2015-03-27
901
1. The Future Indefinite is formed by means of the auxiliary verbs shall and will and the infinitive without to of the notional verb.
Shall is used for the first person singular and plural. Will is used for the second and the third person singular and plural.
2. In the interrogative form the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject.
In the negative form the negative particle not is placed after the auxiliary verb.
| Affirmative | Interrogative | Negative |
| I shall work He will work She will work We shall work You will work They will work | Shall I work? Will he work? Will she work? Shall we work? Will you work? Will they work? | I shall not work He will not work She will not work We shall not work You will not work They will not work |
3. The contracted affirmative forms are:
I’ll work
You’ll work
The contracted negative forms are:
I shan’t [SRnt] work
He won’t [wqunt] work
4. The negative-interrogative forms are:
{Shall we not work?
Shan’t we work?
{Will he not work?
Won’t he work?
The use of the Future Indefinite.
The Future Indefinite is used to denote a future action.
I am tired. I shall go and have a nap before dinner. (Galsworthy)
It will be much cooler up at Fiesole. (Voynich)
N o t e. — To denote a future action the word combinations to be going +
Infinitive, to be about + Infinitive, and to be on the point of + Gerund are
often used.
To be going to, to be about to, to be on the point of denote an action which is expected to take place in the nearest future. To be going to is colloquial, to be on the point of is literary.
This is going to be a cheerful evening. (Shaw)
The runners are about to start.
The Future Indefinite is rendered in Russian by the future perfective and imperfective.
I shall read ten chapters tomorrow.
Завтра я прочту десять глав.
I shall read the whole day tomorrow.
Завтра я буду читать целый день.
THE FUTURE INDEFINITE IN THE PAST
