AEE 2442: Avoid the Wall of Formality With This Future Grammar

Summary

Podcast Summary: All Ears English Podcast
Episode: AEE 2442 - Avoid the Wall of Formality With This Future Grammar
Release Date: July 14, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode 2442 of the All Ears English Podcast, hosts Lindsey McMahon and Aubrey Carter delve into the intricacies of future grammar in American English. This episode, titled "Avoid the Wall of Formality With This Future Grammar", aims to help intermediate to advanced English learners enhance their conversational skills by understanding and effectively using different future tense structures to foster genuine connections.

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Listener's Question

The episode centers around a thoughtful question from a listener named Asami from Tokyo, Japan:

"I'm not sure how to use the future continuous tense correctly. I heard the following sentences on your show before, and I'm not sure why they use the future continuous instead of the simple future tense. For example, 'I don't think I will be spending much time with her,' 'We will be closing the office today,' 'Hopefully the sun will be shining there.' I would really appreciate if you guys could clarify the difference between the future tense and the future continuous tense."
[03:13] — Asami

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Understanding Future Tenses

1. Future Simple

Aubrey Carter introduces the Future Simple tense as the most versatile and commonly used future tense.

• Usage: Ideal for expressing future plans, predictions, and spontaneous decisions.

• Example:

  "We'll see what happens."
  [05:50]

• Key Point: If in doubt, Future Simple is the go-to choice for most future-related conversations due to its flexibility.

2. Future Progressive (Future Continuous)

The Future Progressive tense is discussed as a means to emphasize the ongoing nature of an action at a specific future time.

• Usage: Highlights the duration or continuity of an action in the future.

• Example:

  "I don't think I will be spending much time with her."
  [06:34]

• Insight: While both Future Simple and Future Progressive can often be used interchangeably, the latter adds emphasis on the ongoing aspect of the action.

3. Present Progressive for Future

Surprisingly, the Present Progressive tense is also employed to discuss future events, especially in casual conversations to build rapport.

• Usage: Ideal for planned and definite future arrangements, making conversations feel more friendly and less formal.

• Example:

  "Are you doing anything fun this weekend?"
  [09:12]

• Notable Quote:

  "Especially if you're trying to create that connection between people. You don't want to create a wall of formality. Right. Do this. Just use present progressive to be really friendly and build that connection."
  [09:31] — Aubrey Carter

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Role Play Exercise

To illustrate the practical application of these tenses, Lindsey and Aubrey engage in a role-play scenario discussing their weekend plans. This exercise highlights how different tenses can subtly alter the formality and connection in a conversation.

Example Excerpts:

• Lindsey: "I'm meeting my cousin on Saturday. We're going to a concert."
  [12:09]

• Aubrey: "I'll be visiting my grandparents on Sunday."
  [12:15]

Through this dialogue, listeners observe the seamless switch between Present Progressive and Future Progressive to maintain a casual and connected conversation.

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The Wall of Formality

A central theme of the episode is avoiding the "wall of formality" in conversations. Aubrey Carter emphasizes:

"You don't want to create a wall of formality. Right. Do this. Just use present progressive to be really friendly and build that connection."
[09:31]

By choosing the appropriate tense—often the Present Progressive—learners can make their interactions feel more personal and less stiff, fostering better connections with native speakers.

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Takeaways and Conclusions

• Flexibility in Tenses: Understanding when to use Future Simple, Future Progressive, or Present Progressive is crucial for nuanced and natural conversations.

• Connection Over Perfection: The hosts reiterate the podcast's motto, encouraging learners to focus on building connections rather than striving for grammatical perfection.

• Practical Application: Through real-life examples and role-play, listeners are equipped with strategies to apply these grammatical structures effectively in their conversations.

Final Thoughts:

"If your grammar and your vocabulary can bring down that wall of formality and create a more friendly, more casual connection."
[18:33] — Aubrey Carter

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Join the Community
For adult students, professionals, university attendees, and ESL teachers eager to speak American English like a native, subscribing to the All Ears English Podcast is invaluable. Embrace the journey of focusing on connection, not perfection, to enhance your English fluency.

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Transcript

[Aubrey Carter]

This is an Allers English podcast. Episode 2442. Avoid the wall of formality with this future grammar.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection. With your American host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz and Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, usa. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com subscribe when you ask someone about their upcoming plans, you have at least three tenses to choose from. Today. We break down three grammar tenses for the future to show what they mean for your conversations and connection.

[Aubrey Carter]

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[Lindsey McMahon]

Hey, Aubry. What's going on?

