316. Future Verbs without “Will” or “Shall”

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Verbs can refer to the future in various ways without “will” or “shall”

REPLACING “WILL” OR “SHALL” IN VERBS

The “future tense” (with will or shall) is by no means the only means by which a verb can be understood as referring to the future. English has a variety of alternative verb forms that become necessary in the right circumstances. Here, I wish to clarify those circumstances and to look at the particular alternative to a future tense that is associated with each.

It should be noted that most of the will/shall alternatives to be presented are verb forms. In other words, they are grammatical possibilities, not grammar-replacing vocabulary. As I have suggested elsewhere, English tense meanings cannot normally be expressed just by a neutral verb combined with a suitable non-verbal vocabulary item (cf. 298. Grammar Meanings without Grammar, #1).

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CIRCUMSTANCES THAT RULE OUT “WILL” / “SHALL” REPLACEMENT

1. Expressing Special Types of Future Meaning

There are some types of future meaning that require a verb either to be combined with a future-suggesting other verb like going to, FACE, BE TO and BE SCHEDULED TO, or to be put into a tense other than a future one.

Going to is perhaps the most obvious alternative to will / shall. Like these words, it combines directly with the base form of a further verb. Its special meanings will not be elaborated here because they are so commonly described in mainstream grammar descriptions (though see 176. Ways of Using “Go”, #6).

Note, however, that whereas will and shall themselves carry the future meaning of a verb, going to transfers it to the verb after. Since the subsequent verb is always in the to (infinitive) form, that form can be taken as the normal grammatical alternative to will or shall in going to combinations. Going to itself can be in any tense. If it is used with will or shall (will be going to…), two separate future ideas will be involved.

Future-referring FACE is similar in meaning to going to (see 314. Words with Complicated Grammar 4, #1). Grammatically, however, it must be followed by an “action” noun object rather than an infinitive verb (e.g. …faces an uphill struggle), this still being where the future meaning is located.

Future-referring BE TO usually reports either an arrangement or a command. Consider this:

(a) All staff are to convene in the main hall at 9.00.

If an arrangement is being reported here, the occurrence of the meeting is a decision made by staff. However, if a command is being reported, the staff are not the ones who have called the meeting – they are just being told (politely) that they are required to attend (see 119. BE before a “to” Verb, #4 and #5). In both cases, it is the infinitive form of the verb after BE TO that replaces will/shall.

It would also be possible to say in (a) are scheduled to convene. This would leave it vague about who had called the meeting.

There are various types of future event or situation whose futurity is typically shown by a verb in a tense other than the future. If the event or situation is a single one and planned by someone other than the speaker, the tense is likely to be present simple or present continuous:

(b) The visitors depart (or are departing) tomorrow.

It is will in such sentences that usually suggests planning by the speaker.

By contrast, futures planned by someone other than the speaker to be repeated at predictable times are more typically indicated with the present simple:

(c) The Sociology lecture takes place this Friday.

For more about planning, see 147. Types of Future Meaning, #5.

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2. After Future-Pointing Speech/ Thought Verbs

Common speech or thought verbs that sometimes or usually accompany a verb with future reference, similarly to going to, include AIM, ANTICIPATE, ENVISAGE, EXPECT, FORECAST, FORESEE, FORETELL, GUARANTEE, HOPE, IMAGINE, INTEND, PLAN, PLEDGE, PREDICT, PROMISE, PROPHESY, SEE (= predict), SUPPOSE, SWEAR, THREATEN, UNDERTAKE, VOW and WARN.

All of these except possibly AIM and UNDERTAKE can go between a speaker subject X and that…will… (e.g. X promises that s/he will…). AIM and UNDERTAKE only allow an infinitive. For more about UNDERTAKE, see 281.Verbs with Unexpected Grammar 4, #f. For a discussion of AIM versus INTEND, see 114. Tricky Word Contrasts 3, #5.

Many of the verbs that allow that…will… also allow something else. EXPECT, HOPE, PLAN, PLEDGE, PROMISE, SWEAR, THREATEN and VOW can, in the right circumstances, freely accompany either that…will… or a to (infinitive) verb:

(d) The Government hopes that it will (or to) spend more.

The condition for the choice being free is both verbs having the same subject. If they do not (imagine it above replaced by everyone), only that…will… is possible.

