Author: amalfabian

I'm an English language trainer based in India. I'm a bookworm and enjoy reading fiction, history, art, and much more. I like to doodle. Despite my best efforts, I draw like a 5-year old. I do enjoy swimming, especially when it is raining.

Six ways to talk about the future

A few years ago, I was delivering a training session at a company in Noida (near Delhi, India), and the topic was talking about the future. I noted that the participants were using the same language, over and over again.

Tomorrow morning, we will be meeting the client. Then in the afternoon I will be going to the warehouse. In the evening, they will be preparing the report.

will be… will be… will be…

I know–whatever will be, will be.

How many ways can we talk about the future? Some say four, some say more. Interestingly, not many people know about them. That is why many say: will be.

It would be good for you to use different ways to talk about the future. This gives your language variety, allowing you to express different shades of meaning.

In grammar, there is a present tense and a past tense. There is no future tense. This is because there is no specific grammatical form for the future. Instead, we usually talk about the future time using verbs (will and shall) and grammatical structures from other tenses. For example, we could use the present simple to talk about the future.

Does that sound confusing? Read on and find out how.

The Future time

1. Will 

This is a common way to talk about the future. You say things like:

  1. I will make breakfast.
  2. I will send the PowerPoint slides in ten minutes.
  3. I will call the manager to find out what is happening.

We use will when we talk about something that we decide to do at the moment of speaking.

When the Terminator says–I’ll be back–he is telling us what is on his mind, right now.

I'll be back

2. going to 

This may be a bit tricky.

Stand up. Stretch your arms. Take a deep breath. Sit down. Done? Now, read further.

There are two ways to use the phrase going to.

a. We use going to when we talk about something that has a good chance of happening.

For example, you see dark clouds. And you say, “It is going to rain.” You are making a prediction based on some evidence–those dark clouds.

Another example sentence is: He is going to fall.

There is some evidence suggesting that this event could occur. For example, he may be replying to a WhatsApp message while walking down the stairs.

b. We also use going to when we have made a decision in the past, and we are talking about it right now.

Confused? Don’t be. This example should help:

Monday 10 am

Priya: Let’s go for a movie this evening.

Natasha: That’s a good idea. I’ll see what’s playing.

Monday 3 pm

Zach: Hi there! Do you and Priya have any plans later today?

Natasha: Yes. We are going to watch a movie.

Here, Natasha is telling Zach about a decision that has been made in the past. And that is why she uses ‘going to’.

Let’s imagine, instead of the Terminator saying, ‘I’ll be back’, he says: I‘m going to be back.

What does that mean? It means that he has made a decision in the past and he is telling us about it right now.

Does that make sense?

Just nod your head in agreement. (It’s the Terminator we’re talking about here.)

If your answer is no or maybe, read Natasha’s dialogue again.

Still want more? Try the explanation from Cambridge dictionary.

3. Shall 

Shall is a lot like will. We use it to express a decision we make at the time of speaking.

Nowadays, in general, we don’t use shall that much. Having said that, there are some situations when shall works very well.

Picture this:

You are about to start a meeting at work. There is casual chatter in the room. You look around the table and ask:

“Shall we start?”

Isn’t that a polite, inclusive way to begin?

When you are participating in your next meeting (online or otherwise), see where you can insert a question with shall. For example, “Shall we move on to the next point?”

4. Present Continuous Tense

We use the present continuous tense to talk about plans or arrangements in the future that are already fixed or arranged.

This is an excellent way to talk about the future.

Remember those participants in my session in Noida? They kept on using–will be. Instead they could have said: Tomorrow morning, we are meeting the client. Doesn’t that sound pleasing to your ears? To me, that sounds smoother, more fluid than using will be.

Use the present continuous tense when talking about confirmed plans or arrangements.

This tense works well in a semi-formal / formal business environment.

To get you started, here are some examples:

I am making a presentation this Friday.

(This means that everything is set. The room has been reserved. The participants have been informed.)

We are leaving for Hong Kong tomorrow.

(This means that all arrangements–tickets, hotel accommodation, meetings with vendors–have been made.)

