# EN: will + infinitive / will be + V-ing



## jefft45

Bonjour,

Pour dire que je ne pourrais assister à un meeting, laquelle de ces 2 sentences est corrects ?

*I will not be attending* the Wednesday morning meeting
ou
*I will not attend *the Wednesday morning meeting

Je pense que les 2 sont corrects mais que la 1ère est plus dans le cadre d'une impossibilité ?

I will not *be attending* the Wednesday morning meeting = I will not *be able to attend* the Wednesday morning meeting

Thanks for getting some clarity here.

*Note des modérateurs :* Plusieurs fils ont été fusionnés pour créer celui-ci.


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## mcl357

You're right that the first does imply more of an impossibility but
"I will not be attending" doesn't necessarily mean "I am not able to."
You might just not want to.


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## fsm*

jefft45, I agree that both sentences are correct. However, there is nothing in either sentence to suggest the impossibility of attending the meeting. Impossibility is not even hinted at in either sentence.


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## jefft45

ok thanks a lot for your help , so what is the difference between those sentences ? they mean the same thing ? I was thinking the first one was to strenghten an impossibility .


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## mcl357

They mean the same but the first is used more often.  
To state an impossibility, one usually says 'I can't attend...'


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## jefft45

thanks.
so can I use this form saying as follows ?
I won't be buy this car 
I won't be eat this cake
... ?


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## Melounx

If you want to say "I won't be..." you need to add "-ing" to the end of the verb. So, I won't be buyING this car or I won't be eatING this cake.


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## fsm*

The decision of when to use the -ing form with the future tense can be a bit mysterious to English learners. I can offer my own impressions of the difference it makes. But it's a very subjective thing, so hopefully others will have more to add. 

Generally, the future without -ing conveys the intention of the subject, or the subject's will (French "volonté"). For example:

*He won't stay with us*. By using the simple future, the focus is on this person's refusal, his determination, possibly his stubbornness. 

*He won't be staying with us*. In this example, the tone is softer. Although the result is the same, the focus of the sentence is less on this person's intention and more on a neutral reporting of how the overall situation stands.

To take jefft45's original examples:
*I will not attend the Wednesday meeting* may seem a bit harsh or abrupt if it stands alone, without an explanation. Of course, if it is followed by "because my son is sick and I need to stay home with him" then the focus will no longer be on your mere refusal to attend a meeting.

*I will not be attending the Wednesday meeting*. This time the emphasis is on your desire to report a future event, rather than on your decision not to attend a meeting. 

I know this may sound somewhat ironic since it might be your decision not to attend the meeting in any case, but somehow the tone is more diplomatic. At least that is my impression, from an American English point of view. Any other ideas?


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## Chimel

fsm* said:


> At least that is my impression, from an American English point of view. Any other ideas?


It is not merely an (American English) impression as I found the same idea in my grammar book (Thomson and Martinet): it says the future continuous often expresses "a future without intention".
 
This is also the case in "positive" examples (I mean, not only to make a refusal more diplomatic, as you point out). This grammar book compares:
a) I am seeing Tom tomorrow (= the meeting has been deliberately arranged by them)
and 
b) I will be seeing Tom tomorrow (no particular intention, it will happen in the normal course of events)


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## Maître Capello

The -ing form is likely softer because the simple future has an underlying volition aspect conveyed by the auxiliary (_will_). When you say that you _will_ not attend, this can imply that you don't _want_ to attend.


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## Chimel

Perhaps, but there is also the auxiliary _will_ in _I will not be attending the meeting_...


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## Maître Capello

Obviously… 

I'm just saying that the progressive form attenuates that aspect.


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## steviesouris

Then, of course, to express desire, but inability to attend, there is our old friend "unfortunately"...

Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the Wednesday meeting.


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## mcl357

Chimel said:


> a) I am seeing Tom tomorrow (= the meeting has been deliberately arranged by them)
> and
> b) I will be seeing Tom tomorrow (no particular intention, it will happen in the normal course of events)



This isn't strictly so.
It would be quite usual to say, for example:
"I will be seeing Tom tomorrow at 10am to arrange our holiday." (i.e., firmly stated time and purpose.)


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## Pepperbar

I have found, in general, the more words you can stuff into a sentence in English, the more polite it sounds, although no actual change in meaning is expressed. 

"Sorry, I'm busy that day." vs. "I have a previous engagement, and will not be able to attend the meeting."

