Coming Up Next: the Many Ways English Expresses the Future – Radio and Television Programmes (Senior 6 English (Languages)) | Ganzaa

Radio and Television Programmes

Lessons

Senior 6 · English (Languages)

Radio and Television Programmes

4 lessons

Lesson 3 of 4

Coming Up Next: the Many Ways English Expresses the Future

30 min

Let's begin

English verbs have a past tense (walked) but no future ending. Instead, the language uses at least ten structures to talk about what is to come, and each one carries a different shade of meaning: plan or prediction, timetable or promise, certainty or doubt. Broadcasting uses nearly all of them every hour, so this lesson studies them through a radio station's evening.

Reading: a radio continuity script

Written for this lesson; the station and the people are imagined. A continuity announcer links one programme to the next.

"It's six fifty-five on Radio Inkingi, and here's what's coming up. The news starts in five minutes, and tonight's headline: the Minister of Youth is to open a new technology centre in Nyagatare tomorrow morning. After the news, Farm Forward is back. Fabrice is interviewing a beekeeper from Nyamagabe, and he tells me she is going to bring a jar of honey into the studio, so expect sticky microphones.

At eight, a big night for sport: the national women's basketball team is due to arrive back from their tournament at nine, and we will be waiting for them at the airport with live reports. By the time you wake up tomorrow, our reporters will have spoken to every player.

And a reminder: this Friday, Aline will have been presenting Youth Line for exactly five years. Send her your messages; I'm sure she'll read every one. Oh, and the weather. Look at those clouds over the city: it's going to rain, so take an umbrella if you're going out. Right, the pips are about to sound. Here's the news."

Definition

Key terms

futurity (n): reference to future time. English expresses it with modal verbs (will), present tenses, and phrases such as be going to, be to and be about to.
aspect (n): the way a verb presents an action in time: simple, continuous (in progress) or perfect (completed before a point).
arrangement (n): a plan already fixed with other people, usually expressed with the present continuous.
future in the past: a future seen from a past moment: "She said she would call"; "I was going to phone you, but I forgot."

The forms and their meanings

Form	Main uses	Example
will + base verb	Prediction from belief; decision at the moment of speaking; promise; offer	I'm sure she'll read every one. I'll take that call.
be going to	Intention decided earlier; prediction from present evidence	She is going to bring a jar of honey. It's going to rain.
Present continuous	Fixed personal arrangement	Fabrice is interviewing a beekeeper.
Present simple	Timetable or schedule; after when, if, before, as soon as	The news starts in five minutes. Call us when the match ends.
Future continuous (will be + -ing)	In progress at a future time; events expected in the normal course of things; polite questions about plans	We will be waiting at the airport. Will you be using the studio tonight?
Future perfect (will have + past participle)	Completed before a future time	By tomorrow our reporters will have spoken to every player.
Future perfect continuous	Duration up to a future point	On Friday she will have been presenting the show for five years.
be to + base verb	Formal or official arrangement, typical of news; also orders	The Minister is to open a new centre.
be about to, be on the point of	Very near future	The pips are about to sound.
be due to, be set to, be likely to, be bound to	Scheduled (due); expected, often in news (set); probable (likely); certain (bound)	The team is due to arrive at nine.

Seeing aspect on a timeline

Worked example

Choosing between forms: three pairs

"I'll phone the studio" (decided now, as you speak) / "I'm going to phone the studio" (already intended). In speech, the first often follows a problem just mentioned: "The line's dead?" "OK, I'll phone them."
"The match starts at three" (official timetable) / "We're meeting at three" (a personal arrangement). Timetables belong to institutions; arrangements belong to people.
"The President is to visit Rubavu" (formal, official; news register) / "The President will visit Rubavu" (neutral prediction or statement). Headlines shorten be to further: "PRESIDENT TO VISIT RUBAVU".

Worked example

Future in the past: plans that changed

"We were going to broadcast the match live, but the signal failed." "The new studio was to have opened in March." Both describe a plan seen from the past that did not happen. "The engineer said the signal would return within an hour" reports a past prediction.

Warning

No will after when, if, as soon as, before, after, until in future time clauses: "Call us as soon as the team arrives", not "will arrive".
Use will for decisions made at the moment of speaking, not the present simple: "I'll help you", not "I help you".
Shall survives mainly in offers and suggestions with I and we: "Shall I open the window?" "Shall we start?"
Do not overuse be set to: it belongs to news reporting and sounds odd in personal writing.

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Practice

Find in the continuity script one example of each: a timetable; an arrangement; an intention; a prediction from evidence; a formal official plan; an action completed before a future time.
Choose the better form and explain: (a) "Oh no, I've left my notes at home!" "Don't worry, I (lend / 'll lend) you mine." (b) "Look at that queue! We (will / are going to) miss the start."
Complete with the future continuous or future perfect: (a) By the end of the year, the station ___ (broadcast) for twenty years. (b) Don't call at eight: we ___ (record) the show then. (c) By the time you arrive, the guest ___ (leave).
Correct the errors: (a) "I will tell you when the results will come." (b) "Wait, I open the door for you." (c) "The bus will leave at 6.15 according to the timetable." (Not wrong, but improve it.)
Rewrite in news register with be to or be set to: (a) "The school plans to open a radio club next month." (b) "Officials have arranged for the bridge to reopen on Monday."
Write a 120-word continuity script for an evening on your own imagined station, using at least six different future forms.
Write three sentences about a plan you had that changed, using future in the past.

Show answersHide answers

Timetable: "The news starts in five minutes." Arrangement: "Fabrice is interviewing a beekeeper." Intention: "she is going to bring a jar of honey." Prediction from evidence: "it's going to rain." Formal plan: "the Minister of Youth is to open …". Completed before a future time: "our reporters will have spoken to every player."
(a) 'll lend: a decision made at the moment of speaking, as an offer. (b) are going to: a prediction based on present evidence (the queue).
(a) will have been broadcasting (b) will be recording (c) will have left
(a) "I will tell you when the results come." (b) "Wait, I'll open the door for you." (c) "The bus leaves at 6.15": the present simple is more natural for a timetable.
(a) "The school is to open a radio club next month." (b) "The bridge is set to reopen on Monday."
Answers will vary. Check six different forms, each used for its proper meaning.
Sample: "I was going to study medicine. I thought I would apply to the university in my home province. Then I spent a holiday at a radio station, and everything changed."

Sources and credits

Continuity script, key terms, tables, timeline diagram, examples, questions and practice written by Ganzaa. The station, programmes and people are imagined.

1Reading: a radio continuity script

2The forms and their meanings

3Seeing aspect on a timeline

Reading: a radio continuity script

The forms and their meanings

Seeing aspect on a timeline