Teaching the simple future isn’t really that simple. Sometimes teachers, especially those new to adult ESL, mistakenly believe that because a verb tense is called “simple,” students will breeze through it.
I’m here to tell you that’s not how it works.
Simple future is a mess.
Okay, so it’s a beautiful, functional mess that we use all the time, but, yeah, it’s a mess nonetheless.
Why Simple Future Isn’t Simple At All
First problem: we have TWO versions of simple future.
Will is for decisions made at the moment of speaking or expressing willingness to do something. “I’ll help you with that!” (Decision made right now.) “The phone’s ringing. I’ll get it!” (Spontaneous decision.)
Be going to expresses plans made before speaking. “I’m going to study abroad next year.” (This plan already exists.) “She’s going to quit her job.” (The decision was made earlier, now she’s announcing it.)
Both talk about the future. Both are grammatically correct. But they mean slightly different things. Try explaining THAT to a beginner who just wants to know how to say what they’re doing tomorrow. Then add that we can use either one when making a future prediction. “I can feel it in my bones. It’s going to rain tomorrow.” “My bones are aching. It will rain tomorrow.”
Second problem: simple present can ALSO express future. “My flight leaves at 6 pm tomorrow.” (Scheduled future event.) “The meeting starts at 2 pm.” (Fixed future time.)
Third problem: present progressive can ALSO have future meaning. “I’m meeting my friend for coffee tomorrow.” (Future plan.) “She’s flying to Boston next week.” (Arranged future action.)
So we have four different ways to talk about the future, and students are supposed to figure out which one to use when. “Simple” is not the word I’d choose.
But your students need to learn all of this because we use all of these forms constantly in real English. So let’s make it as painless as possible with activities that actually work.
Four Fun Simple Future Grammar Activities
Activity 1: We’ll Be Your Guides
This activity gets students using simple future to share plans and make predictions while sharing information about their home countries.
How it works:
If you have at least two students per country in your class, group them by country. If not, just have students work individually or in mixed groups where each person represents their own country or a place they know well.
Students pretend the entire class is taking a trip to their country, and they’re the tour guides. They need to plan where to take everyone and predict how classmates will react.
Example: “First, we’re going to take you to ‘The Edge of the World.’ You will be amazed at the view. Then we’re going to go to the Al Qarrah caves. You will enjoy the cool temperature. After that, we will visit the old market. You will probably get lost, but you’re going to love the atmosphere.”
Once groups have created their plans, they present to the class. Encourage them to share photos of the locations if possible.
Why this works:
Students practice “will” for predictions (“You will be amazed”) while talking about something they’re genuinely knowledgeable and excited about. The personal connection makes the grammar practice meaningful instead of mechanical.
I once had a student from Saudi Arabia describe a trip to his hometown that included predictions like “You will think the heat is unbearable, but you will get used to it” and “You will eat the best dates you’ve ever tasted.” The specificity made his presentation memorable, and the class was genuinely interested in his descriptions.
Simple Future Activity 2: Partner Predictions
What do your students think is in their partners’ futures? This activity combines predictions with some fun speculation.
For beginners:
Create a list of possible, unlikely, and a few absurd scenarios. Give this list to students and have them predict whether each scenario will happen to their partner, with reasons.
Example scenarios:
- My partner will get married in five years.
- My partner is going to become famous.
- My partner will learn to speak five languages fluently.
- My partner is going to travel to Antarctica.
- My partner is going to win the lottery.
- My partner will become a professional dancer.
Student responses: “I don’t believe my partner will get married in five years because he’s already married.” “I believe my partner will get married in five years because she’s already in love with someone.” “I don’t think my partner is going to travel to Antarctica because she hates cold weather.”
For advanced students:
Have students CREATE the scenarios themselves (possible, unlikely, and a few absurd ones). Then pair them up to make predictions about each other.
Students share predictions with their partners to see if partners agree with the predictions.
Option: Create a list of possible scenarios about YOURSELF. Include some surprises that students don’t expect. This models the activity and usually gets students laughing and engaged.
