What are future time clauses?
Welcome back to The Art of Business English. In this week's episode you will learn about Future Time clauses and how you can use them correctly.
As always, I will provide you with some examples to help you better understand their use in context.
Let's go!
Time clauses are time expressions and when we use them to talk about the FUTURE, they are not followed by a future tense but by a PRESENT tense.
E.g.
When I finish university, I’ll travel the world.
The sun will have set by the time I get home.
When we want to emphasize that one action finishes before another starts, we use the PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE.
E.g. I’ll tidy up as soon as the painters have left.
As soon as
As soon as we get to the airport, we will check-in
When
When you finish the report, we will go for lunch
By the time (= before a time or event)
By the time we arrive, the meeting will have already started.
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The moment
The moment you get into the office, call me.
Until
Melissa will stay until she has finished the report.
After
We won’t sign the agreement, until after we have the board’s approval
Before
We will have to start the meeting before he arrives, or we will go over time.
Once
Once you have completed the research, we will make a final decision.
Final thoughts
In conclusion, Future Time Clauses are commonly used in everyday English, however they can sometimes cause non-native speakers problems. Remember, the rule is simple, we use the Present Simple or the Present Perfect and never a future tense such as "will".
Well, that is it for this week, be sure to grade a copy of my eBook below to further improve your English vocabulary and pronunciation.
Take care, till next week.
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