HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY No.2
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY

TRAN KIM THOA

COMMON ERRORS IN EXPRESSING THE FUTURE
IN ENGLISH MADE BY ELEVENTH – GRADE PUPILS
AT MY DUC A HIGH SCHOOL AND SUGGESTED
SOLUTIONS

(Summary of Graduation Paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for
the Degree of Bachelor of Arts at Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2)

SUPERVISOR: TRAN THAI, M. A



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ABSTRACT

Teaching and learning English tenses are never easy tasks for both pupils and
teachers in Vietnam. Moreover, there are many difficulties in teaching and learning
future time because there are many ways of expressing the future in English which
make pupils confused about their uses.
With the aim at finding out common errors in expressing the future in English
and solutions to solve this problem, the study titled: ―Common Errors in Expressing
the Future in English Made by Eleventh – grade Pupils at My Duc A High School and
Suggested Solutions‖ carried out a survey at My Duc A High School with the
participation of one hundred eleventh-grade pupils there.
Throughout the survey results and analysis processing, we found out some
common errors in expressing the future in English made by eleventh-grade pupils at
My Duc A High School. Taking these results as a reference data, the study tried to
offer some solutions to help pupils minimize these errors.
Although I have made great effort, mistakes and shortcomings are unavoidable.
I would be much grateful to welcome all possible comments from readers to
accomplish the work.

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I. RATIONALE 1
II. AIMS OF THE STUDY 1
III. SCOPE OF THE STUDY 1
IV. TASKS OF THE STUDY 2
V. METHODS OF THE STUDY 2
VI. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 2
VII. DESIGN OF THE STUDY 2

PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER ONE:
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

I.1. LITERATURE REVIEW 4
I.2. OVERVIEW OF THE FUTURE AND RELATED CATEGORIES 5
I.2.1. Some categories relating to expressing the future: 5
I.2.1.1. Time 5
I.2.1.2. Tense 6
I.2.1.3. Aspect 6
I.2.1.4. Mood 7
I.2.1.5. Modality 8
I.2.2. Overview of the future 9
I.3. WAYS OF EXPRESSING THE FUTURE IN ENGLISH 10
I.3.1. Different verb forms used to refer to the future 11
I.3.1.1. Simple present 11
I.3.1.1.1. Forms 11

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I.3.1.1.2. Uses 11
I.3.1.2. Present continuous 12

II.1.3. Type of the survey 31
II.1.4. Construction of the survey 32
II.1.5. Preparation of the survey 32

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II.1.5.1. Test items 32
II.1.5.2. Arrangement of the test items 33
II.1.6. Administration of the try-out 33
II.1.6.1. Preparation of the try-out 33
II.1.6.2. The try-out 34
II.1.7. Method of data analysis 34
II.1.8. Results of the survey 34
II.2. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 35
II.2.1. Errors in expressing the future in the past 35
II.2.2. Errors in the uses of other forms and structures to express the future 37
II.2.3. Errors in the uses of ‗will/shall + infinitive‘ form, ―be going to‖ form and
present continuous 38
II.2.4. Errors in the uses of future continuous and future perfect 39
II.2.5. Errors in expressing the future in reported speech 40
II.2.6. Errors in expressing the future in future time clause 41
II.2.7. Errors in expressing the future in the subjunctive 41
II.3. Suggested solutions and exercises 42
II.3.1. Suggested solutions 42
II.3.1. On the part of teachers 42
II.3.2. On the part of students 43
II.3.2. Suggested exercises 44
II.3.2.1. Sources of exercises 44
II.3.2.2. Types of exercises 44


learning and teaching future time. For the reasons above, this study titled: ―Common
Errors in Expressing the Future in English Made by Eleventh – grade Pupils at My
Duc A High School and Suggested Solutions‖ is conducted with the aim at focusing on
errors in expressing the future in English and solutions to minimize these errors.
II. AIMS OF THE STUDY
The study is aimed at the following goals:
1. To find out some common errors in expressing the future made by the pupils
at My Duc A High school.
2. To find out the causes of the errors in expressing the future made by the
pupils at My Duc A High school.
3. To offer some suggestions to minimize errors in expressing the future.
III. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The general research area of this study is grammar. The phenomenon is the
errors in expressing the future made by the pupils at My Duc A High School. Others
relating to expressing the future time are also briefly mentioned.
The population involved in the study is one hundred pupils at My Duc A High
school. 2

