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Six months of night at the South Pole: the future continuous and future perfect continuous

This B2 ESL lesson plan teaches the future continuous and the future perfect continuous through winter at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, cut off from the world for about eight months.

Grammar
Will be + -ing for an action in progress at a future time, will have been + -ing for how long by then, and will have + participle for counts.
Topic
Who stays through the polar winter, what they do all day and when the sun sets, just once a year, with words like cut off and glimmer.
Activities
An explainer, a video call and a reader's voice memo, self-checking drills, a road-trip chat and boxes to debate and plan.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: how cold is too cold?

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: winter at the bottom of the worldVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2The Why Desk: one sunset a year

    • Look at the photo: a winter night at the PolePictureUnlock
    • Read Leona's explainer on The Why DeskArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Match the paragraphs and the headingsMatchUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Video call: could Leona do it?

    • Listen to Leona and Otto on a video callListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Reader's Rebuttal: Alfred's voice memoListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: In June, we'll be living in the dark

    • Study the scheme: will be + -ing and will have been + -ingGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use will be + -ing or will have been + -ingFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: will be + -ing and will have been + -ing for every personFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: where will you be this time next year?

    • Choose the right replies: plan a road trip with DinaChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: debate and planOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: new sentencesChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use will be + -ing or will have been + -ing in new sentencesFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct order: new sentencesUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: what will be true then?QuizUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Otto's winter kitchen newsletterChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Leona answers AlfredDrag and dropUnlock

33 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • glimmer
  • research station
  • cut off
  • supplies
  • dish pit
  • hacksaw
  • cargo plane
  • marker
  • winterover

Grammar: the future continuous and the future perfect continuous

Both forms stand at a point in the future and look at an action that is still going on. A research station cut off from mid-February to late October gives every sentence a date, so learners say what the crew will be doing in June, how long they will have been there by October and when a count needs the future perfect simple instead.

In June, we'll be living in the dark. By October, we'll have been working here for eight months.

Use will be + -ing for an action in progress at a time in the future. Use will have been + -ing for how long an action will have gone on by a time in the future.

Will be + -ing: in progress at a future time

The future continuous places an action in the middle of a future moment: In June, we'll be living without a sunrise. This time next week, I'll be flying south. Both parts are needed: will be and the -ing form, never will be live or will living.

One winter at the Pole

pastfuturenow
  • February: the last plane leaves
  • the crew lives and works at the Pole
  • June: they will be living without a sunrise
  • October: will have been living there for 8 months

Every part counts

will be + -ing: we'll be living (not: will be live, will living). will have been + -ing: we'll have been working (not: will have been work, will been working). How long up to a time needs will have been + -ing: By October, we'll have been working here for eight months (not: By October, we'll be working here for eight months).

Will have been + -ing: how long by then

The future perfect continuous measures time up to a future point: By October, we'll have been working here for eight months. A duration up to then needs have been, so By October, we'll be working here for eight months is wrong, and so is we will been waiting.

For every person

Personwill be + -ing: in progress thenwill have been + -ing: how long by then
II will be working in June. (I'll be working)I will have been working here for nine months. (I'll have been working)
youYou will be living without a sunrise.You will have been living there for months.
heHe will be baking bread.He will have been baking since five a.m.
sheShe will be studying the air.She will have been studying it for a year.
itIt will be getting darker every day.It will have been getting darker for weeks.
weWe will be waiting for the sun.We will have been waiting for six months.
theyThey will be training as firefighters.They will have been training all winter.

Common mistakes

  • In June, we'll be live in the dark.

    In June, we'll be living in the dark.

    will be + -ing

  • By October, we'll have been work here for eight months.

    By October, we'll have been working here for eight months.

    will have been + -ing

  • By the time the sun rises, we will been waiting for six months.

    By the time the sun rises, we will have been waiting for six months.

    don't leave out have

  • By October, we'll be working here for eight months.

    By October, we'll have been working here for eight months.

    how long up to a time: will have been + -ing

Negatives, questions and short answers

Will stays the same for every person, and not follows it: We won't be working on Midwinter's Day. Questions open with Will: How long will you have been working there by October? Short answers stop at will: Yes, I will. No, I won't.

