Future Continuous: This time tomorrow I'll be flying
Imagine that this time tomorrow, you are already sitting on an airplane, looking out the window at a sea of clouds. You want to tell a friend, "At this time tomorrow, I will be flying." How would you say that in English?
Many people might intuitively say I'll fly tomorrow., but this sentence conveys that the event "I will fly tomorrow" will happen; the mental image is not "ongoing" enough. English has a specific tense to capture an action in progress at a specific moment in the future—that is the future continuous (future continuous). It is structured as will be + V-ing. Once you learn it, you can describe a specific moment in the future like a dynamic snapshot.
What the Future Continuous Looks Like
The formula is very simple, just remember this structure:
Subject + will be + verb-ing
Let's look at a few examples to get a feel for that "in-progress" visual:
- This time tomorrow, I'll be flying to Tokyo. (At this time tomorrow, I will be flying to Tokyo.)
- At 8 p.m. tonight, she'll be having dinner with her family. (At 8 p.m. tonight, she will be having dinner with her family.)
- Don't call me at three. I'll be taking a nap. (Don't call me at three. I'll be taking a nap.)
Notice that each sentence is paired with a specific point in time: this time tomorrow, at 8 p.m., and at three. This is the future continuous's favorite partner. The point in time is like a pin pricked into the future timeline, and your action happens to be ongoing at that exact moment.
How It Differs from Simple Will
This is where most people get stuck. If we describe the same event using two different tenses, the difference becomes clear immediately:
- I'll cook dinner at six. (I will cook dinner at six.) → I will start cooking at six o'clock.
- I'll be cooking dinner at six. (I'll be cooking dinner at six.) → At six o'clock, the pot is already on the stove.
Do you see it?
- Simple will: Emphasizes that the action will happen, often referring to "starting to do it at that point in time," or expressing a spontaneous decision.
- Future continuous: Emphasizes that "at that moment, the action is in progress," creating a fluid, ongoing mental image.
Here is another comparison to help you remember:
- When you arrive, I'll start the meeting. (When you arrive, I'll start the meeting.) → The meeting starts only after you arrive.
- When you arrive, I'll be running the meeting. (When you arrive, I'll be running the meeting.) → By the time you arrive, the meeting is already in progress.
The simple tense is like "pressing the start button," while the future continuous is like "the video is already playing."
A Quick Trick to Decide
Hesitating on which tense to choose? Ask yourself this question:
"At that point in time, is the action 'already in progress,' or is it 'just starting'?"
- If the image in your mind is in progress (the plane is flying, dinner is cooking, the meeting is underway), use the future continuous.
- If you want to say whether that event will happen, or that you'll start doing it from that moment, use simple will.
There is also a quick test: in Chinese, can this action naturally be paired with the word "正在" (currently/in the middle of)?
- "At this time tomorrow I am currently flying" → natural → I'll be flying. ✓
- "I will book the ticket tomorrow" → adding "currently" sounds weird → I'll book the ticket. ✓ (just use the simple tense)
This test is very useful, but watch out for one exception: state verbs (know, like, have). Even if adding "currently" sounds weird, they still use the simple tense anyway, which we will cover in the next section.
Two Common Mistakes
First, forgetting "be". The future continuous is will + be + V-ing; none of these three parts can be missing:
- I'll be working at nine. ✓
I'll working at nine.✗ (Missing "be")
Second, don't force state verbs into the continuous tense. State verbs like know, like, and want usually do not use the continuous tense:
- I'll know the answer by tomorrow. ✓
I'll be knowing the answer by tomorrow.✗
How to tell: If the verb describes a "state" (knowing, liking, possessing), it can't easily be "in progress." In this case, stick to the simple tense.
A Polite Additional Use
The future continuous has another idiomatic use: politely asking about other people's plans. It sounds more like a casual mention rather than an interrogation.
- Will you be using the car tonight? (Will you be using the car tonight?)
- Will you be joining us for lunch? (Will you be joining us for lunch?)
This way of asking gives the other person some space and sounds gentle. Native speakers use it very often in both workplace and daily life. Learn it, and your English will sound a bit more mature.
How to Practice on Loopy
Understanding the grammar rules is only the first step. To truly make them yours, you need to encounter them over and over in real sentences.
On Loopy, the future continuous will appear repeatedly in real-life contexts:
- Leveled courses place sentences like I'll be flying and She'll be having dinner into conversational contexts. This allows you to naturally encounter them in real-world themes like "tomorrow's itinerary" or "travel plans," making the mental image instantly clear as soon as you hear it.
- Listening and shadowing lets you mimic the intonation of native speakers, making the pronunciation of will be + V-ing second nature, so you won't hesitate the next time you say it.
- Spaced repetition reviews will push this sentence pattern back to you just as you are about to forget it, allowing small details like "will be" and "don't miss the be" to slowly grow into muscle memory.
- When you run into collocations like take a nap or run the meeting, you can easily open the dictionary to check pronunciation and more example sentences, getting more familiar with them the more you look them up.
You can do it! Just start with the sentence: This time tomorrow, I'll be learning English on Loopy. (At this time tomorrow, I'll be learning English on Loopy.)