IV. TASKS OF THE STUDY
The study involves fulfilling the following tasks:
1. To study some categories relating to expressing the future (time, tense,
aspect, mood and modality) and overview about the future in English.
2. To study the ways of expressing the future in English.
3. To conduct a survey to find out error types and causes related to expressing
the future in English. On the basis of the findings, some suggested teaching methods
are sought to minimize the pupils‘ errors.
V. METHODS OF THE STUDY

Chapter one, Theoretical Background, consists of three sections. Section one
presents literature review in brief. The section two shows some categories relating to
expressing the future and overview of future time. Section three deals with ways of
expressing the future time in English.
Chapter two names ‗methodology and results‘ describes the research method. It
is composed of three sections. Section one is devoted to the survey. The second deals
with error types and causes. The last one is on solutions to the problems and suggested
exercises on future time.
Part C is the conclusion, giving all brief results of all the above sections.
Reference and Appendix come at the end of the thesis. 4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

I.1. LITERATURE REVIEW
The notion of future reference has received particular attention since the 1970s.
Researchers who have made considerable contributions to the exploration of this issue
are, for instance, Ultan (1978), Bybee, Perkins & Pagliuca (1991 and 1994) and Dahl
(2000).
An early work on the notion of future is the paper by Ultan (1978). His article
discusses numerous languages with respect to how they mark future tense. He offers
an in-depth analysis concerning the structural and semantic differences between future
tense on the one hand and present and past tense on the other.
Another study on future time reference has been presented by Bybee, Perkins
and Pagliuca (1994). Their book discusses in particular the evolution of what the
authors refer to as future grams (i.e. grammatical formatives used to refer to future

lexical auxiliaries be due to + infinitive and be to), intended events (intended events be
+ going to + infinitive and the Progressive (be + -ing), imminent events (be + going to
or combinations such as: be about to + infinitive, be on the point of/ be on the verge of
+ V-ing), future anterior events (the future perfect or the future perfect progressive ).
Besides mentioning about ways to express future like other grammarians,
Alexander (1988), John Eastwood (1994), Martin Hewings (1999), Alaine Walker &
Steve Elsworth (2000), L.G. were concerned with the future seen from the past
(was/were going to, would, etc.). Michael Swan (1980) and Betty Azar (2002) care
about expressing the future in time clause and conditional. In addition, Nehls (1988)
states that all modal auxiliaries, as well as hope, expect and promise can also be used
to express future time.
To sum up, all of these writers mentioned more or less about future time in
English. According to most of them, there is no future tense in English but there are
various ways of expressing future time. It is the reason that makes learners of English
get a lot of difficulties and confusions. In high schools, pupils are taught future time
however, they often make mistakes when expressing the future time in English.
Choosing this subject for the graduation paper, the thesis will help the Vietnamese
learners of English overcome these difficulties and avoid making mistakes by
presenting information involving various ways of expressing the future, discussing
about common errors when expressing the future in English and suggesting solutions.
I.2. OVERVIEW OF FUTURE TIME AND RELATED CATEGORIES
I.2.1. Some categories relating to expressing the future
I.2.1.1. Time
Humans conceive of time in terms of space, as shown by the language that we
use to talk about temporal relations: we habitually speak of stretching out or
compressing an activity, heading toward the future, returning to the past and so on
(Laura: 1988).
According to linguists, time is the universal category in any particular language.
It is considered from two different points of view:
(1) Grammatical: Time is a grammatical concept which is reflected in verbs

