am/is/are going to becomes was/were going to

• I was going to go for a run today, but I feel a bit tired now!
• I knew it was going to be sunny today!

Note: When speaking, was going to often becomes was gonna.

2. Present continuous becomes past continuous

• Sorry I was in a rush earlier, I was meeting Neil at 10 o'clock and I didn't want to be late.
• I was meeting a friend for lunch, but I've go too much to do so I'll have to cancel.

3. Will becomes would/'d

• Oh I told Neil I'd call him later... I need to do that!
• I knew Alex would be late today.

4. Am/are/is about to becomes was/were about to

We use be about to to refer to something that will happen very soon in the future. When we want to use this structure to talk about the future in the past, we use the past forms of be.

• I was about to call Neil when he phoned me.

5. Future perfect becomes would + have + past participle

•  It's almost lunchtime, I thought I would have finished all my work by now!

Note: When speaking, we often use a double contraction here: 

• I thought I'd've made more money by now.

Stative verbs in the continuous form

Verbs with two meanings

Some state verbs can be used in the continuous form to talk about a temporary action or an action happening in the present. However, some state verbs can be used as action verbs in the present continuous form with a change of meaning. Here are some examples:

Bernard looks healthy. (his appearance now)
I was looking out the window at the rain. (watching the rain)

Does Maria have a piano? (own)
They are having lunch with their mother today. (eating)

I don't hear the music playing. (hear with my ears) 
Our manager will be hearing our presentation today. (will be listening to)

Lola feels that we were rude. (thinks)
How has your father been feeling? (how is his health)

That perfume smells good. (has a good scent) 
The boy is smelling the flowers. (sniffing at)

The new baby weighs 3 kg. (her weight is 3 kg)
The woman is weighing the apples. (measuring their weight)

They are good writers. (it's a fact)
Bob is being crazy. (behaving in a crazy way)

What do you see on the wall? (notice with your eyes) 
They are seeing their cousins tomorrow. (will visit)

Informal English

In very informal English, the continuous form is sometimes used with state verbs. An example is the restaurant advertisement that says, ‘I’m loving it!’ You might also hear someone say, ‘I’m hating this movie.’ The -ing form of the verbs in these examples have a sense of being temporary.

(Right now) I’m hating this movie.
(General opinion) I like the move I saw last week.