The article discusses the complexities of the future tense in English, particularly for Italian learners. The author explains that the future tense is not as straightforward as in Italian and requires different verb forms depending on the context.
The author identifies four ways to express the future in English:
1. "Going to" (e.g., "I'm going to play football tomorrow") - used for intentions or plans.
2. Present Progressive (e.g., "I'm playing football tomorrow") - used for scheduled or organized events.
3. Simple Present (e.g., "The train leaves at 8 tomorrow") - used for timetabled events or habitual actions.
4. "Will" (e.g., "I'll close the door") - used for spontaneous decisions, promises, or offers, but not for plans or intentions.
The author emphasizes that "will" is not used to talk about things you have to do in the future, unlike in Italian. Instead, it is used for decisions made at the moment of speaking, such as promises or offers.
The article concludes with a quiz to practice translating Italian sentences into English using the correct future tense forms.
Here are the key facts from the text:
1. In Italian, the future tense is not often used, and the present tense is used instead.
2. In English, the future tense is used to talk about things that will happen in the future.
3. To form the future tense in English, "will" or "shall" is used before the main verb.
4. The present progressive tense is used to talk about things that are already organized or planned.
5. The simple present tense is used to talk about things that are already scheduled or timetabled.
6. The verb "to be" is used to form the negation of the future tense.
7. The verb "to be" is inverted when asking a question in the future tense.
8. The future tense is used to make predictions, promises, and offers.
9. The simple present tense is used to talk about things that are regularly done or habitually done.
10. In English, when referring to football teams, the plural form is used, unlike in Italian where the singular form is used.
11. The verb "to be" is used to form the question in the present progressive tense.
12. The present progressive tense is used to talk about things that are already organized or planned, while "going to" is used to talk about intentions.
13. The simple present tense is used to talk about things that are already scheduled or timetabled, such as train or plane departures.
14. "Will" is used for a decision made at the moment of speaking, a promise, or an offer.
15. "Going to" is used for an intention or a prediction based on evidence.
16. The future tense is not as simple as in Italian, but it's not very difficult either.
17. In English, when referring to a prediction, "will" is used when there is no evidence, while "going to" is used when there is evidence.
18. "Will" is used to make predictions, promises, and offers, while "going to" is used for an intention or a prediction based on evidence.
19. The present progressive tense is used to talk about things that are already organized or planned, such as a scheduled event.
20. The simple present tense is used to talk about things that are regularly done or habitually done, such as a daily routine.