According to Angela, D (1992) Tense is a grammatical category that is realized
in English morphologically on the verb. In accordance with this criterion, English has
just two tenses: the Present and the Past, as in goes/ went, respectively. English has no
verbal inflection to mark a future tense. The forms shall and will are not verbal
inflections but modal auxiliaries which, when reduced, are attached to pronouns, not to
the verb root (I‟ll wait outside). Also important are the form–meaning relationships.
Shall and will belong to a set of modal auxiliaries and can express meanings other than
reference to future time, instead of a future tense, English makes use of a number of
combinations such as be going to to refer to future events.
I.2.1.3. Aspect
Aspect is a grammatical way to describe the internal temporal structure of
events, states or actions in a specific situation. These events can be either
independent or related to each other (Comrie: 1976). Aspect is the general name
given to verb forms used to signify certain ways in which an event is viewed or
experienced. This event can be seen as in progress or as a completed whole.
English has two aspects:

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- Progressive aspect is indicated by using [Be + V-ing] to say the action is in
progress or temporary or uncompleted.
- Perfect aspect is indicated by using [Have + V-ed] or [Have + the past
participle], in general, to say the action referred by the verb is in some way completed
or achieved, though still relevant.
I.2.1.4. Mood
Mood is a grammatical way to describe the speaker‘s attitude towards a
situation or his/her opinion about this situation (Palmer: 1986). There is a most
common point of view that modern English has indicative, imperative and subjunctive
mood.
The indicative mood allows speakers to form sentences that express assertions,

It is necessary that he come home.
I wish I were thin.
I.2.1.5. Modality
According to Angela, D. (1992: 379-390), modality is to be understood as a
semantic category which covers such notions as possibility, probability, necessity,
volition, obligation and permission. These are the basic modalities. Certain other types
of modality, not all speaker-based, will be mentioned in the following sections. In very
general terms, modality may be taken to express a relation with reality, while a non-
modal utterance treats the process as reality.
Modality covers a broad semantic area and can be expressed by many forms. In
English the syntactic class of modal auxiliaries is the most central. Modal auxiliary
verbs help to add shades of meaning to the sense. These modal auxiliaries include the
verbs:
• Can (certainty of truth, ability, permission, possibility, inherent quality)
• Could (epistemic, ability, permission, possibility)
• May (epistemic, permission, possibility, wish)
• Might (epistemic, hypothetical, polite request, suggestion)
• Must (epistemic, obligation, prohibition)
• Ought to (epistemic, obligation, advice)
• Shall (threat, prediction, suggestion)
• Should (epistemic, obligation, hypothetical)
• Will (epistemic, habitual activity, property of subject (Boys will play)
• Would (epistemic, past habitual activity, advice, polite offers)
Besides modal auxiliaries, there are other verbs and other means of expressing
modality as follow:
• Other verbs expressing modal meanings:
(a) The lexical-modal auxiliaries composed of be or have, usually another
element + infinitive (have got to, be bound to, be likely to, etc.).
(b) The semi-modals need and dare.
(c) Lexical verbs such as allow, beg, command, forbid, guarantee, guess,

Will/shall + progressive combine the meaning of futurity with that of focusing on the
internal process, in this way avoiding the implication of promise associated with will
the subject is ‗I‘ or ‗we‘.
E.g
I will (I‟ll) speak to him about your application tomorrow.
We shall (we‟ll) be studying your application shortly.
Programmed events
Future events seen as certain because they are unalterable (1) or programmed
(2), (3) and (4) can be expressed by the Present tense + time adjunct, by will or by the
lexical auxiliaries be due to + infinitive and be to (simple forms only):
(1) The sun sets at 20.15 hours tomorrow.
(2) Next year‘s conference will be held in Milan.
(3) He is due to retire in two months‘ time.
(4) She is to marry the future heir to the throne.
Intended events
Intended events can be expressed by be + going to + infinitive (1) and by the
Progressive (be + -ing) (2). These forms can be marked for tense. The past forms refer

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to an event intended at some time in the past to occur in some future time (3). As with
all intended events, they may or may not actually take place.
(1) I am going to try to get more information about this.
(2) Pete is thinking of changing his job.
(3) I was going to leave a note but there was no-one at Reception.
Imminent events
An event seen as occurring in the immediate future is expressed by be + going
to or by combinations such as: be about to + infinitive, be on the point of/ be on the
verge of + -ing. There is usually some external or internal sign of the imminence of the
happening.


