Using / BE + -ing / to Express Future Events

You can use BE + -ing to talk about something in the future. Here is the sentence pattern:

SUBJECT / BE + -ing / OBJECT / (TIME)

Note:
The (TIME) component is optional. You can include the time to give more information, or to emphasize that you’re talking about the future.

Examples:

Go:
We / are going / on vacation / next week.
We / are going / on vacation.

(“next week” is informative.)

Play:
John / is playing / tennis / Saturday.

(Here, “Saturday” is not only informative, but it emphasizes the future. Without “Saturday,” we might think John is playing tennis right now.)

Bake:

I / am baking / a cake / tonight.

(Also emphasizes the future to avoid confusion with the present continuous.)

Use the following verbs and try writing some sentences talking about the future by using BE + -ing:

1. Speak
2. Bring
3. Drive
4. Do
5. Eat
6. Have
7. Call
8. Come
9. Take
10. Pitch

My sentences:

1. Professor Lee is speaking on statistics at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
2. Tom and Jane are bringing potato salad to the picnic.
3. Jack is driving the school bus for tomorrow’s field trip.
4. I am doing laundry tomorrow night.
5. Are we eating bacon for breakfast tomorrow?
6. They are having waffles for lunch next weekend.
7. She is calling the doctor’s office first thing in the morning.
8. Mr. Smith is coming on the six o’clock train.
9. The class is taking pictures for the yearbook tomorrow.
10. Bob Feller is pitching for the Cleveland Indians next year.

Make a Sentence II - Solution

1. Where are they from?

2. How old is your mother?

3. My father is from Canada.

4. How are your children?

5. Is it a blue car?

6. My mother isn’t a nurse.

7. When is Christmas?

8. What is your sister’s name?

9. What color is the house?

10. I am not very tall.

11. Where is your father from?

12. How much did that cost?

13. He is not going to the party tonight.

14. Please hand in your homework.

15. She fell off her bike and skinned her knee.

Make a Sentence II

Make a Sentence II

Change the order of the words to make sentences. Some are questions, some are negative and some are positive.

Example:

old/?/are/you/how ==>How old are you?
ten/am/i ==> I am ten.

1. from/ they/?/are/where

2. mother/old/how/?/your/is

3. father/is/canada/my/from

4. ?/children/are/how/your

5. car/blue/?/it/is/a

6. my/isn´t/a/mother/nurse

7. christmas/?/is/when

8. name/is/?/what/sister’s/your

9. ?/color/is/house/what/the

10. very/not/i/am/tall

11. from/where/?/father/is/your

12. cost/?/did/how/much/that

13. going/he/is/not/party/the/to/tonight

14. hand/homework/in/please/your

15. and/bike/fell/her/her/knee/off/she/skinned

Solutions tomorrow.

Make a Sentence - Solution

1. Do you live in an apartment?

2. No, I don’t.

3. I live in a house.

4. What’s it like?

5. Does it have a yard?

6. Yes, it does.

7. And it’s next to the river.

8. That sounds nice.

9. Do you live alone?

10. No, I don’t.

11. I live with my parents and my sisters.

12. How many sisters do you have?

13. I have four.

14. That’s a big family.

15. Do you have a big house?

16. Yes, we do.

17. It has ten rooms.

18. Ten rooms!

19. How many bedrooms does it have?

20. It has four.

21. Do you have your own bedroom?

22. Yes, I do.

23. I’m really lucky.

24. I don’t have a table in the kitchen.

25. There’s no table in the kitchen.

26. I have some chairs in the kitchen.

27. There are some chairs in the kitchen.

28. I have a stove in the kitchen.

29. There’s a stove in the kitchen.

30. I don’t have a refrigerator.

31. There’s no refrigerator.

32. I have some curtains on the windows.

33. There are some curtains on the windows.

34. I don’t have any rugs on the floor.

35. There are no rugs on the floor.

Make a Sentence

Re-arrange the words to make a sentence/question.

Solution tomorrow.

1. an apartment Do in live you ?

2. don’t I No, .

3. a house I in live .

4. it like What’s ?

5. a Does have it yard ?

6. does it Yes, .

7. And it’s next river the to .

8. nice sounds That .

9. alone Do live you ?

10. don’t I No, .

11. and I live my my parents sisters with .

12. do have How many sisters you ?

13. four have I .

14. a big family That’s .

15. a big Do have house you ?

16. do we Yes, .

17. has It rooms ten .

18. rooms Ten !

19. bedrooms does have How it many ?

20. four has It .

21. bedroom Do have own you your ?

22. do I Yes, .

23. I’m lucky really .

24. a don’t have I in kitchen table the .

25. in kitchen no table the There’s .

26. chairs have I in kitchen some the .

27. are chairs in kitchen some the There .

28. a have I in kitchen stove the .

29. a in kitchen stove the There’s .

30. a don’t have I refrigerator .

31. no refrigerator There’s .

32. curtains have I on some the windows .

33. are curtains on some the There windows .

34. any don’t floor have I on rugs the .

35. are floor no on rugs the There .