UNIT 5

FUTURE FORMS 

1. When we know about the future we normally use the present tense.

• We use the present simple for something scheduled or arranged:

We have a lesson next Monday.
The train arrives at 6.30 in the morning.
The holidays start next week.
It is my birthday tomorrow.

• We can use the present continuous for plans or arrangements:

I’m playing football tomorrow.
They are coming to see us tomorrow.
We’re having a party at Christmas.

2. We use will to talk about the future:

• When we make predictions:

It will be a nice day tomorrow.
I think Brazil will win the World Cup.
I’m sure you will enjoy the film.

• To mean want to or be willing to:
  
  I hope you will come to my party.                                                                   George says he will help us.
  • To make offers and promises:
  I'll see you tomorrow.
  We'll send you an email.
  • To talk about offers and promises:
  Tim will be at the meeting.
  Mary will help with the cooking.
  3. We use (be) going to:
  • To talk about plans and intentions:
  I’m going to drive to work today.
  They are going to move to Manchester.
  • When we can see that something is likely to happen:
  Be careful! You are going to fall.
  Look at those black clouds. I think it’s going to rain.
  
  4. We often use verbs like would like, plan, want, mean, hope, expect to talk about the future:
  What are you going to do next year? I’d like to go to University.                          We plan to go to France for our holidays.
  George wants to buy a new car.
  5. We use modals may, might, and could when we are not sure about the future:
  I might stay at home tonight, or I might go to the cinema.
  We could see Mary at the meeting. She sometimes goes.
  6. We can use should if we think something is likely to happen:
  We should be home in time for tea.
  The game should be over by eight o’clock.
  7. Clauses with time words:
  In clauses with time words like when, after, and until we often use a present tense form to talk about the future:                                                                                  I’ll come home when I finish work.
  You must wait here until your father comes.
  They are coming after they have had dinner.
  8. Clauses with if:
  In clauses with if we often use a present tense form to talk about the future:
  We won’t be able to go out if it rains.
  If Barcelona win tomorrow they will be champions.
  WARNING: We do not normally use will in clauses with if or with time words:
  I’ll come home when I will finish work.
  We won’t be able to go out if it will rain rains.
  But we can use will if it means a promise or offer:
  I will be very happy if you will come to my party.
  We should finish the job early if George will help us.
  9. We can use the future continuous instead of the present continuous or going to for emphasiswhen we are talking about plans, arrangements and intentions:
  They’ll be coming to see us next week.
  I will be driving to work tomorrow.

EXERCISE 

GERUNDS VS INFINITIVES

Here are some of the most common verbs that are usually followed by the gerund:

enjoy	I enjoyed living in France
fancy	I fancy seeing a film tonight
discuss	We discussed going on holiday together
dislike	I dislike waiting for buses
finish	We've finished preparing for the meeting
mind	I don't mind coming early
suggest	He suggested staying at the Grand Hotel
recommend	They recommended meeting earlier
keep	He kept working, although he felt ill
avoid	She avoided talking to her boss

And here are some common verbs followed by 'to' and the infinitive:

agree	She agreed to give a presentation at the meeting
ask*	I asked to leave early / I asked him to leave early
decide	We decided to go out for dinner
help*	He helped to clean the kitchen / he helped his flatmate to clean the kitchen
plan	She plans to buy a new flat next year
hope	I hope to pass the exam
learn	They are learning to sing
want*	I want to come to the party / I want him to come to the party
would like*	I would like to see her tonight / I would like you to see her tonight
promise	We promised not to be late

Exercise 1

Here are some more verbs that are usually followed by the gerund:

miss	She misses living near the beach
appreciate	I appreciated her helping me.
delay	He delayed doing his taxes.
postpone	He postponed returning to Paris
practise	She practised singing the song.
consider	She considered moving to New York.
can't stand	He can't stand her smoking in the office.
can't help	He can't help talking so loudly.
risk	He risked being caught.
admit	He admitted cheating on the test.

And here are some more verbs followed by 'to' and the infinitive:

can afford	We can't afford to go on holiday.
manage	He managed to open the door without the key.
prepare*	They prepared to take the test / the teachers prepared the students to take the test.
demand	He demanded to speak to Mr. Harris.
choose	I chose to help.
offer	Frank offered to drive us to the supermarket.
wait	She waited to buy a movie ticket.
would hate*	I'd hate to be late / I'd hate you to be late.
would love*	I'd love to come / I'd love him to come.
seem	Nancy seemed to be disappointed.