I.3.1. Different verb forms used to refer to future events
I.3.1.1. Simple present
I.3.1.1.1. Forms
Affirmative form:
I / we / you / they / plural nouns + base verb (e.g. leave, return)
He / she / it/ single nouns + Verb + - (e)s (e.g. leaves, returns)
Negative form:
I / we / you / they / plural nouns + do not + base verb
He / she / it / single nouns + does not + base verb
Interrogative form:
Do + I / we / you / they / plural nouns + base verb?
-Yes, I / we / you / they / plural nouns + do
- No, I / we / you / they / plural nouns + do not
Does + he / she / it / single nouns + base verb?
-Yes, he / she / it / single nouns + does
- No, he / she / it / single nouns + does not
Wh-question:
Wh-question word + do + I / we / you / they/ plural nouns + base verb?
Wh-question word + does + he / she / it/ single nouns + base verb?
The verb is in the simple present tense. To show clearly that it refers to the future, it is
often used with a future time maker, for example: tomorrow, next Monday…
I.3.1.1.2. Uses
According to Marin Hewings, Advanced Grammar in Use (1999: 26-33), we
use the present simple when we talk about future events that are part of some official
arrangement such as a timetable or program:
Their plane arrives at 2 o'clock in the morning.
The next meeting of the committee is on November 5th.
We get off the train in Bristol and continue by bus.
Although the present simple suggests that the arrangement is fixed and definite. We

when she gets here. (not when she will get here.)
When the main clause refers to the present, we normally use will, not the
present simple, in the ‗that-wh/clause‟. However, if we are talking about a fixed
arrangement we can use either will or the present simple. Compare:
I guarantee that you'll enjoy the play, (not you enjoy )
It is fortunate that they arrive at the same time tomorrow, (or they will
arrive )
I.3.1.2. Present continuous
I.3.1.2.1. Forms
Affirmative form:
I + am + V-ing
We / they / plural nouns + are + V-ing
She / he / it / single nouns + is + V-ing
Negative form:
I + am + not + V-ing
We / they / plural nouns + are + not + V-ing
She / he / it / single nouns + is + not + V-ing
Interrogative form:
 Am + I + V-ing ?
- Yes, I am
- No, I am not
 Are + we / they / plural nouns + V-ing ?
- Yes, we / they / plural nouns + are

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- No, we / they / plural nouns + are not
 Is + she / he / it / single nouns + V-ing ?
- Yes, she / he / it / single nouns + is
- No, she / he / it / single nouns + is not

- I think it's going to rain / will rain soon, (not I think it's raining soon.)
- Scientists say that the satellite is going to fall / will fall to Earth some time this
afternoon. (Not the satellite is falling )
• When we talk about permanent future situations:

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- People are going to live / will live longer in the future, (not are living )
- The brothers are going to own / will own most of the buildings in the street
before long, (not are owning )
- Her new house is going to have / will have three floors, (not is having )
• With the verb be:
- John's going to be a shepherd in the school play next week, (not John's being )
- I'm going to be in Tokyo in May. (Not I'm being in Tokyo )
I.3.1.3. “Be going to” form
I.3.1.3.1. Forms
Affirmative form:
I + am + going to + verb
We / they / plural nouns + are + going to + base verb
She / he / it / single nouns + is + going to + base verb
Negative form:
I + am not + going to + verb
We / they / plural nouns + are not + going to + base verb
She / he / it / single nouns + is not + going to + base verb
Interrogative form:
Am + I + going to + base verb?
- Yes, I am.
- No, I am not.
Are + we / they / plural nouns + going to + base verb?
- Yes, we / they / plural nouns + are.