[Aubrey Carter]

I am great. How are you, Lindsay?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Good. Do you have any fun plans? Doing anything fun this weekend?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. I'm headed to Rocky Point, Mexico. This is one of our favorite family travel destinations close to Phoenix. Very kid friendly. I can't wait.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, that's amazing. That sounds so fun. I hope you have a great little trip. Sounds fantastic. Yeah. What are we getting into in today's episode? Aubrey?

[Aubrey Carter]

So it's interesting you asked me that question. Are you doing anything fun this weekend? Because you're asking me about the future and you're using the presents. Yeah.

[Lindsey McMahon]

That's kind of confusing, right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. And we do this all the time. So we got a great question about this. I'm excited to dive into it. Do you want to read the question for us, Lindsay?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes. Here we go. This is from Asami. Hi, Lindsay, Michelle and Aubry. I'm Asami from Tokyo, Japan. I just want to say a big thank you to all of you for creating such an amazing show and for answering my questions before. Well, thank you, Asami, for sending in your questions.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, thank you for that. I Love that.

[Lindsey McMahon]

When my questions were answered, I couldn't help but jump with with excitement and tell the people around me. I love that.

[Aubrey Carter]

That's fantastic. I felt that way. I've sent questions into podcasts and I'm so excited to send it to everyone I know. Yes. Like, oh, that's great.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I've never sent a question to a podcast. I should start doing it.

[Aubrey Carter]

That's so cool.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Today, I have another question. Since I couldn't find an episode about this. I'm not sure how to use the future continuous tense correctly. I heard the following sentences on your show before, and I'm not sure why they use the future continuous instead of the simple future tense. So, for example, she heard, I don't think I will be spending much time with her. We will be closing the office today. Hopefully the sun will be shining there. I would really appreciate if you guys could clarify the difference between the future tense and the future continuous tense. Love you guys. Best, Asami. Wonderful.

[Aubrey Carter]

Such a great question. Yes. And I have a feeling, listening to this question, that all of our listeners out there are like, yes. Yeah, I also wondered that. Or like, there's a light bulb moment here. You're like, yes, I want to know. This is great.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Absolutely. So we are all here ready for the answer, and we're gonna. We're not gonna. Not only give you the answer, but we're gonna talk about what it means for connection, which we do in all of our episodes. We bring everything back to connection, not perfection. Human connection. So if you love our style, which is a little different than your average podcast, go ahead and hit the follow button right now on the show. Right, Aubrey?

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly right. You don't want to miss any of these awesome episodes. Grammar, vocab. Lots of strategies and tips, but all about how you can use it to connect in English.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Exactly. All right, so let's go straight to our answer for Asami and all of our other listeners. Aubrey, where do we start today?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. So we are going to share the three most common ways that we talk about the future, Future simple and future progressive, or future continuous, which Asami mentioned, and also present progressive, which we also use a lot to actually talked about the future. So let's dive in first with future simple.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay, so usually Nate, or sometimes native speakers will prefer this over the future progressive tense. Why Aubry?

[Aubrey Carter]

Well, because it is more flexible and versatile. So especially if you are talking about actions that will occur at a specific time, you will be limited. You can't use the future progressive. So for often, if you need A default Future simple is what you want if you're talking about future plans, predictions, spontaneous decisions. So let's give a few examples when we would use the Future Simple.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay. We'll see what happens. Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

Dot, dot, dot.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

This is sort of a prediction. Like we wouldn't say we'll be seeing what happens. Right. We're using the Present simple for this. It's more of a general true statement about the future.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Or they'll meet us at the restaurant at seven. Good. Okay.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. Straightforward, right? Exactly right. Pretty straightforward. If. If in doubt, usually Future simple is going to be your go to. It's more flexible than Future Progressive. All right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

But then moving into Future Progressive, we do have a lot of options. Aubry, when it comes to the future, we really do.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. And we use a Future progressive a ton. All of those examples Asami gave, we use them for situations where an action will be ongoing at a certain point in the future. And this is often done to emphasize the duration of the action.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay. So for example, I don't think I'll be spending much time with her. So talking about an ongoing action or lack of action in this case.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right, Right. And if you think about, you could use Future simple and say I don't think I will spend much time with her. But instead we use Future Progressive to emphasize that that would be an ongoing action.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Or. We will be closing the office today. Now, this is at an unspecified time. If it's specified, how would it change?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. So because we're not specifying the time, we're sort of talking in general about the day we will be closing today. But if you give a time, you make it specific. That's when you'd need the future. We will close the office at 5pm now the trick here is native speakers often will still use Future Progressive here. Right. We still need to say we will be closing at 5pm today. So this is a little bit. No rhyme or reason. Both are accepted. Often when you're talking about the future, it's not so much about right or wrong. It's about what feels right to someone based on their regional dialect. Based on what they're used to hearing.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. I mean, as sometimes thinking about something that is solidified as a plan in the future. Right. We'll be closing today at 5.

