Unit 8 · Technology & Future · Lesson 40
The Next Decade
Learn to project into the future with future perfect and future continuous. You'll write predictions so you can discuss what the next ten years may bring.
Warm-up · §1
5 minGet talking
Pick one: work, travel, cities. Where will it be in ten years?
One prediction that sounds crazy now but will probably be normal in 2036.
One thing about your own life you'd like to be doing in ten years.
Grammar focus · §2
8–10 minFuture perfect & future continuous
Quick rule
COMPLETE by a future point → will have + V3. IN PROGRESS at a future point → will be + -ing. Both often start with 'By…' or 'In X years…'.
Pattern builder
Future perfect
will have + past participle
e.g. By 2035, prices will have doubled.
Future continuous
will be + -ing
e.g. In ten years, we'll be working shorter weeks.
Future perfect passive
will have been + V3
e.g. By 2040, that law will have been changed.
Compare
| Form | Meaning | Time marker |
|---|---|---|
| will have + V3 | Finished before a future time | By 2035… |
| will be + -ing | In progress at a future time | This time next year… |
| will + base | Simple prediction | In ten years… |
Examples
- →
By 2035, most cars will have gone electric. (complete before a point)
- →
This time next year, I'll be working abroad. (in progress at a point)
- →
By the time she arrives, we'll have finished dinner.
- →
In ten years, we'll all be using AI assistants daily.
- →
By 2040, humans will have landed on Mars. (probably)
Common mistakes
By 2035, most cars will go electric.
✓ By 2035, most cars will have gone electric.
'By 2035' = deadline → future perfect (complete before).
This time next year I will work abroad.
✓ This time next year I'll be working abroad.
'At a specific future moment' → future continuous.
By 2040 humans will landed on Mars.
✓ By 2040 humans will have landed on Mars.
Future perfect = will have + past participle, not just 'will + past'.
Natural English
In natural speech, 'will have' contracts hard: 'By 2035 they'll've moved.' Say it aloud — the '-ve' almost disappears.
Deep dive (full explanation)
For talking about the future in a nuanced way, English uses two rich forms. Future perfect ('will have + V3') = the action will be complete BEFORE a future point. Future continuous ('will be + -ing') = the action will be IN PROGRESS at a future point.
Question 1.'By 2035, most cars ___ electric.'
Question 2.'This time next year, I ___ abroad.'
Question 3.'By the time she arrives, we ___ dinner.'
Question 4.'In ten years, we ___ AI assistants daily.'
Question 5.Which is WRONG?
Build the sentence → spot the natural chunks → say it aloud → reply like a real conversation.
1.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
2.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
Quick check 1.'By 2035, most cars ___ electric.'
Quick check 2.'This time next year, I ___ abroad.'
Vocabulary · §3
5–7 minWords & phrases to own
prediction
a statement about what will happen.
trend
a general direction of change.
breakthrough
a sudden important discovery or advance.
to disrupt
to change an industry radically.
shift
a significant change in a situation.
sustainability
the ability to continue without damage.
automation
using machines to do tasks previously done by humans.
life expectancy
how long people are expected to live.
remote work
working from anywhere, not the office.
climate goals
targets for reducing environmental damage.
on the horizon
expected soon.
wild card
an unpredictable factor that could change everything.
Activate it now
Use each word about a real future you can picture.
- Make it yours#1
One trend in your industry (or study field) you think will accelerate.
trendshift - Your view#2
Will remote work grow, shrink or plateau in the next ten years?
remote workprediction - Rank#3
Rank most likely by 2035: full self-driving cars, cure for a major disease, four-day week, human on Mars.
breakthroughon the horizon - Complete#4
Finish: 'The wild card of the next decade will probably be ___.'
wild cardto disrupt - Discuss#5
Will automation create more jobs than it destroys, or the opposite?
automation
Tap an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.
Pronunciation · §4
3–4 minContractions of future perfect and continuous
In fluent speech: 'will have' → 'll've (LILL-uv); 'will be' → 'll be (LILL-bee). Combine them into 'By 2035 they'll've MOVED', 'This time next year I'll be WORKing'.
- By 2035, they'll've moved.
- This time next year, I'll be working.
- By 2040, prices'll've doubled.
- In ten years, we'll be using AI daily.
- By the time she gets here, we'll've finished.
Reading · §5
8–10 minTen Years From Now
Listen to the passage
Tap play to listen. Replay as many times as you need.
Predicting the next decade is a losing game. Most experts miss the big things and over-hype the small ones. In 2015, self-driving cars were meant to be everywhere by now; instead, we got AI that writes essays. Nobody had that on the list. Still, some things look reasonably safe. By 2035, most new cars will have gone electric. A significant share of office work will be augmented by AI, and the workers who thrive will be the ones who learn to prompt well rather than the ones who try to compete on speed. Life expectancy in wealthier countries will have edged up again. The four-day week, currently a curiosity, will probably be normal in at least a few sectors. What's harder to predict are the wild cards. A single breakthrough in energy storage would rewrite the climate story. A serious AI regulation would slow or accelerate whole industries overnight. A pandemic, a war, a technology no one has heard of yet — any of these could disrupt every prediction on this page. The useful posture isn't confident forecasting. It's flexible attention. Notice which trends are actually shifting, which are just noise, and which of your own habits will still be serving you in ten years' time.