When there is any suggestion of intentions and plans, we tend to use the going
to-future rather than will in informal style:
I'm going to practise the piano for two hours this evening.
However, we generally prefer will to going to when we decide to do something at
the moment of speaking:
We're really lost I'll stop and ask someone the way
Intention can be emphasized with adverbs like now and just which are generally
associated with present time.
I'm now going to show you how to make spaghetti sauce.
I'm just going to change I'll be back in five minutes.
The use of ‗be going to‟ to refer to the remote future is less common and generally
requires a time reference:
She says she's going to be a jockey when she grows up.
If we want to be precise about intentions and plans, we use verbs like intend to plan
to propose to, rather than going to:
They're going to build a new motorway to the west (vague)
They propose to build a new motorway to the west (more precise)
The 'going to'-future in place of the present progressive
The going to-future may be used where we would equally expect to have the
present progressive with a future reference:
I'm having dinner with Janet tomorrow evening.
I'm going to have dinner with Janet tomorrow evening.
However, we cannot use the present progressive to make predictions, so it would
not be possible in a sentence like this: It‟s snowing tonight, in stead we use be going
to:
It's going to snow tonight.

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Though be going to can combine with go and come, the present progressive is

British people use I shall/ I will and we shall/ we will with no difference of meaning in
most situations. But shall is rare in American English.
I.3.1.4.2. Uses
According to Susan, K. (1996: 85-86) the will future used to express promises,
choices, offers to help, decisions, predictions, refusals.
The will future is often used with promises. Since we usually make promises
only about our own future behavior; will is commonly used in the first person:
- A baby-sister is speaking to the parents before they leave:

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“Don‟t worry. I„ll watch them carefully.”
The will future is also used at the moment when the speaker is making a quick
choice and when the speaker is offering to do something. In contrast to the ‗be going
to‘ future, the speaker does not think about this much in advance:
 A customer in a restaurant is asking about the soup of the day:
- Customer: What kind of soup do you have?
- Waiter: Tomato and chicken noodle.
- Customer: I‟ll have a bowl of tomato soup.
 Two roommates are at home:
- David: Peter, someone‟s at the door.
- Peter: OK, I‟ll get it.
 The party host is asking his friends for help:
- Host: Will someone help me with the dishes?
- Matt: I will
- Todd: I will too.
The will future can also express the speaker‘s expectations and predictions
about events that are uncertain. These sentences often include may be, probably, I
think, I hope, or I guess:
 Your car is at the repair shop, but you‘re trying to make plans to go somewhere in a

- Karen: Can you have dinner with us next weekend?
- Chris: No, I‟m sorry, but I‟ll be in Ohio at a meeting.
I.3.1.5. Future continuous
I.3.1.5.1. Forms
Affirmative form:
I/we + shall/will be + V-ing
You/they/she/he/it + will be + V-ing
Negative form:
I/we + shall/will + not be + V-ing
You/they/she/he/it + will not be + V-ing
Interrogative form:
Shall/will + I/we + be + V-ing
-Yes, I/we + shall/will.
-No, I/we + shall/will + not.
Will + you/they/she/he/it + be + V-ing
-Yes, you/they/she/he/it + will.
-No, you/they/she/he/it + will + not.
Wh-question:
Wh-word + shall/will + I/we + be + V-ing?
Wh-word + will + you/they/she/he/it + be + V-ing?
I.3.1.5.2. Uses
Alexander, L. G. in the book Longman English Grammar presented the uses of future
progressive form as follow:
Actions in progress in the future
The most common use of the progressive form is to describe actions which will be in
progress in the immediate or distant future. This activity is expected to start before that
time and probably continue after it.
E.g:
- This time tomorrow, I‟ll be lying on the beach.