[Aubrey Carter]

Definitely.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I feel like native speakers say that it's something that's a little more planned. Planned ahead in a sense. Don't you think, Aubrey? Versus Oh, I think we'll close today at five. A little bit more spontaneous, right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. Interesting. The spontaneity of it often will also affect which verb tense we choose.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay, what's another example for future progressive?

[Aubrey Carter]

So this one's interesting, you might say, and this was. These are Asami's example. So kind of talking about why we would choose future progressive there. The third one was, hopefully the sun will be shining there there, because it's an ongoing action. Right. The sun wouldn't just shine for a moment and then be done, likely. So this is definitely correct to use future progressive. Of course, future simple would work as well. Hopefully the sun will shine while we're in Mexico. But yeah, progressive also works because it's an ongoing action.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. And maybe it's the base of another sentence, like, hopefully the sun will be shining when we arrive there. You could say.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right, right. So it's making it a continued action. Yes.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Love that. Okay, then we're still another choice. There is still a third option.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly. Like what you used when you asked me about the upcoming weekend. We use present progressive really often to talk about the future, especially to ask someone about the future. So we often. If we're asking about plans or arrangements that will occur in the future and are definite, and especially in casual conversations, we'll use progressive.

[Lindsey McMahon]

This one also feels to me to be the most casual, the most conversational, wouldn't you say?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, absolutely. Yes. Casual, conversational. Especially if you're trying to create that connection between people. You don't want to create a wall of formality. Right. Do this. Just use present progressive to be really friendly and build that connection.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, I love what you just said. A wall of formality. That's really an interesting term.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

To think about, to imagine for our listeners. We don't want to be creating that. You're right. And that's why we look at the most connected phrases. And this is probably the recomm out of these three options. Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

So absolutely.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Are you doing anything fun this weekend?

[Aubrey Carter]

Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Again, just like at the top of the show. Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

What have you got going on later? Right. These are actually in present progressive. They're so friendly, casual. So it's interesting how you definitely will see native speakers use future progressive. Also future simple. But if you start paying attention to language, especially questions about what someone's doing in the near future, they're likely, if they're trying to build that connection and be less formal and more friendly, they might use present progressive. Wow.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Super interesting how our grammar choices can have a major effect on how well connected we become.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right? Absolutely. Yeah.

[Lindsey McMahon]

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[Aubrey Carter]

There you go. Perfect. I'll start us out.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay.

[Aubrey Carter]

Lindsay, what are you doing this weekend?

[Lindsey McMahon]

I'm meeting my cousin on Saturday. We're going to a concert. What about you?

[Aubrey Carter]

I'll be visiting my grandparents on Sunday.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, fun. Where do they live?

[Aubrey Carter]

They live near the coast, so I'll probably spend some time at the beach, too.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Do you stay with them when you visit?

[Aubrey Carter]

No, we'll stay at my cousin's place.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Nice. All right, so here I think we probably used all of the options.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. Right? Yeah.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, so let's break it down. Yes.

[Aubrey Carter]

All right. So I first asked, what are you doing this weekend? Using the present progressive. And there is that wall of formality. It's slight, but it's there. If I say, what will you be doing this weekend? Or what will you do this weekend? Because it's just formal enough of a structure that I'm creating formality between us.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yep. So we take kind of. If we imagine we're facing someone, we take one step back in terms of distance, in terms of not being as connected. And there is a time and a place for that, right? Sure.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly. Because the relationship might be more formal if you're asking a supervisor, a boss, or someone you don't know well about their weekend plans. Right. Then you might Opt for future simple or future progressive. None of them are grammatically wrong. But it's really interesting to think about the effect on the. What you're implying about the relationship you have.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Exactly. And then I answered with present progressive. So I said, I'm meeting my cousin on Saturday. We're going to a concert.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right. So I'm meeting my son, my cousin. And it's interesting. We can say, I'll. I will meet my cousin. Right. We could use future simple, but we'll often opt for present progressive as well. Again, to create this informality. Not grammatically incorrect. To use one of these other future tenses. But you're sort of bringing me with you to talk about what you'll be doing and making it present progressive, I guess.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Not grammatically incorrect, but a little weird. If we say I will meet my cousin on Saturday, it feels like we said formal. The wall formality. It feels.

