THE FUTURE
Welcome to this unit, which aims to help you to understand how to use different grammar structures used to talk about future actions and events. The activities have been designed for higher level students.
The future forms covered in this unit:
- future simple (certainty/prediction)
- present continuous
- future continuous
- plan
- hope
- future perfect simple
- future perfect continuous
Activities in this unit:
- speaking
- listening
- grammar test
- writing (extension activity)
SECTION ONE - Speaking (pairs/group)
Take turns to ask and
answer the questions with your partner(s). Make sure you use the grammar structures (in bold) and give long answers with reasons and examples:
1. Will you buy
the new iPad X7 when it comes out next year?
2.Are you going to buy yourself a new mobile any time soon?
3.Is anyone buying you a new gadget for Christmas, your birthday or other special event?
4.Do you hope to get a gadget of some sort for your birthday?
5.Will you have bought a new mp3 player by the time you leave the UK?
6.How long will you have owned your current mobile for come January 1st?
7.How long will you have been using your mobile for by the end of this year?
8.Will you still be using your current laptop or PC this time next year?
Pronunciation Activity
Read the sentences below and say them.
1.I will buy a new iPad next spring.
2.I'll buy a new IPad next spring.
3.I am going to buy a new Noka mobile soon.
4.I'm going to buy a new Nokia mobile soon.
5.By the end of this month, I will have owned my mobile for a year.
6.By the end of this month, I'll have owned my mobile for a year.
7.By the time Christmas arrives, I will have been using this laptop for nearly four years.
8.By the time Christmas arrives, I'll have been using this laptop for nearly four years.
9.I hope to buy a pair of Beats headphones in the near future.
10.I am getting a new super duper car stereo for my brother, as it's his birthday next month.
11.I'm getting a new super duper car stereo for my brother, as it's his birthday next month.
12.I will be fixing my PC when you come over to my house.
13.I'll be fixing my PC when you come over to my house.
14.I am going to save up for a new SATNAV GPS device for my car.
15.I'm going to save up for a new SATNAV GPS device for my car.
Click on the link and repeat what you hear.
http://www.screencast.com/t/WVJ1avkKMa
14.I am going to save up for a new SATNAV GPS device for my car.
15.I'm going to save up for a new SATNAV GPS device for my car.
Click on the link and repeat what you hear.
http://www.screencast.com/t/WVJ1avkKMa
SECTION TWO - Grammar (Matching)
Match the grammar rules below to the questions in SECTION 1 above. You can find the answers at the end of this unit, but do not cheat! Do the activity first and then check to see if you are right!
Example: A predicted / certain action in the future = 1
An action
starting before and in progress at a future point in time =
A completed
action before / by a future point in time =
An action
started before a future point in time and connected to it (state) =
An action in
progress at a future point in time =
An agreed
arrangement for a future point in time =
A plan for a
future point in time =
An
expectation or desire for a future action =
Grammar Terms and Rules:
Future simple
Subject + will / won't + verb (base form)
Future continuous
subject + will / won't + be + verb-ing
Future perfect simple
subject + will + have + past participle (V3)
Future perfect continuous
subject + will + have + been + verb-ing
Present continuous
subject + be + verb-ing
Going to do
subject + going to + verb (base form)
hope to do
subject + hope + infinitive with to
SECTION THREE - Listening
Activity One
Read the statements below, paying special attention to the time phrases and future grammar structures. Then
click on the link below and listen to the audio for the first time.
Once done, listen to it again and answer True (T), False (F) or Not Given (NG) to each
statement.
1.By 2050, people will be living for an
average of 177 years.
2.By 2050, all forms of cancer will
have been wiped out.
3.In 2050, replacement body parts will
be grown in people’s houses.
4.By 2050, petrol and diesel cars will
have been replaced by solar powered ones.
5.In 2050, people will teleport from
one location to another, rather than travelling by plane.
6.By the time 2050 arrives, there will
be 1.6 billion people worldwide.
7.Before 2050 comes, people will have
stopped eating fresh meat and vegetables from farms.
8.In 2036, an outbreak of malaria will
kill nearly 89% of the world’s population.
9.In 2050, scientists will still be
working on a cure for dementia.
10.By 2050, pregnant women will no
longer carry their unborn babies in their wombs.
11.By 2050, scientists will have found a
way to keep people alive forever.
12.Dr Ulla Bender, geneticist, won’t be
able to go to the international conference in Tokyo.
13.Scientists will hope to have found a
way to stop people dying by the end of that year.
14.By 2050, people will have relocated
from Earth to Mars.
15.By the time 2050 arrives, machines
will have been performing work-related tasks for 10 years.
16.In 2050, people will be using credit
cards rather than cash.
Activity Two
Read the text below and listen to the audio at the same time. Pay attention to the underlined phrases, which will help you to identify the answers to activity one.
Today: 2050
It’s 2050 and we’re all living to between 140 and 167. All diseases have been eradicated, and worn
out limbs, joints and organs are regenerated at home using the hi-tech New Me home doctor device. People no longer walk around, but instead
they fly from place to place using solar powered jet packs. The packs are extremely lightweight and
fitted with a vast array of funky gadgets, like the on-board iMusic device and whole-body
airbag, in the unlikely event that the pack malfunctions and the user plummets
to the ground. There are more than 50
million of them in the UK alone, and according to latest estimates, there are
around 1.6 billion worldwide.
Food is no longer grown on farms or fished from the
seas. Farming live animals was outlawed
in 2036 following a global swine flu epidemic, which claimed the lives of 85
million people. Another disaster to befall us was the devastating locust plague, which led to the loss of all crops worldwide less than a year later. More than 120 million people starved to death, which is why meals are now replicated
using a powerful yet compact food preparation unit, much like the ones you see
on the cult classic TV show Star Trek.