Formwill be + -ingwill have been + -ing
NegativeWe won't be working on Midwinter's Day.We won't have been living there for long.
QuestionWill you be cooking in June?How long will you have been working there by October?
Short answersYes, I will. / No, I won't.Yes, I will. / No, I won't.

In progress, how long or how many?

One evening, three futures: At 7 p.m., Otto will be cooking dinner. By 7 p.m., he will have been cooking for three hours. A number of finished things takes will have + participle: he will have cooked forty dinners. State verbs skip -ing: we'll have known each other.

Three ways to look at the future

FormUse it forExample
will be + -ingan action in progress at a future timeAt 7 p.m., Otto will be cooking dinner.
will have been + -inghow long an action has gone on, up to a future timeBy 7 p.m., he will have been cooking for three hours.
will have + past participlesomething finished, or how many, by a future timeBy 7 p.m., he will have cooked forty dinners.

How many? And state verbs

For how many, use will have + past participle: By October, he'll have baked four thousand loaves (not: will have been baking four thousand loaves). State verbs (know, be, own) don't take -ing: we'll have known each other for eight months (not: will have been knowing). With most other verbs, will have worked for eight months is right too; here we practice will have been + -ing.

Time words and by the time

This time next week, in June and all winter suit will be + -ing; by October, by then and for eight months suit will have been + -ing. After by the time, use the present simple: By the time the sun rises…, not will rise.

Time words

will be + -ing: this time next week, at 7 p.m. tomorrow, in June, all winter, throughout the winter. will have been + -ing: by + a time, with for or since (By October… for eight months), by then, by the time + present simple: By the time the sun rises, we'll have been waiting for six months (not: by the time the sun will rise).

More lessons on this grammar: Future tenses lessons and exercises

Try the future continuous exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

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What's in the lesson

  • 18 auto-checked exercises
  • 6 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • describe an action in progress at a future time: On Midwinter's Day, the winterovers will be eating a special meal together.
  • say how long something will have gone on by a future point: By late October, the winterovers will have been living without a flight for about eight months.
  • make negatives and questions with both forms: We won't be working on Midwinter's Day. How long will you have been working there by October?
  • choose between a duration and a count: By 11 p.m., Otto will have been scrubbing pots for two hours, but he'll have baked four thousand loaves
  • use by the time + present simple: By the time the sun rises, we'll have been waiting for six months.

Lesson 30 is the second lesson of Exploring the extremes, unit 8 of English B2.1 · How the World Works. Lesson 4 taught the future perfect simple and lesson 9 the past perfect continuous; this lesson pairs the two ideas in will have been + -ing, adds will be + -ing and reuses the by of lesson 2. Lesson 31 turns to compound adjectives. A winter with one sunset, one sunrise and eight months without a plane is all dates and durations, which is what both tenses need.

Students spin a wheel about cold, darkness and working far from home, then learn twelve words, from stock up and defrost to dish pit and winterover, with pictures and audio. They read Leona's explainer on the station, then hear her video call with Otto, a cook who doubts she could last a winter, and a voice memo from Alfred in Colorado; both are AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five self-checking exercises, among them a table of both forms for every person. To finish, students plan a road trip with Dina in a chat and open boxes to debate and plan.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram, gaps with the station words and a memory game, then forms to choose, gaps with will be or will have been, word order, a quiz on what will be true at a given time, Otto's kitchen newsletter and Leona's answer to Alfred with words to drag in.

Grammar:
future continuous · future perfect continuous · will be + -ing · will have been + -ing · future perfect simple vs continuous
Topic:
the South Pole · Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station · Antarctica · polar winter · research stations · extreme places · The Why Desk

Teaching tips

  • Draw the station's year as a timeline: the last plane in mid-February, sunset around March 20, Midwinter's Day in June, sunrise around September 22, the first plane in late October. Students say what the crew will be doing then.
  • Ask what students will be doing tonight at eight, this time next week and in June, then how long they will have been studying English by December. Their own dates make both forms concrete.
  • Play the video call twice: first to decide who thinks Leona could last a winter at the Pole, then to catch each will be + -ing and will have been + -ing. Students list Otto's dates.
  • Set a duration against a count: By October, they'll have been training for eight months, but he'll have baked four thousand loaves. Students sort lines from the lesson by the question they answer: how long? or how many?