5. Present Simple Tense

We use the present simple to talk about fixed schedules.

For example: the train for Mumbai leaves at 11:00 am every day. This means that it will leave tomorrow at the same time as well.

You can also use the present simple tense when talking about major events in the future.

For example: The Shareholders’ Meeting starts at 9:00 am on 20 December.

If you have a major event in your personal life (the wedding reception is on ….) or in your profession life, use the the present simple tense.

6. Future continuous tense

We use the future continuous tense to talk about something going on at a particular time, or over a period of time, in the future.

For example:

Sam: Can we discuss the proposal tomorrow at 10?

Yoko: No, sorry… I’ll be meeting the sales team between 9 and 11 o’clock.

You can use the future continuous tense when explaining why you won’t be available at a particular time in the future.

What next?

I know that this post may be a bit of an overload. You have just read (or skimmed through) six different ways to talk about the future time.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, here is some advice:

  • The next time you talk about the future, monitor yourself. Are you using will all the time? Or are there a lot of will be‘s ?
  • Once you have identified a pattern, the next step is to see how you can enrich your language. In the next meeting you have, see whether you can use shall. For example, you could say: Shall we start the meeting?
  • Take it easy. Don’t start using all six different ways in one go! Select one way. Use it five to ten times during different interactions / situations. And then move on to the next way. Slow and steady.

By talking about the future in different ways, you express yourself with more precision and clarity.

For more on the future time, read this post from British Council LearnEnglish.

Like to know more about grammar? How about learning about articles.

All about nouns in a nutshell

A cubist painting. All about nounds

Read this sequence of words, and guess what is happening —

Colgate, Gillette, Dove, Levi’s, Kellogg’s, Samsonite, Samsung, Uber, Indira Gandhi International, Indigo, Maggie, Kempagowda International Airport, Ola, Radisson blu…

Yes, I woke up and brushed my teeth with Colgate toothpaste, took a shower with Dove soap, got ready, had Kellogg’s cereal for breakfast, booked an Uber cab on my Samsung cellphone, and left Delhi for Bengaluru airport. After reaching, I took an Ola cab to the Radisson Blu hotel.

All about nouns 

Proper nouns

The list above is composed solely of nouns, proper nouns, to be precise. Proper nouns are specific places, persons, or events. And of course, brand names are proper nouns.

Isn’t it amazing that you were able to make sense of and find connections with all (or almost all) of the proper nouns in that list?

We live in a world that is saturated with proper nouns. In our daily lives, many of us have conversations teaming with proper nouns. Do we go to Subway or Pizza Hut for lunch? Coke or Pepsi? Should I buy shoes from Nike or Adidas?

There are other noun types out there. Maybe not as glamorous or enticing. But, they are important.

Common nouns

There are common nouns, which name a class of things, animals, people, or places. Yes, that’s the definition you learned (or memorized) at school. Examples of common nouns are: teacher, student, bird, city, and tree.

Concrete nouns 

Then there are concrete nouns: nouns that you can know through your five senses. Words such as keys, tickets, and sunglasses. We deal with a lot of concrete nouns in our daily lives.

There is one type of noun that overshadows all the nouns we have seen till now. This is the most powerful category of nouns.

Abstract nouns

These nouns can inspire you to greatness, and they can make people do terrible things. You cannot see them, hear them, smell them, taste them, nor touch them. I’m talking about abstract nouns. Love. Hate. Justice. Jealousy. Forgiveness. War. Peace. Envy. Compassion. The list goes on and on. All these words are abstract nouns.

Now that you know the value of abstract nouns. Start thinking about them as well. Are you feeling jealousy? Or pity? Or compassion? Or … Abstract nouns  help you introspect. 

220px-Barack_Obama_Hope_poster

In 2008, Barack Obama’s election campaign centered on an abstract noun. It proved to be a successful choice. It captured the imagination and aspirations of the voting public. The abstract noun was: hope.

Image from wikipedia.org

Now, what on earth are uncountable nouns?

The difference between its and it’s

apostrophe-blackIts or it’s. What’s the difference?