Question 1.What was over-predicted in 2015?
Question 2.According to the writer, who will thrive with AI?
Question 3.The four-day week is described as…
Question 4.What's the writer's advice?
Q1.The writer thinks experts usually predict the future correctly.
Q2.The writer says a breakthrough in energy storage could rewrite the climate story.
Q3.According to the writer, wild cards can disrupt every prediction.
Listening · §6
8–10 minTwo friends predicting 2035 (about 1:20)
Listening audio
Tap play to listen. Replay as many times as you need.
Show transcript
Ravi:What do you think you'll be doing in ten years?
Isla:Honestly? I'll probably still be working — just in a completely different way.
Ravi:AI-augmented?
Isla:Definitely. By 2035, most junior tasks in my field will have been automated.
Ravi:That doesn't scare you?
Isla:A bit. But someone will still need to check the output. That someone might as well be me.
Ravi:Cities — better or worse?
Isla:Probably both. The centre will be greener, but the edges will be more expensive.
Ravi:And climate?
Isla:That's the wild card. If a real breakthrough in storage arrives, we'll have hit some targets. If not, we won't.
Ravi:Optimist or pessimist?
Isla:Realist. Which is really a polite optimist.
Question 1.What will happen to junior tasks in Isla's field?
Question 2.Why is she not fully scared?
Question 3.Her prediction for cities?
Question 4.How does she describe herself?
Exam skills · §7
5 minStrategy focus — Predicting in Speaking Part 3
Task
Weak candidates only use 'will'. Strong candidates layer future perfect + continuous + wild card.
Strategy
Three-move future: 'By X, we'll have…' (complete) → 'We'll be doing…' (in progress) → 'The wild card is…' (uncertainty). This packs range into 30 seconds.
Example
By 2035, most new cars will have gone electric, and we'll be commuting to hybrid offices for maybe three days a week. The wild card, of course, is climate — one serious breakthrough in energy storage would speed all of this up by years.
Practice · §8
8–10 minFill in the blank
Question 1.By 2035, most new cars ___ electric.
Question 2.This time next year, I ___ abroad.
Question 3.A sudden important discovery = a ___.
Question 4.Machines doing human tasks = ___.
Question 5.The unpredictable factor that could change everything = the ___ card.
Question 6.Expected soon = on the ___.
Q1.Fill: 'By 2040, prices will h___ doubled.'
Q2.Fill: 'This time next year, I'll be l___ in Berlin.'
Q3.'A significant change' = a s___.
Writing · §9
5 minPut it in writing
Your task
Write a 130–170 word prediction of what your city / country will look like by 2035. Use at least THREE future perfect and TWO future continuous forms, plus FIVE items of prediction vocabulary.
Your answer
Show model answer
By 2035, my city will probably feel familiar and unrecognisable at the same time. The centre will have gone almost entirely car-free, and most trips will have shifted onto electric buses and bikes. Cafés will still be full, but half the workers inside will be joining meetings on screens from other cities. By that year, remote work will have settled into a stable three-days-in, two-days-out pattern, and automation will have quietly absorbed a lot of the routine office tasks. The people thriving will be the ones who learn to prompt AI well, not the ones who try to outrun it. Sustainability will still be the headline. We will have hit some climate goals and missed others; the wild card is a real breakthrough in energy storage. On the whole, I'll probably still be working, still commuting less, still complaining about rent, and still hopeful that the next decade will be a little kinder than we currently expect.
Speaking · §10
10–15 minMake it a real conversation
ROLEPLAY — Future dinner conversation. Your teacher/partner asks: 'What do you think life will look like in ten years?' Answer in 60–90 seconds using THREE future perfect and TWO future continuous forms, plus FIVE prediction vocabulary items.
Useful phrases
- • By 2035, we'll have ___
- • This time next year, I'll be ___
- • One trend that's clearly ___
- • Automation will probably ___
- • The wild card is ___
- • Something on the horizon ___
- FriendWhat do you think work will look like in ten years?
- You_______________
- FriendCities — better or worse?
- You_______________
- FriendAnything you're actually worried about?
- You_______________
Optional · Teacher-led
Teacher Activities
Optional group extensions. ~20 min total
Homework · §11
Take-homeTake it home
Write a 150-word prediction of your own life in ten years using three future perfect and two future continuous forms.
Record a 90-second voice note: 'The biggest change I expect in my industry by 2035'.
Write true sentences with: breakthrough, disrupt, shift, automation, wild card, on the horizon.
Watch a 3-minute future-of-work clip and note two future perfect or continuous forms.
Recap · §12
2–3 minWhat you've learned
- You can use future perfect and future continuous accurately.
- You can predict change with B2 forecasting vocabulary.
- You can weigh trends against wild cards in an argument.
- You're ready for Review Lab 8 — 'The Innovation Lab'.