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The whole course: English B2.1 · How the World Works

32 lessons for adults at B2 in American English, each answering one question about how the world works. The team of The Why Desk, a small online magazine in Pittsburgh, takes on one question a week, from the day a computer beat the world chess champion to eight people sealed inside Biosphere 2. Learners tell stories with narrative tenses, speculate about the past and the future, and report what experts claim. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 AI and the future of work

    narrative tenses, by and until, be bound to and be likely to, the future perfect

    1. Lesson 1Checkmate: the day a computer beat the championNarrative tenses: past simple, past continuous and past perfect
    2. Lesson 2The robot car that crossed the desertTime prepositions: by, until, within, throughout, in time and on time
    3. Lesson 3Can a chatbot fool you?Probability about the future: be bound to, be likely to, the chances are
    4. Lesson 4By 2035, what will AI have designed?The future perfect simple: will have + past participle

  2. Unit 2 Health breakthroughs

    the third conditional, the past perfect and past continuous passive, have something done, the passive with two objects

    1. Lesson 5The moldy melon that changed medicineThe third conditional: if + had done, would have done
    2. Lesson 61.8 million Polio PioneersThe past perfect passive and the past continuous passive
    3. Lesson 7One clinic, many doctorsHave / get something done
    4. Lesson 8A kidney from a twinThe passive with two objects

  3. Unit 3 Moving people

    the past perfect continuous, the passive infinitive and -ing form, it's worth and there's no point, the future in the past

    1. Lesson 9Six years to the golden spikeThe past perfect continuous vs the past perfect simple
    2. Lesson 10Riding a pod with no driverThe passive infinitive and the passive -ing form
    3. Lesson 11The town that painted bike lanes firstIt's worth, there's no point and it's no use + -ing
    4. Lesson 12The highways that were supposed to take 13 yearsThe future in the past

  4. Unit 4 Wildlife comebacks

    reporting verbs with a that clause, with an object and infinitive and with -ing, verbs of perception

    1. Lesson 13Did wolves really change Yellowstone's rivers?Reporting verbs + that clause
    2. Lesson 14Bringing a parrot back from the edgeReporting verbs + object + (not) to + base form
    3. Lesson 15The beavers that came by parachuteReporting verbs + -ing and verb + preposition + -ing
    4. Lesson 16Fifteen bison take the trainVerbs of perception + object + base form or -ing

  5. Unit 5 Pop culture goes global

    comment adverbs, wish and if only for the present and the past, have someone do and get someone to do

    1. Lesson 17The party that started hip hopComment adverbs: apparently, supposedly, undoubtedly
    2. Lesson 18Slide to the left!Wish and if only for wishes about now
    3. Lesson 19If only they'd kept SupermanWish and if only + past perfect for regrets
    4. Lesson 20The hit factory on West Grand BoulevardCausative have and get: have someone do, get someone to do

  6. Unit 6 Money and smart choices

    -ever words and no matter, should have and could have, prepositions for numbers and change, it's time and would rather

    1. Lesson 21The bank that never closed-ever words and no matter
    2. Lesson 22One marshmallow now or two later?Should have, shouldn't have and could have
    3. Lesson 23Benjamin Franklin's 200-year giftPrepositions for numbers and change
    4. Lesson 24Why buy a drill you'll use once?It's (high) time and would rather + past simple

  7. Unit 7 Language and communication

    must have, might have and can't have, verb prefixes and suffixes, past modals in continuous and passive forms, agreement with quantities

    1. Lesson 25How did one man write down a language?Past modals of deduction: must have, might have, can't have
    2. Lesson 26Why do Americans write “color”?Verb prefixes and suffixes: misspell, rewrite, simplify, shorten
    3. Lesson 27The joke that needed a smileyPast modals in continuous and passive forms
    4. Lesson 28Can preschoolers save a language?Subject-verb agreement with quantities and collective nouns

  8. Unit 8 Exploring the extremes

    dimension nouns, the future continuous and future perfect continuous, compound adjectives, only, even and just

    1. Lesson 29A walk on the ocean floorDimension nouns and phrases: depth, width, height
    2. Lesson 30 · you're hereSix months of night at the South PoleThe future continuous and the future perfect continuous
    3. Lesson 31Flying on pedal powerCompound adjectives with numbers and participles
    4. Lesson 32Two years under glassFocus adverbs: only, even, just and at all