Is this correct? Its my life. Nope. Why not? Because there is no verb in that sentence. It  should be: It’s my life.

It’s can mean two things: it is — or — it has. It all depends on the context. In our example sentence — It’s my life = It is my life. It is not: It has my life.

Let’s look at another sentence: It’s been a while since we last met. Now, here, it’s = it has.

Its is another dish altogether. And it has two different and distinct flavors.

1. Possessive pronoun

cartoon-robot-free-vector-illustration-800x566

image from: superawesomevectors.com

Imagine you have a robot (like the one above). In general, we consider a robot to be a thing. So we would say: it is washing the dishes.

Let’s look at some dialogue —

Your friend: Whose book is that?

You (pointing to the robot): Oh… That’s its.

Your friend: I didn’t know robots can read.

That is one way of using its. Here its acts as possessive pronoun. If the book was yours, you would say: Oh… That’s mine. (Mine is another possessive pronoun, by the way.)

You are still reading this post. That means you are determined to understand it’s vs its. A positive sign. We have one more use of its and then we’re done. Promise.

2. Possessive adjective

A friend asks you: Whose book is that?

You (pointing to the robot): Oh… That’s its book.

Here its acts as a possessive adjective. It gives us more information about the book. If it is your book, you would say: Oh… That’s my book.

Do you get it?

Are you a bit confused? I hope not. Don’t worry about all the grammatical jargon (possessive pronoun, possessive adjective). Just think about when to use it’s and its.

Keep in mind that its can be used either as a pronoun (a word that replaces a noun) or as an adjective (a word that describes a noun).

Phew! Done.

Next time someone emails you: Its okay. You know what is not okay!

For more on grammar, read these posts on articles and prepositions. 

How well do you know words?

We use words all the time to express what we feel, think, and want. But have you ever wondered whether you are using the appropriate word? The right word to express your thoughts and emotions? Are you thoughtfully using words to convey shades of meaning? Or are you using boiler-plate templates of phrases and words which ‘fit’ into a current situation?

man dictionary         

Words are like people. It takes time to get to know them. You have to meet them in different contexts. And just like people, they may be multi-layered and at times, misunderstood. You have to spend a lot of time with a person to become a good friend: someone whom you really understand. The same goes for words.

So, what does it mean to know a word?

  • Well, to know a word means to be aware of its dictionary meaning.
  • It also means to be aware of the other words that usually go with it. It’s called collocation.
  • It means to know whether it has a positive or negative connotation. So, you will have to be aware of the context when a word is generally used.
  • And to know a word means to know how it is pronounced.

Well, this is actually quite a list, if you think about it. And the list is expandable. To know a word also means to know the origin of the word, and the prefixes, or suffixes used. But, we’ll stay with the basics: dictionary meaning and pronunciation.

Let’s take an example. In India, people use this word a lot: improvise. At a meeting I attended, someone was giving a task. His colleague said, “Well, you’ll have to improvise!” What did he mean by that? Did he mean that there was a need to be creative? Or that there is a need to improve the current product? Or did he mean something else? I wish I asked him, because it was not clear to me at the time.

Let’s look at what the dictionary can unearth for us. Go ahead and click on this link. Read about the word improvise. Then return to this page.

 
 
 
Welcome back! When I clicked on this link, I learned a lot about the word, improvise. Here is what I found interesting:
 
1. There are three syllables in the word, and the first one is stressed. The other two are unstressed. So immediately, I had a good idea as to how the word is pronounced.
 
2.  The definition is what I expected it to be. Although, I would have not thought about including inventing devices in the meaning of the word.
 
3. I didn’t know that we could use the word from with improvise. The example sentence from the Cambridge Dictionary page is helpful: We improvised a mattress from a pile of blankets.
 
What were your thoughts when you read the dictionary entry for the word? And do you use this word accurately?
 
Words, like people, may not always be what you think they are. So, question yourself when you use a word. You may think you know its meaning or how it is pronounced, but in reality, you may be using the word inaccurately.
 
Doubt yourself. Check the dictionary. You may be in for a few surprises.