ANTICIPATE, ENVISAGE and FORESEE can, when their subject is the same as that of the verb after them, freely accompany either that…will… or just an -ing verb. SEE is similar except that it needs a -self object before -ing, e.g. …sees itself spending more in (d).

Some of the verbs in the main list above allow an ordinary object to be placed directly after them. PROMISE with an object still offers a choice between to… and that…will…; EXPECT and INTEND with an object allow only to….

An object after ANTICIPATE, ENVISAGE, FORESEE, PREDICT and SEE needs a following -ing verb (see 232. Verbs with an Object + “-ing”):

(e) The Government anticipates the country spending more.

Verbs that always require any future-referring verb after them to be used with that…will… include IMAGINE (= suppose), SUPPOSE and WARN.

In all of the examples above, the future-pointing speech verb is in the active voice after its subject, the name of a speaker, and before that…will or equivalent. In an alternative usage, the speech verb is made passive and given the subject of the will verb, placed at the start of the sentence:

(f) Handwriting skills are expected to become unimportant.

As this shows, the will verb become is now in the infinitive form. A similar rearrangement is possible with all of the earlier-listed verbs except HOPE, SEE, SWEAR, UNDERTAKE, VOW and WARN. It always requires the future-referring verb to be an infinitive regardless of its time reference (see 299. Infinitives after a Passive Verb, #2).

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3. After Likelihood Adjectives

A very similar usage to that illustrated in (f) is with a likelihood adjective instead of an -ed participle between BE and an infinitive – for example likely instead of expected. Besides likely, the possibilities include able, bound, certain, destined, due, guaranteed, poised, prepared, ready and sure. For details of certain used in this way, see 226. Words with Complicated Grammar 2, #2).

Similar to these adjectives is about, an indicator that the future action expressed by a following infinitive verb is very imminent (see 269. Exotic Grammar Structures 7, #6). An even more imminent occurrence can be expressed either by adding just before about, or by replacing both about and its following infinitive with on the + brink / point / verge (+ of -ing), or with close to -ing.

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4. After Certain Conjunctions

The need to put a future-referring verb after if into a present rather than future tense is routinely covered in elementary English courses and is thus unlikely to be news to readers of this blog. Most such courses also mention a similar possibility after time conjunctions (after, as, as soon as, before, once, when, until):

(g) Problems will be encountered until repairs are complete.

However, these courses do not always mention that will is usable after some of these conjunctions to express a special meaning. A common parenthetical expression in American English is if you will, meaning “If I can express it like this”. Elsewhere after if, the meaning of either “agree” or “insist” is conveyed:

(h) The research will succeed if the participants will (= agree to) cooperate.

(i) Funds will remain low if staff will use (= insist on using) taxis.

After when, a future form commonly indicates a consequence:

(j) Click on the image, when a bell will ring.

This means the bell rings after the image is highlighted – when means “and then”. Compare this with the way the present-tense rings after when (with no preceding comma) gives it its more standard meaning of “after” or “while”. The will use can only end a sentence; the standard one can start or end one (see 271. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 3, #4).

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5. After Future-Referring Urging Words

To urge is to put verbal pressure on someone (without commanding them) to behave in a particular way (see 195. Tricky Word Contrasts 7, #1). Words representing some form or another of this idea can be a verb (e.g. URGE) or a noun (e.g. a request) or an adjective (e.g. insistent).

An urged future behaviour can be indicated after a word of this kind by means of that and a future-referring verb in either the present simple tense or the “subjunctive mood”. Subjunctive verbs do not show tense and have only one form – identical to infinitives without to. Their usability after urging words is because they tend to be associated with futures that may never happen:

(k) Doctors recommend that everyone be vaccinated (or is vaccinated).

Common words like recommend include:

VERBS: ADVISE, ASK, BEG, DEMAND, DESIRE, INSIST, PREFER, PROPOSE, RECOMMEND, REQUEST, REQUIRE, SUGGEST, URGE (note that some urging verbs cannot be used like RECOMMEND, especially CALL FOR, ENCOURAGE, NEED, WANT and WISH).

NOUNS: advice, demand, desire, determination, insistence, keenness, preference, proposal, recommendation, request, requirement, suggestion, willingness, wish

ADJECTIVES: adamant, advisable, anxious, crucial, desirable, determined, eager, essential, impatient, important, insistent, keen, necessary, preferable, reluctant, vital, willing.

For more about English subjunctives, see 88. Exotic Grammar Structures 1, #6.