Questions about this lesson

What is the future continuous?
The future continuous is will be + the -ing form, and it shows an action in progress at a future moment: In June, the crew will be living without a sunrise. This time next week, I'll be flying south. It also makes polite questions about plans: Will you be using the kitchen on Sunday? The B2 lesson Six months of night at the South Pole on edio.ai teaches it with a winter at the bottom of the world.
What is the future perfect continuous?
It's will have been + -ing, and it tells how long an action will have gone on by a time in the future: By October, we'll have been working here for eight months. The action begins before that time and continues up to it. It usually takes by + a time and for or since. In Six months of night at the South Pole on edio.ai, the crew counts the months until the first plane.
How do you form the future continuous and the future perfect continuous?
Will stays the same for every person: I'll be working, she'll be working; I'll have been working, they'll have been working. The negative is won't: We won't be working on Midwinter's Day. Questions begin with Will: Will you be cooking in June? Short answers are Yes, I will and No, I won't. The scheme in Six months of night at the South Pole on edio.ai has a row for each person.
What's the difference between the future continuous and the future perfect continuous?
The difference is a moment versus a stretch of time. In June, we'll be living without a sunrise describes what's going on in June; By October, we'll have been living here for eight months measures the time up to October. For a count of finished things, switch to the future perfect simple: By October, he'll have baked four thousand loaves. Six months of night at the South Pole on edio.ai sets all three side by side.
Is it “By October, we'll be working here for eight months” or “we'll have been working”?
It's By October, we'll have been working here for eight months: how long up to October calls for have been. The future continuous can't measure it. Two more slips to watch: we'll be live (say we'll be living) and we will been waiting, which drops have. The wrong replies in the chat of Six months of night at the South Pole on edio.ai are mistakes like these.
What is the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station?
It's the U.S. research station at the South Pole, run by the National Science Foundation. It stands 9,301 feet above sea level on the ice, and Americans have lived at the Pole without a break since November 1956; today's raised station was completed in 2008. Up to 150 people live there in summer and about 40 to 50 in winter. Leona's explainer in Six months of night at the South Pole on edio.ai describes who stays and why.
Is it dark for six months at the South Pole?
Not completely. The sun sets once a year, around March 20 or 21, and rises around September 21 or 22, so there's no sunrise for about six months; but twilight fades for weeks after the sunset, and light returns slowly before the sunrise. The station is cut off for longer: no planes land from mid-February to late October, about eight months. Six months of night at the South Pole on edio.ai explains why eight is the bigger number.
How do I teach the future continuous to B2 students?
Fix a real moment in the future first, such as 8 p.m. tomorrow or a day in June, and ask what people will be doing then. Next, add by + a time and for to build the future perfect continuous, and contrast both with a count. Six months of night at the South Pole on edio.ai follows that path from Leona's explainer and a video call to a timeline of one winter and five drills.
What's a good game for practicing the future continuous?
Play “Busy diary”: each student fills in a diary for Saturday, then tries to arrange a meeting while the others refuse with the future continuous: Sorry, at ten I'll be playing soccer. The first pair to find a free hour wins. For speaking, one of the boxes in Six months of night at the South Pole on edio.ai asks What will you be doing this time next year? Where will you be living?
What's good homework for the future continuous?
Good homework puts a clock time or a date in every sentence, so the choice of form makes sense: At noon on Saturday, Stan ___ (run) his first marathon. Add a quiz on what will be true at a given time. All ten homework tasks in Six months of night at the South Pole on edio.ai check themselves, including Otto's winter kitchen newsletter and Leona's answer to a reader.
How do you practice the future continuous one-to-one?
Plan the student's next month together: the teacher names dates and times, and the student says what they'll be doing then and how long they'll have been doing it by the end of the month. Then they swap roles. The chat in Six months of night at the South Pole on edio.ai needs no partner: a friend, Dina, asks the student about a six-month road trip.
Are there interactive exercises for the future continuous?
Yes. This page plays three parts of Six months of night at the South Pole, a B2 lesson on edio.ai, without an account: Leona's video call with Otto, a gap-fill with both future forms and a chat about a road trip with Dina. Everything else needs an account.
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