Exercise 2

Here are some more verbs that are usually followed by the gerund:

deny	He denied committing the crime.
mention	He mentioned going to that college.
imagine	He imagines working there one day.
tolerate	I tolerated her talking.
understand	I understand his quitting.
involve	The job involves travelling to Japan once a month.
complete	He completed renovating the house.
report	He reported her stealing the money.
anticipate	I anticipated arriving late.
recall	Tom recalled using his credit card at the store.

And here are some more verbs followed by 'to' and the infinitive:

expect*	They expect to arrive early / they expect Julie to arrive early
intend	We intend to visit you next spring.
pretend	The child pretended to be a monster.
refuse	The guard refused to let them enter the building.
tend	He tends to be a little shy.
would prefer*	I'd prefer to do it / I'd prefer him to do it.
deserve	He deserves to go to jail.
appear	His health appeared to be better.
arrange	Naomi arranged to stay with her cousin in Miami.
claim	She claimed to be a princess.

Exercise 3

These verbs can be followed by either the gerund or the infinitive with a change in meaning.

Remember + gerund

This is when you remember something that has happened in the past. You have a memory of it, like being able to see a movie of it in your head.

• I remember going to the beach when I was a child. (= I have a memory of going to the beach).
• He remembers closing the door. (= He has a memory of closing the door).

Remember + to + infinitive

This is when you think of something that you need to do. (And usually, you then do the thing).

• I remembered to buy milk. (= I was walking home and the idea that I needed milk came into my head, so I bought some).
• She remembered to send a card to her grandmother.

Forget + gerund

This is the opposite of remember + gerund. It's when you forget about a memory, something that you've done in the past.

• Have we really studied this topic before? I forget reading about it.
• I told my brother that we'd spent Christmas at Granny's house in 1985, but he'd forgotten going there.

Forget + to + infinitive

This is the opposite of remember + to + infinitive. It's when you want to do something, but you forget about it.

• I forgot to call my mother. (= I wanted to call my mother, but when it was a good time to call her, I forgot. I was thinking about something else, and the idea to call my mother didn't come into my head).
• She keeps forgetting to bring his book back.

Try + gerund

This is when you do something as an experiment. The thing you do is not difficult, but you want to see if doing it will have the result that you want.

• I wanted to stop smoking, so I tried using nicotine patches. (= Using nicotine patches was easy, but I wanted to know if it would help me stop smoking).
• She tried giving up chocolate, but it didn't help her lose weight. (It was easy for her to give up chocolate. She gave it up to see if it would help her lose weight, but it didn't).

Try + to + infinitive

This is when the thing you do itself is difficult and you don't succeed in doing it.

• I tried to lift the suitcase, but it was too heavy.
• She tried to catch the bus, but she couldn't run fast enough.

Look at the difference:

• I tried giving up chocolate (it was no problem to stop eating chocolate) but it didn't make me feel more healthy.
• I tried to give up chocolate, but it was too hard. I always ate some when my friends offered it to me.

• It was too hot in the room. I tried opening the window (it was easy to open the window). It didn't help though, because it was very hot outside too.
• I tried to open the window, but I couldn't because it was stuck.

Stop + gerund

When we stop doing something it means the verb in the gerund is the thing that we stop. It can mean 'stop forever' or 'stop at that moment'.

• I stopped working when I was expecting a baby. (Working is the thing I stopped).
• My grandmother stopped driving when she was 85. (Driving is the thing she stopped).

• My boss came into the room, so I stopped browsing the internet.
• There was a fire alarm, so I stopped eating and went outside.

Stop + to + infinitive

In this case, we stop something else in order to do the verb in the infinitive.

• I stopped to eat lunch. (I stopped something else, maybe working or studying, because I wanted to eat lunch.
• She was shopping and she stopped to get a cup of coffee. (She stopped shopping because she wanted to get a cup of coffee).

Look at the difference:

• I stopped smoking. (I gave up cigarettes OR I threw away my cigarette at that moment).
• I stopped to smoke. (I stopped doing something else because I wanted to have a cigarette).

Regret + gerund

This is when you are sorry about something you did in the past and you wish you hadn't done it.

• I regret going to bed so late. I'm really tired today.
• She regrets leaving school when she was sixteen. She wishes that she had studied more and then gone to university.

Regret + to + infinitive

We use this construction when we are giving someone bad news, in quite a formal way. The verb is almost always something like 'say' or 'tell' or 'inform'.

• I regret to tell you that the train has been delayed.
• The company regrets to inform employees that the London office will close next year.

Exercise 4

PHRASAL VERBS:

look up a word

fall out with someone

look after a baby

run out of milk

get on well with somebody

give up a job

take off 

pick up a language

move back

take away

grow up

put on clothes

try something on

look for something

turn round

turn something off

throw something away

get on with