Will, Will Be Doing, or Will Have Done? Exercise 1
|level: Upper-Intermediate (B2)
✓ Useful for Cambridge B2/C1
English has several ways to talk about the future, and each one signals something slightly different about timing, certainty, or completion. The key is learning to recognise the context clues that signal which form is needed. 20 questions.
Grammar review
Will, will be + verb-ing, or will have + past participle?
These three forms all refer to the future but describe very different kinds of future actions.
WILL (simple future) — will + base verb
Use for decisions, promises, predictions, hopes, and plain future facts.
Key signals: I think, I hope, I'm sure, probably, tomorrow, later, I've decided
I'll call you at 7. / I hope she passes her exam. / I decided I'll become a doctor.
FUTURE CONTINUOUS — will be + verb-ing
Use when an action will be in progress at a specific future moment, or ongoing throughout a future period.
Key signals: this time tomorrow, at 3 PM, for the next two hours, all day, all week
This time next week I'll be lying on a beach. / I can't call — I'll be driving.
FUTURE PERFECT — will have + past participle
Use when an action will be completed before a specific future point.
Key signals: by the time…, by next week, once…, before…
By the time you arrive, I'll have finished cooking. / Once I visit Portugal, I'll have seen every country.
Quick decision guide:
→ Will it be in progress at a future moment? → future continuous
→ Will it be finished before a future point? → future perfect
→ Neither? → simple future (will)
These three forms all refer to the future but describe very different kinds of future actions.
WILL (simple future) — will + base verb
Use for decisions, promises, predictions, hopes, and plain future facts.
Key signals: I think, I hope, I'm sure, probably, tomorrow, later, I've decided
I'll call you at 7. / I hope she passes her exam. / I decided I'll become a doctor.
FUTURE CONTINUOUS — will be + verb-ing
Use when an action will be in progress at a specific future moment, or ongoing throughout a future period.
Key signals: this time tomorrow, at 3 PM, for the next two hours, all day, all week
This time next week I'll be lying on a beach. / I can't call — I'll be driving.
FUTURE PERFECT — will have + past participle
Use when an action will be completed before a specific future point.
Key signals: by the time…, by next week, once…, before…
By the time you arrive, I'll have finished cooking. / Once I visit Portugal, I'll have seen every country.
Quick decision guide:
→ Will it be in progress at a future moment? → future continuous
→ Will it be finished before a future point? → future perfect
→ Neither? → simple future (will)
Choose the correct future form — will, will be doing, or will have done — to complete each sentence.
1. By the time I'm 60, I ________ (lose) all my hair.
Correct answer: will have lost — will have lost = future perfect — completed before a future point (by the time I'm 60).
2. I won't be able to talk to you in 15 minutes because I ________ (do) my homework.
Correct answer: will be doing — will be doing = future continuous — in progress at a future moment (in 15 minutes).
3. By the time I get home, my wife ________ (eat) the whole cake.
Correct answer: will have eaten — will have eaten = future perfect — completed before another future event (by the time I get home).
4. I ________ (talk) to my son about his poor test results.
Correct answer: will talk — will talk = simple future — a decision or intention with no time frame suggesting completion or continuity.
5. This time tomorrow, I ________ (swim) in the ocean.
Correct answer: will be swimming — will be swimming = future continuous — in progress at a specific future time (this time tomorrow).
6. I ________ (see) you at 7.
Correct answer: will see — will see = simple future — a scheduled arrangement for a specific time.
7. By the time the guests arrive, I ________ (clean) the dining room.
Correct answer: will have cleaned — will have cleaned = future perfect — completed before another future event (by the time guests arrive).
8. I decided that I ________ (become) a doctor.
Correct answer: will become — will become = simple future — expressing a firm decision.
9. I ________ (travel) for the next month.
Correct answer: will be traveling — will be traveling = future continuous — in progress throughout a future period (for the next month).
10. I'm really tired today. I ________ (do) my exercises tomorrow.
Correct answer: will do — will do = simple future — a spontaneous decision made at the moment of speaking.
11. If I keep losing weight at the current pace, by next Thursday I ________ (lose) five pounds.
Correct answer: will have lost — will have lost = future perfect — completed by a specified future point (by next Thursday).
12. I won't be able to give you a ride because I ________ (help) my grandmother water her plants for the next two hours.
Correct answer: will be helping — will be helping = future continuous — in progress at a future moment, explaining why I can't give a ride.
13. By the time we get to Canada, we ________ (drive) for 10 hours.
Correct answer: will have driven — will have driven = future perfect — completed by the time we arrive in Canada.
14. This time next week, we ________ (relax) on a beach in Mexico.
Correct answer: will be relaxing — will be relaxing = future continuous — in progress at a specific future moment (this time next week).
15. We hope that he ________ (lose) the election.
Correct answer: will lose — will lose = simple future — expressing a hope or expectation.
16. If I keep eating these donuts, I ________ (eat) all of them by the time my wife gets home.
Correct answer: will have eaten — will have eaten = future perfect — completed by the time his wife gets home.
17. P1: Can you do a quick translation for me tomorrow? P2: Not really, I ________ (do) my taxes all day.
Correct answer: will be doing — will be doing = future continuous — in progress at the future time mentioned (tomorrow).
18. P1: Have you been to every country in Europe? P2: Not yet. But once I visit Portugal, I ________ (visit) all of them.
Correct answer: will have visited — will have visited = future perfect — completed once a condition is met (once I visit Portugal).
19. I hope I ________ (pass) my exam.
Correct answer: will pass — will pass = simple future — expressing a hope with no suggestion of continuity or prior completion.
20. My brother tells me that my parents ________ (play) tennis for the next hour.
Correct answer: will be playing — will be playing = future continuous — in progress throughout the next hour.
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER RELATED EXERCISES:
Will/will be doing/will have done? 1 (B2)
Will/will be doing/will have done? 2 (C1)
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Will/will be doing/will have done? 1 (B2)
Will/will be doing/will have done? 2 (C1)
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