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Glite Dictionary
future progressive

future progressive

5.5
A verb tense that shows an action will be happening at a future time
  • noun
  • /ˈfjuːtʃər prəˈɡrɛsɪv/
  • Specialized
translation icon : futuro progresivo
  • When you arrive, I will be waiting for you at the station, expressed in the future progressive.

Examples

  • The sentence 'They will be traveling all summer' uses the future progressive to indicate continuous activity.

  • She will be studying abroad this time next year, using the future progressive tense.

  • The future progressive tense indicates ongoing actions.

  • Are you familiar with the future progressive tense?

  • In the sentence, 'I will be working on my project next week,' the future progressive tense shows an action that will be ongoing.

  • When she says, 'He will be playing soccer at noon tomorrow,' she uses the future progressive to indicate an action in progress.

  • The phrase 'They will be having a picnic this time next month' demonstrates the future progressive tense's function of describing ongoing future events.

Synonyms

progressive
vsfuture progressive
  • Specialized
1 5.5

A verb tense that shows an action is continuing

is restricted to actions happening continuously at a later time
future progressive tense
vsfuture progressive
  • Specialized
6.2

A verb form showing an action that will be happening at a certain time in the future

is the shorter name that omits an extra word
progressive tense
vsfuture progressive
  • Specialized
3.7

A verb form that shows an action is continuing at a specific time

is specific to actions that will be ongoing at a later time
continuous tense
vsfuture progressive
  • Specialized
3.1

A verb form for actions happening now or around a time

is only for actions that will be in progress at a later time

Surface Forms

future progressive singular
future progressives plural

Morphology

future + progressive

The term is straightforwardly compositional: 'future' (happening later) combined with 'progressive' (action in progress) yields the meaning 'an ongoing action in the future.' This adjective+noun grammatical label is standard and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the tense/aspect meaning.

Etymology

Future progressive comes from the words future, meaning later, and progressive, meaning 'in progress'. Picture a short film showing someone who is still doing something at a chosen time later; that's why future progressive means an action will be 'ongoing' at that future time.