Why this works:
Making predictions about real people (their actual classmates) is way more engaging than making predictions about fictional characters or generic situations. Students want to know what their partners think about their futures, which motivates them to participate.
Simple Future Activity 3: Guessing Game
Predicting is a natural part of practicing simple future, and this game makes it competitive and fun.
Setup:
Create cards with planned activities:
- “You’re going to throw a birthday party.”
- “You’re going to watch a horror movie.”
- “You’re going to move to a new apartment.”
- “You’re going to adopt a pet.”
- “You’re going to start a new job.”
- “You’re going to learn to cook Italian food.”
How to play:
- Students take turns drawing a card and reading it silently.
- The student announces the FIRST thing they’re going to do to prepare for this activity, using “will.”
- Other students guess what the planned activity is using “be going to.”
- If no one guesses correctly, the student gives another preparation step, this time and any following times using “be going to”.
- Continue until someone guesses correctly.
Example:
Card: “You’re going to throw a birthday party.” Student: “I will contact all of her friends.” Classmate: “Are you going to plan a surprise party?” Student: “No, I’m not.” Student: “I’m going to order a cake.” Classmate: “Are you going to throw a birthday party?” Student: “Yes, I am!”
Why this works:
This requires quick thinking and forces repeated use of “be going to” in both statements and questions. You can tailor the planned activities to goals and plans you know your students actually have, making it more relevant.
Warning: This requires thinking on your feet, so avoid using this with low-level beginners unless you’ve practiced similar activities in pairs first.
Activity 4: Tag! You’ll Be It, Won’t You?
Tag questions are a delightful discovery for most adult ESL students. They love how simple it is to turn a statement into a question. Plus, tag questions sound sophisticated and natural.
Basic structure:
Positive statement → negative tag “You’ll help me, won’t you?” “She’s going to call, isn’t she?”
Negative statement → positive tag “You won’t forget, will you?” “He isn’t going to quit, is he?”
Activity option 1: Team competition
Use any worksheet that provides statements with blanks for question tags. Divide the class into teams. One student from each team stands. Read out the statement. First student to correctly complete it with a question tag wins the point for their team.
Examples: “You’ll finish your homework, _____?” (won’t you?) “She’s going to arrive late, _____?” (isn’t she?) “They won’t cancel the meeting, _____?” (will they?)
Activity option 2: Hot seat
Give all students a list of statements, or have them create their own. Students take turns sitting in the hot seat. The rest of the class throws statements at them, and the student in the hot seat has to add the correct question tag.
Give everyone equal time in the hot seat. Whoever correctly tags the most statements wins.
Why this works:
Tag questions are incredibly common in spoken English, but students rarely learn them systematically. This activity makes practicing them competitive and fast-paced, which keeps students engaged.
Once students master tag questions with simple future, their spoken English sounds immediately more natural and conversational.
Common Mistakes to Address
- Forgetting “be” in “be going to”: Students say “I going to study” instead of “I’m going to study.” Drill the full structure repeatedly.
- Using “will” when “be going to” is more natural: Student: “I will go to the store tomorrow.” (Sounds like a spontaneous decision, which is fine if that is what it is.) Might be better: “I’m going to go to the store tomorrow.” (Sounds like a plan, and if it is, this is the way to say it.)
- Confusing simple future with present progressive for future: Both can talk about future, but present progressive is for arranged plans while simple future is for predictions or spontaneous decisions. Show side-by-side examples.
- Incorrect tag question formation: Students might say “You’ll help me, will you?” instead of “You’ll help me, won’t you?” Practice positive → negative and negative → positive transformations explicitly.
The Bottom Line
Simple future isn’t simple. There are multiple ways to express future in English, and the differences between them are nuanced.
But students need to master this because we use future forms all the time, every single day, whenever we’re planning, predicting, promising, offering, or speculating about what’s coming next.
That’s it from me. See you in the next post!
Enjoy using these simple future grammar activities with your adult ESL students! And guess what? These and MORE are a part of my resource, Simple Future Grammar Guide & Worksheets. Take a look at that and my simple future task cards by clicking on an image below. Both are available in my TpT store.
Want to read some more about teaching adult ESL grammar?