Many other aspects of our lives have also changed beyond
recognition. For instance, people have
stopped having babies the natural way.
Instead, babies are grown in special birth pods in giant baby banks. This revolutionary approach to procreation
came about in 2041 when scientists discovered a way to grow a baby outside a
woman’s womb. Now it is considered
archaic and dangerous to a woman’s health to get pregnant and carry a baby in
the womb.
One thing that scientists are still working hard on is
discovering the holy grail of science, namely eternal life. They have discovered the finite gene, which causes
our bodies to eventually give out. This important
breakthrough came back in 2025 thanks to eminent geneticist Dr Ulla Bender. The doctor, now in her late sixties, is
meeting with other leading minds in the world of genetics to discuss recent developments
at the International Science Institute in Tokyo. She is chairing the event, along with Dr
Yoshihiro Jing. They hope to have found
the answer by the end of next year.
Now let’s look at how we live. No longer do we live like rats in high rise
apartment blocks in overcrowded urban sprawls.
These days, we live in a variety of different places, ranging from
underwater communities, to sky towns and underground metropolises. A lucky few can afford to live in lunar
communities on the moon, but only the super-rich.
Finally, work. It
seems like only yesterday that people commuted from their homes to the office
and other places of work. Hours of
travelling to and fro or being stuck in traffic jams came to an end with the
introduction of robot workers and computers, which have been carrying out every
job imaginable since 2030. And when the
governments of the world scrapped money in 2031 and replaced it with citizen
credits, they wiped out poverty within a year.
We have come so far and achieved so much in such a short
period of time. Not only are we living
longer and healthier lives, we are also providing stability and happiness for all
humans. We are proud of our achievements
and what we hope to achieve. It’s 2050
and all’s well in the world.
SECTION FOUR - Speaking (freer)
Choose one of the points discussed in the listening activity and discuss whether you think it will happen in the future. Use the phrases below when giving your opinion(s).
It's highly likely (or) unlikely / probable (or) improbable that....
meaning: a high / low degree of probability
Example: It's highly likely / unlikely that robots will be doing jobs humans currently do.....
There's every chance that....
meaning: a very high degree of probability or even 100%
Example: There's every chance that people will fly from place to place using jetpacks. For instance,.....
There's no doubt in my mind that....
meaning: 100% probability
Example: There's no doubt in my mind that women will not have stopped having babies by 2050 for the simple reason that......
_____ is / are bound to....
meaning: a very high degree of probability
Example: People are bound to stop buying things with money, because we already use credit cards and....
The likelihood / probability that ...(point)... is high / about 50-50 / slim (or) remote / zero.....
meaning: high = 90% / about 50-50 = 50% either way / slim 10% / remote 3% / zero = 0%
The likelihood / probability that people will be living underground at any time in the future is remote, because....
It's as likely as not that......
meaning: either could happen / 50-50)
Example: It's as likely as not that scientists will have discovered a cure for all diseases in the next two hundred years.
There's no way (on Earth) that........
meaning: zero probability
Example: There's no way (on Earth) that scientists will find the key to everlasting life, the first reason being.....
EXTENSION ACTIVITY - Writing
Write a discursive essay in response to the statement below. It should be between 180 - 220 words. Email your finished essay to me and I will check it and give you feedback.
"Robots will have taken over the world by the end of the 21st century."
My email is: jpevans2007@hotmail.com
ANSWERS
SECTION TWO - Grammar (Matching)
Example: A predicted / certain action in the future = 1
An action starting before and in progress at a future point in time = 7
A completed action before / by a future point in time = 5
An action started before a future point in time and connected to it (state) = 6
An action in progress at a future point in time = 8
An agreed arrangement for a future point in time = 3
A plan for a future point in time = 2
An expectation / desire for a future action = 4
SECTION THREE - Listening
1. By 2050, people will be living for an average of 177 years. F (between 140 and 167 years)
2. By 2050, all forms of cancer will have been wiped out. T (all diseases have been eradicated)
3. In 2050, replacement body parts will be grown in people’s houses. T (hi-tech New Me home doctor device)
4. By 2050, petrol and diesel cars will have been replaced by solar powered ones. NG
5. In 2050, people will teleport from one location to another, rather than travelling by plane. NG
6. By the time 2050 arrives, there will be 1.6 billion people worldwide. NG (1.6 billion refers to the number of jetpacks worldwide)
7. Before 2050 comes, people have stopped eating fresh meat and vegetables from farms. T (meal are replicated using a...food preparation unit)
8. In 2036, an outbreak of malaria will kill nearly 89% of the world’s population. NG
9. In 2050, scientists will still be working on a cure for dementia. F (all diseases have been eradicated)
10. By 2050, pregnant women will no longer carry their unborn babies in their wombs. T (babies are now grown in special birth pods)
11. By 2050, scientists will have found a way to keep people alive forever. F (scientists are still working hard on is discovering the holy grail of science, namely eternal life.)
12. Dr Ulla Bender, geneticist, won’t be able to go to the international conference in Tokyo. F (is meeting with other leading minds....in Tokyo)
13. Scientists will hope to have found a way to stop people dying by the end of the year. F (they hope to have found the answer by the end of next year)
14. By 2050, people will have relocated from Earth to Mars. NG
15. By the time 2050 arrives, machines will have been performing work-related tasks for 10 years. F (carrying out every job imaginable since 2030 = 20 years)
16. In 2050, people will be using credit cards rather than cash. F (citizen credits)
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