February 17, 2025

Course on the Future with 'Will' - TOEIC® Preparation

A teacher from top-students.com explaining future with will in English on a blackboard with chalk. This course is a specialized TOEIC® course designed for excellence in the TOEIC® exam.

The future with "will" is one of the essential grammar points to master for the TOEIC®. It is the most simple and direct form to express a future action or event. Although other structures (like "be going to") exist, you must imperatively know how to use "will" correctly, as you will encounter it very frequently in business texts and conversations, announcements, or forecasts.

1. How to form the future with "will"?

Here is a table summarizing how to form the future with "will" in affirmative, negative, and interrogative sentences.

Form	Structure	Examples
Affirmative	Subject + will + verb (base form)	I will travel to Japan next year. They will attend the meeting tomorrow. She will call you back later. We will finish this project soon.
Negative	Subject + will + not + verb (base form) (Contraction: won"t)	I will not travel to Japan next year. She won"t call you if she is busy. We won"t finish this project on time. He won"t go to the party tonight.
Interrogative	Will + subject + verb (base form)?	Will you travel to Japan next year? Will they attend the meeting tomorrow? Will she call me back later? Will we finish this project soon?

2. When to use the future with "will"?

In general, the future with "will" is used in several contexts:

A. "will" for making predictions and assumptions

"Will" is used to talk about future events, especially when based on a hypothesis or a personal belief.

It will rain tomorrow.
I think he will pass the exam.
The company will expand its operations next year.

B. "will" for talking about decisions made on the spot

"Will" is used to talk about a decision made spontaneously, without prior planning.

Situation: Someone rings the doorbell.
- I"ll get it!
Situation: You decide on the spot to take a taxi instead of the bus.
- I"ll take a taxi!

C. "will" for making offers, promises, and requests

"Will" is used to make a promise, offer help, or make a polite request.

I will help you with your homework.
We will send you the contract tomorrow.
Will you please close the door?

D. "will" for making threats or giving a warning

"Will" is used to make a warning or a direct threat.

If you touch that wire, you will get an electric shock.
He will regret this decision.

E. "won"t" to express impossibility or refusal

"Won"t" (contraction of "will not") is used to express a future impossibility (something that will not happen) or a refusal or resistance to do something.

This old car won"t start anymore.
He won"t come to the party tonight.
The printer won"t work if it"s out of paper.

In general, "won"t" is not used after certain verbs, especially those expressing an opinion, a condition, or a probability (think, hope, believe, looks like, imagine, suppose, expect, be sure). Instead, structures with the present or an indirect negative form are preferred.

❌ I think I won"t finish this task today.
✅ I don"t think I"ll finish this task today.

❌ I hope it won"t rain tomorrow.
✅ I hope it doesn"t rain tomorrow.

❌ It looks like the project won"t succeed.
✅ It doesn"t look like the project will succeed.

❌ We expect they won"t finish the job by Friday.
✅ We don"t expect them to finish the job by Friday.

❌ I"m sure she won"t call us back. ✅ I"m not sure she will call us back.

F. Use of "will" with certain verbs

The modal "will" is often used with certain opinion and judgment verbs like think, expect, guess, wonder, doubt, believe, assume, and be sure.

I expect he will finish the project by next week.
She thinks it will rain tomorrow.
I wonder if they will accept the proposal.

G. Use of "will" with probability adverbs

"Will" is often used with probability adverbs like:

High certainty: definitely, certainly, surely, undoubtedly
- They will definitely enjoy the new product launch.
Medium probability: probably, likely, presumably
- He will probably arrive late because of the traffic.
Low probability: possibly, maybe, perhaps, unlikely, doubtfully
- Perhaps we will find a better solution tomorrow.

3. When not to use "will"?

There are specific cases where "will" is never used, even to talk about future events. Here are the main contexts to know:

A. After certain conjunctions (when, if, as soon as, before, until, unless)

In a subordinate clause introduced by these conjunctions, the present simple (not "will") is used to express a future action. This is a fundamental rule of English grammar.

❌ I'll call you when I will arrive.
✅ I'll call you when I arrive.
❌ We won't leave until he will finish.
✅ We won't leave until he finishes his work.

B. In general truths or scientific laws

For universal facts and scientific laws, even if they concern the future, the present simple is generally used.

❌ The sun will rise at 6:00 tomorrow.
✅ The sun rises at 6:00 tomorrow.
❌ Water will boil at 100°C.
✅ Water boils at 100°C.

Conclusion

The future with "will" is a very common form in English and in the TOEIC®. But there are other future forms you must also master, here are the courses on other future forms: