The sentence “Sarah will be joining us for dinner” is in the future continuous ‘tense’. It is used to indicate an action that will be ongoing at a specific time in the future.
In this case, the action is “Sarah joining us for dinner”. The use of future continuous here suggests that this is a planned or confirmed event. It also implies that the action of Sarah joining for dinner will happen over a period of time (the duration of the dinner) in the future.
The future continuous is often used when we want to express more certainty about the future. So, the sentence could be implying that it’s quite certain that Sarah will be joining for dinner.
The future continuous can also be used to express an action that will happen if everything happens as expected. This is sometimes called future as a matter of course. It’s usually possible to choose the future simple as well, but we often choose the future continuous because then it’s clear that we are not making a request or offer. So, in the sentence “Well, in a minute, he’ll be offering you a drink”, the speaker is expressing an expectation that the person will offer a drink in the near future. This use of the future continuous adds a sense of certainty and expectation to the statement.
Remember, the future continuous tense is not usually used with stative verbs like want, need, love, or hate. For these verbs, we usually use the simple future tense instead. For example, “I will need help with the repairs tomorrow” not: “I will be needing help with the repairs tomorrow”.
However, while it’s generally true that stative verbs like “need” are not commonly used in the continuous form, there are exceptions, particularly in informal, spoken English.
In the example, “I guess I’ll be needing a receipt off you there, Red, you know, saying the price of next month is paid in full and all,” the speaker uses “be needing” to express a polite or indirect request, which is a common usage in informal contexts. This usage can add a sense of politeness, hesitation, or uncertainty.
So, while the “rules” of grammar might suggest one thing, actual usage can sometimes differ, especially in informal or conversational contexts. Language is flexible and constantly evolving, and these “exceptions” are part of what makes it so rich and varied.
Profiling Research
On the internet, the most common present participles after ‘will be‘ are as follows:
The common ones after ‘shall be‘:
In the English Grammar Profile, there are three overlapping points in the category of FUTURE CONTINUOUS.
Point 9 is A2 and defined as:
AFFIRMATIVE WITH ‘WILL’
This is elaborated with usage at the same level at A2 point 21:
FUTURE ARRANGEMENTS with ‘will’ to talk about an event or action in progress at a specified time in the future.
However, point 37 is B1 and defined as:
AFFIRMATIVE ‘will’ and ‘shall’
A search in iWeb corpus for:
will be _VVG
1 WILL BE USING 47825
2 WILL BE WORKING 37998
3 WILL BE LOOKING 37841
4 WILL BE TAKING 30568
5 WILL BE MAKING 27553
6 WILL BE GOING 26088
7 WILL BE COMING 23461
8 WILL BE GETTING 22630
9 WILL BE PLAYING 16918
10 WILL BE HOSTING 16492
During the journey, we will be hosting a special guest.
11 WILL BE JOINING 13295
Aunt Sarah will be joining us for dinner.
12 WILL BE RUNNING 13248
13 WILL BE ATTENDING 12165
14 WILL BE OFFERING 10981
Well, in a minute, he‘ll be offering you a drink.
15 WILL BE ADDING 10969
16 WILL BE MOVING 10919
17 WILL BE GIVING 10414
18 WILL BE RETURNING 9764
19 WILL BE SHARING 9327
For results 20-100, we had AI complete the sentences:
The band will be performing their new songs at the concert tonight.
The company will be providing free training and support for the new software.
The school will be holding a parent-teacher meeting next week.
She will be buying a new car with her bonus money.
The author will be releasing his latest novel next month.
He will be hoping to win the lottery this weekend.
We will be watching the fireworks from the rooftop.
They will be bringing some snacks and drinks to the party.
You will be paying a higher interest rate if you miss the deadline.
I will be waiting for you at the airport1.
She will be trying to get a promotion this year.
He will be starting his new job on Monday.
You will be receiving a confirmation email shortly.
We will be ordering pizza for dinner.
They will be staying at a hotel near the beach.
She will be leaving for Europe tomorrow.
He will be competing in the marathon next month.
We will be talking about the latest news and trends.
She will be presenting her research at the conference.
He will be spending his vacation in Hawaii.
I will be posting some photos on social media.
They will be heading to the cinema after dinner.
He will be showing us his new apartment.
She will be sending us the report by email.
They will be putting up some decorations for the party.
He will be speaking at the event as a guest speaker.
She will be traveling around the world for a year.
They will be visiting their grandparents for Christmas.
We will be celebrating our anniversary at a fancy restaurant.
He will be launching his own business soon.
She will be seeing a doctor about her headache.
He will be selling his old furniture online.
They will be discussing the budget and the plan for the next quarter.
She will be wearing a beautiful dress to the wedding.
He will be opening his own bakery next week.
They will be keeping in touch with each other.
She will be helping out at the local charity.
He will be participating in a volunteer program abroad.
She will be asking him to marry her.
He will be creating a masterpiece with his painting skills.
They will be facing a tough opponent in the final match.
She will be living her dream of becoming a singer.
He will be serving as the captain of the team.
She will be teaching English at a language school.
He will be writing a book about his life story.
She will be focusing on her studies this semester.
They will be meeting for the first time in person.
He will be purchasing a new laptop with his savings.
She will be learning how to play the guitar.
He will be covering the latest sports news for the magazine.
They will be following the instructions carefully.
She will be updating her resume and portfolio.
He will be conducting a survey for his research project.
They will be arriving in an hour.
She will be sitting next to him at the dinner table.
He will be travelling to Australia for work.
She will be reading a book before going to bed.
He will be changing his career path.
She will be appearing on a TV show as a guest star.
He will be building a house for his family.
She will be seeking legal advice for her case.
He will be entering a competition for his invention.
She will be driving to the airport to pick him up.
He will be hitting the gym every day.
She will be flying to New York for a business trip.
He will be leading the project team.
She will be calling him later.
He will be replacing the old batteries with new ones.
She will be closing the deal with the client.
He will be dealing with the problem as soon as possible.
She will be supporting him through his difficult time.
He will be carrying a heavy backpack.
She will be checking her email regularly.
He will be happening to be in the same place as her.
She will be operating the machine with care.
He will be missing her a lot.
She will be fighting for her rights.
He will be exhibiting his artwork at the gallery.
She will be rolling out a new product line.
He will be walking his dog in the park.
She will be introducing herself to the new colleagues.
‘Shall’ is clearly less used at B1.
1 SHALL BE BINDING 1917
2 SHALL BE USING 257
3 SHALL BE LOOKING 225
4 SHALL BE MAKING 126
5 SHALL BE TAKING 117
6 SHALL BE CONTROLLING 115
7 SHALL BE GOING 112
8 SHALL BE WORKING 86
9 SHALL BE WATCHING 80
10 SHALL BE ORDERING 75
A search in the MOVIE corpus for:
*ll_VM _VBI _V*G
shows us that the contracted form is by far more common:
1 ‘LL BE WAITING 1251
2 ‘LL BE SEEING 937
3 ‘LL BE GOING 798
4 ‘LL BE COMING 546
5 ‘LL BE DOING 462
6 ‘LL BE LEAVING 454
7 ‘LL BE TAKING 424
8 ‘LL BE GETTING 394
9 ‘LL BE LOOKING 391
10 WILL BE WAITING 357
11 ‘LL BE WATCHING 325
12 ‘LL BE WORKING 317
13 WILL BE COMING 284
14 ‘LL BE NEEDING 255
I guess I‘ll be needing a receipt off you there, Red,
you know, saying the price of next month is paid in full and all.
15 ‘LL BE STAYING 232
16 ‘LL BE RUNNING 193
17 ‘LL BE MAKING 185
18 ‘LL BE HAVING 179
19 ‘LL BE HEARING 179
You‘ll be hearing from my lawyer.
*Note in the English Vocabulary Profile:
hear from sb =
B1 If you hear from someone, you get a letter, a message, or a telephone call from them, or they tell you something.
20 ‘LL BE SITTING 177
One of the problems with the EGP is that there are many range points for some structures depending on vocabulary. Some such as the point on this page do not have a range description. How do they choose or validate which structures deserve extra range entries?
We believe that every structure is equally deserving.