A selection of English ESL future forms printables

ESL worksheet containing exercises focused on practicing the use of different future forms. The worksheet contains exercises with WILL, GOING TO, MAY/MIGHT, PRESENT CONTINUOUS AND PRESENT SIMPLE

Future forms, WILL, GOING TO, MIGHT, PRESENT CONTINUOUS AND SIMPLE

This worksheet is designed for A2 (Pre-Intermediate) learners, focusing on future forms (will, be going to, and present continuous*) through engaging content about future jobs. Students will explore new career possibilities like Drone Traffic Controller and Virtual Reality Architect, while practicing how to use future forms to express plans, predictions, and intentions. The lesson starts with a warm-up to spark conversation, followed by a reading section with comprehension questions. A guided discovery approach helps learners understand when to use will versus be going to, while the grammar explanation is supported with exercises. Native speaker notes are included to address common mistakes. The lesson culminates in a creative task-based activity where students brainstorm future jobs, using the target grammar. This makes it ideal for classes focusing on both reading comprehension and future tense forms.

Dream Jobs of the Future: future forms (will, be going to, and present continuous) A2

warm up: explain the words from the box, use dictionary (online or paper) if you're not sure.
pre-task activities: get students into groups, hand out post it notes. Ask students to write down things they would like to change in their classrooms, lessons or school. Discuss in groups, elicit phrases: 'I think', 'I believe', 'I would like to change'
main part: watch the video (link provided) and answer the questions

Video based lesson about future classrooms. Interactive resource to consolidate technology topic and use future forms to talk about hope and predictions. Suitable for young learners A2-B1. Triple copy to save on printing.

Revision ESL printable worksheet on future forms WILL, BE GOING TO and Present Continuous. Solutions are included at the end of the handout. Besides the grammar drills the printable contains a speaking task for pairs: student A is the fortuneteller, who is going to tell the future for his or her client (student B).

WILL, BE GOING TO or Present Continuous?

The students must fill in the correct forms of the verbs. Signal words often help them to find the correct tense (simple past, simple present, will-future). You find two versions of the worksheet. The second one is for weaker students. A key is attached.

Mixed tenses (past, present, future)

ESL worksheet to drill the BE GOING TO structure. Fill in the sentences with the correct form (be going to) of the appropriate verb, and then match the sentences to the pictures. Hope you like it and find it useful, too. Hugs, Zsuzsapszi

BE GOING TO - Future Tense Exercise + Key

Compare this to my TIME RELATED VERB CONSTRUCTIONS - horizontal - version.  This is a list of verbs in their different aspects, which follow an ideal time line from the past to the future. The simple and continuous forms are opposite each other so that  the difference between their uses is easier to understand. 

TIME RELATED VERB CONSTRUCTIONS

Two gap filling exercises using the correct form of Future

-Present Continuous for Future Arrangements

-Going to form

-Will

Future Tenses

This ESL handout features a gapped dialogue full of WILL and BE GOING TO forms, followed by some comprehension questions. The answers are included on page 3 for the teacher. I hope you enjoy it! It worked well for my 11-year-old students!

WILL or BE GOING TO. ESL Reading Comprehension

It is a worksheet to practise the future simple - affirmative, negative and interrogative forms.

Thank you :-)

FUTURE SIMPLE

A set of speaking cards to practice/revise the different future forms (will, to be going to, Present Continuous). Students work in groups/pairs, pick the card on top and answer the questions. Follow-up questions can be added for more advanced level students or by the teacher during the feedback.Works best (I think) with secondary school kids. Have fun:)

Talking about the future (Speaking cards)

A space theme to practice the correct formation of the future continuous and the future perfect tense. The theme may make the tense practice somewhat more interesting. Key included.

Future Continuous & Perfect + KEY (Space Travel Theme)

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

164 Future forms English ESL worksheets pdf & doc