In French, one would use the _conditionnel _to soften one's words. The theory is similar in English, although of course the mechanics change.


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## Gizgiz

coucou à tous!  
je suis nouvelle et j'espère pouvoir trouver ma place dans le forum.

Alors, tout est dit dans le titre, j aimerais comprendre la nuance entre les deux formes.
Pourquoi dit-on par exemple "i will be using" au lieu de "i will use" :/ 

Merci d'avance!
Gizgiz


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## Morganlove

Bonjour Gizgiz et bienvenu.

Voici la nuance entre tes deux propositions : 

I will be using means : Je serais en train d'utiliser (exemple : In 2 hours, I will be using my car to go far away)

I will use : J'utiliserais (exemple : I will use my phone later)

Will + be + ing désigne une action qui est en train de se dérouler dans le futur. Will + be = serais use + ing = en train d'utiliser, essaye de faire le lien.

Will + verbe désigne simplement le verbe conjugué au futur.


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## Martyn94

And, more widely, to direct attention to the intended action rather the precise future time: when I come to cut down your tree (tomorrow), I will be using an electric chain-saw. Do you have a socket I can plug it in to?


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## uptown

Exactement. Tous les temps progressifs en anglais se concentrent sur l'action elle-même. Ça existe en français avec l'imparfait qui correspond au progressif passé en anglais (au moins pour les verbes qui indique une action, et pas pour les verbes qui indique un état).


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## jann

Morganlove said:


> I will be using means : Je serai*s* en train d'utiliser (exemple : In 2 hours, I will be using my car to go far away)
> 
> I will use : J'utiliserai*s* (exemple : I will use my phone later)
> 
> Will + be + ing désigne une action qui est en train de se dérouler dans le futur. Will + be = serai*s* use + ing = en train d'utiliser, essaye de faire le lien.


C'est bien expliqué, mais vous avez mis le conditionnel à la place du futur à chaque fois...


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## misadro

Welcome to the forum.
*will do*.. = decision on the spot/ spur of the moment (The phone is ringing .. I'*ll answer *it)
*will be doing*.. = habitual action going on in the future as usual, as a rule (He *will be using *his iPad [as he usually does] and not his cell phone)


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## Maître Capello

misadro said:


> *will be doing*.. = habitual action going on in the future as usual, as a rule


No, the action is not necessarily habitual. It can be a one-shot event that is an on-going action.

Example: _Since it's raining, I think *I'll be going* home by taxi._


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## Morganlove

jann said:


> C'est bien expliqué, mais vous avez mis le conditionnel à la place du futur à chaque fois...



Oups sorry 



Maître Capello said:


> No, the action is not necessarily habitual. It can be a one-shot event that is an on-going action.
> 
> Example: _Since it's raining, I think *I'll be going* home by taxi._



I do agree with that, that's not obligatorily a common action (ex : This afternoon I will be playing football with my mates); It may not be an usual thing for you;


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## Latege

Originally Posted by *misadro* 
*will be doing*.. = habitual action going on in the future as usual, as a rule




Maître Capello said:


> No, the action is not necessarily habitual. It can be a one-shot event that is an on-going action.
> 
> Example: _Since it's raining, I think *I'll be going* home by taxi._



Both are true. If a specific time or another action/event is mentioned ("At 2pm/When I cut the tree down/Since it is raining...) it is not usually habitual but future progressive, i.e. it will be ongiong at the time specifed. If no other point in time or event/action is specified, the sense is future habitual.


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## quinoa

Je crois aussi que la différence entre : (1) I will be meeting him at the pub. et (2) I'll meet him at the pub. réside dans le fait que dans (1) la chose est déjà prévue, la décision a été prise il y a quelque temps et il n'y a plus que la prédiction. Alors que dans (2) il s'agit de la prise de décision, donc de l'expression de la volonté.


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## jann

Une petite précision : 

(1) la chose est déjà prévue, la décision a été prise il y a quelque temps et il n'y a plus que la prédiction ; il s'agit de nous informer de vos projets
(2) il s'agit de la prise de décision, donc de l'expression de la volonté

_I will be meeting him at the pub._ = (1)
_I'll meet him at the pub._ = (2) ou (1)


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## Oddmania

J'ai trouvé ici une (énième) explication fort intéressante sur le futur progressif en anglais. Ça intéressera peut-être d'autres personnes, alors je la poste :

The future aspect is, to put it frankly, a bitch in English. We just have so many different ways of doing it, and although some forms are finely nuanced, others appear to be identical in meaning.