[Aubrey Carter]

It.

[Lindsey McMahon]

It not appropriate for the conversation. You know what I mean?

[Aubrey Carter]

Really interesting. Or the. We're going to a concert. Right? We will go to a concert. We will be going to a concert. They're not grammatically wrong, but they're. It's interesting. They're quite a bit more formal for a conversation.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes. Yes. All right. And then you said, I'll be visiting my parents on Sunday. Now we're using the future progressive. Oh, my gosh.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. Interesting. And you could use present progressive. I could say, oh, I'm visiting my parent, my grandparents.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Totally.

[Aubrey Carter]

Even more informal. But, you know, this is especially. Future progressive. Isn't that much more formal. Right. It's definitely not incorrect, which is why it's tricky for all of you out there listening when you hear native speakers use all of these different tenses.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

It can be confusing, but it's interesting to think about. You. You don't want to just think about what's grammatically correct when you're thinking about why a native speaker would choose which one.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

Maybe it's about formality.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. I mean, for our listeners, you all are ready for that. You're at that level. B2, C1, maybe high B1. You're ready to move beyond what's grammatically correct. You already know that to some extent. And now, what brings you closer to connection? Right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. And so here, present progressive isn't much more formal. I can say I'll be visiting my grandparents instead of I'm visiting my grandparents. But it would sound quite formal to use future simple. Right. I will visit my grandparents on Sunday. Even though I'm defining when on Sunday, it still Is quite formal to use future simple here.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, I don't like the future simple here. I don't know.

[Aubrey Carter]

It just when we're talking about. Yeah. Future plans that are near and that are going to happen for an extended period of time, it sounds a little strange to use future simple.

[Lindsey McMahon]

But when we think about things that are spontaneous, like we mentioned, or unexpected, we do do flip in to the future simple. So here we said they live near the coast. You asked me if where they live. He said they live near the coast. So I'll probably spend some time at the beach. Probably usually goes with future simple, doesn't it, Aubrey?

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly. Right. Because this is spontaneous. Plans might or might not happen. Right. So you could say, I'll probably be spending some time at the beach. But you can definitely use future simple here for these, you know, hypothetical potential and spontaneous actions. I'll spend some time. So I will spend some time. I'll probably spend some time.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And then what did I say after that?

[Aubrey Carter]

And you asked, do you stay with them when you visit? So present progressive here could also say, are you staying with them while you're there? Right. You could use present continuous. Both very interchangeable here.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Right. And this is more about habits.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

We're not even talking about this time. We're saying in general, every time you stay with them, do you, every time you visit them, do you stay with them or do you stay in a hotel? Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

That's a really good point because then that does change the meaning a little bit. If you are talking more about every time you go, it makes more sense to use present progressive. If you're asking about this time, then present or then future progressive.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And I kind of answered a different question. I. So you, in my mind, I asked you about on a repetitive basis every time you go, do you stay with them? But you answered about this time.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, this is interesting. And I think this happens a lot in conversations. Right. Where sometimes because there's ambiguity in the tents, they might misunderstand what you asked. Right. I kind of answered a different question. I was sort of answered as if you were asking about this trip.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

And then you could clarify and be like, do you always stay there? Or is that what you always do? Or you could just let it go.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Right, Exactly. So either way, we. We do understand each other, but sometimes native speakers don't answer the question you ask. And that would be a great episode too.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. Do you. Should you say something or should you let it go? That's interesting.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Interesting. Aubry, what does this mean for connection what's our takeaway today?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, I think the biggest thing is, you know, we don't just stick to Future simple. We use future simple, Future progressive, and even Present progressive. Especially if we want to be more friendly, more informal when we're talking to in in casual conversation.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes, we've gotten our money's worth today for sure. Heavy Hitting Grammar Episode I love it. Guys. Remember the wall of formality. Like AUB it out, seek to find that connection. Depending on the scenario, can you be even more casual if the scenario merits it? Can you use the right kind of grammar at the right time?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes, that's often the best way to build connection. If your grammar and your vocabulary can bring down that wall of formality and create a more friendly, more casual connection.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Love it. So good guys, hit the follow button if you love our style. Connection not perfection. Aubry, I'll see you soon.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yep, see you next time.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, bye. Thanks for listening to Allears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com forward/fluencyscore and if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.

[C]

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[Lindsey McMahon]

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[C]

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[D]

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[Aubrey Carter]

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[D]

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