But to deal only with the future progressive (or future continuous, as some grammars term it), take this sentence:

"I'm having a party next week. Everybody will be talking about Harry's new boyfriend."​
In the second sentence, there is only really one way for a native English speaker to express this, namely with the future progressive. It's a special use of the future progressive and its effect is to create an atmosphere.

The same applies to the following:

"We'll be at the match tomorrow. We'll all be cheering and rooting for you."​
Another use is when one (longer) activity in the future is interrupted by a (shorter) one or a specific point in time.

"I'll be working in the garden when you arrive, so if I don't hear the bell, come round the back."​"I'll be working in the garden at 6 o'clock."​
And another use describes parallel (longer) actions in the future:

"I'll be driving to France while they are moving into their new house."​
Those are the most common uses described in the grammars.

But when talking to my mother tonight, I said

"I'll be coming over on Thursday."​
That doesn't appear to fit any of the usages above, but I suspect it's the most common usage in modern English.

It doesn't mean the same as:

"I'll come over on Thursday."​
Now don't ask me why, but "I'll be coming over on Thursday" suggests a couple of things. Firstly, it suggests that my mother knows that I shall be visiting her, but that she doesn't know exactly when. She is anticipating my arrival (poor woman - she doesn't know about the washing). I am confirming when I shall arrive (be arriving). It is also open as to whether or not I shall stay any longer.

"I'll come over on Thursday," on the other hand, suggests that I shall also return on Thursday, In other words that I do not intend to stay overnight.

In all the sentences you suggested, the simple future would be acceptable, although I think the progressive would be more common.

Sadly, all my grammars are packed, so I can't consult the big guns, but I think Erik hit the idea with his first post and Phil went a bit further with his idea of "speculation".

"The troops will come home next year" is a bald statement of fact or military planning.
"The troops will be coming home next year" says something about my feelings of anticipation. It is something I am looking forward to (or perhaps fearing). It is about expectation, anticipation or apprehension.


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## quinoa

Oui, c'est ça. Avec "will be + ing", il ne s'agit que d'un rappel de prédiction puisque la décision a été prise bien avant, ou l'état a été anticipé.

"Don't bother calling after 9, I'll be sleeping" 
Il s'agit de la confirmation d'un état qui a été "pensé", "prévu", "anticipé". On ne fait que rappeler avec une certaine certitude que cela se produira.


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## Canjeld

Bonjour,
Je voudrais savoir si cette phrase est exacte (je ne pense pas) et dans quels cas on peut l'utiliser ou pour quelles raisons on ne peut pas l'utiliser :
"I’ll work for the company 3 days a week and I’ll be working/studying for the exam the other days !"

Je voudrais donc dire : 
Je travaillerai pour la société 3 jours par semaine et reviserai pour mon exam les autres jours.

Quelle est la différence entre I will work et I will be working ?


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## SwissPete

Canjeld said:


> Quelle est la différence entre I will work et I will be working ?


In this context, none.


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## Newgate

Hello,

Here is a a structure I don’t understand:

“He’ll be staying in the Red Lion.”

I don’t understand the use of ING. 
I think here, ING is useless.

So why add ING ?


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## Maître Capello

Pour moi ce serait plutôt le contraire… Le futur simple est très factuel et dit seulement que la personne y sera à un moment donné, alors que la version progressive indique une certaine *continuité*, une certaine durée.

Par ailleurs, le temps progressif donne souvent un certain *contexte* ou une certaine *intention* ; il adoucit la *volonté* (_will_) transmise par le futur simple.


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## Wordy McWordface

Maître Capello said:


> Pour moi ce serait plutôt le contraire…





Maître Capello said:


> la version progressive indique une certaine *continuité*, une certaine durée.


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## msfeather12

To avoid the use of “ing” the sentence would have to be re-written as, “He’ll stay in the Red Lion.” The sentence, “He’ll be stay in the Red Lion,” would be grammatically incorrect. ”He‘ll be staying in the Red Lion,” employs the future continuous tense which takes the form “will be + present participle.” The present participle is the form of a verb ending in “ing.” See this site among many others. By the way, assuming that ”the Red Lion” is an inn or hotel, it would be more idiomatic to say “at the Red Lion.”


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