The future dynamic

The Future Dynamic is a relatively rare tense (in fiction — 1 in­stance per about 81 page of text).

It is used (practically always in dialogue) when the speaker who is mentally in the future represents a verbal process as relatively dynamic. A verbal process can be concrete or abstract, its length ranging from several moments to infinite; continuous or repeated; isolated or simul­taneous or sequent with other processes.

Examples of Verbal Processes of Increasing Length

l."Now in a minute we will be blowing the bridge" (E. Hemingway); 2." I won't be looking for a while," he said and turned away (A. Saxton); 3. "We shall be stopping ten minutes at the junction" (D. Hicks); 4. "I'll be dining later with Professor Parish" (A. Kingsley); 5. "Then I should sleep in here?" he asked politely.—"Yes." —"Thanks," Robert Jordan said, "I'll be sleeping outside" (E. Hemingway); 6. "She'll be reading the proofs of your book any moment now" (M. Aden); 7. " I hope I '11 • be seeing a good deal of you two gentlemen at my house during this coming week" (C. Forester); 8. At least forty Communist candidates will be contesting in the municipal elections in the Midlands this May (D. Worker); 9. The Soviet Union will be producing more fertilizers than America next year (D. Worker); 10. "In five-hundred years there may be no New York or London, but they (the native people of Vietnam) will be growing paddy in these fields, they'll be carrying their produce to market on long poles wearing their pointed hats. The small boys will be sitting on small buffaloes" (G. Greene); 11. "Feet will be walk­ing over one's grave, wherever it lies" (G. Meredith).

Concrete Processes. About 69% of the instances of the Future Dynamic are references to concrete processes occurring at some moment or in

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a period of time which may be contextually indicated (examples a) or not (examples b):

1. 1." He'll be closing in ten minutes" (D. Carter); 2. "Tell the front office these boys'll be coming up in about thirty minutes" (A. Maltz); 3. "You won't be having your breakfast at nine then, will you, sir?" (F. Pohl); 4. "Meet me at Fourteenth and Broadway at two o'clock. I'll be looking out for you" (J. London); 5." We'll be playing games all morn­ing" (H. Smith); 6. " By the time you all eat breakfast, I'll be having my first beer" (A. Maltz);

2. 1. Jenny stood up too."I think I'll be going" (A. Kingsley); 2."Tell me it was a lie, Anna, and I'll be saying prayers of thanks, on my two knees" (E. O'Neill); 3. Browdie opened the door of the car, sat in the driving seat and then took the letters from her.—"You'll be taking the car to Belmont with you?" she asked uncertainly.— "Be late if I don't," Browdie replied (H. Smith); 4. "Let you sit down, now, Miss, and I'll be telling you a bit of myself, and you'll be telling me a bit of yourself" (E. O'Neill); 5. "I'll be walking on. Catch me up" (K. Water-house); 6."I shall be writing to Mr. Moritz" (N. Collins).

Abstract Processes: 1. "We're losing our individuality. Soon they'll be breeding us from test-tubes" (A. Kingsley); 2. "I shall often be com­ing to Pisa" (E. Voynich); 3. "I'll never need to do that sort of thing again. I'll be helping blind men across the street and taking stones out of horses hooves" (A. Kingsley); 4."I shall be moving about probably — getting a job here and a job there" (Th. Hardy); 5. Public health service will soon be operating in every country as well as in towns (M. Endi-cott); 6. On a regularly scheduled run, an experienced engineman can look at his watch and tell you that in four-and-a-half minutes the train will be passing a school-house to the right of the tracks (J. O'Hara); 7." He's very much opposed to you, as I understand it. He'll be run­ning around most likely and talking in the papers" (Th. Dreiser); 8. "So it doesn't look as if you and I '11 be seeing so much of each other in future" (A. Kingsley); 9."They'll be swarming round you like flies round a honey pot. That's what you like, isn't — to have the women petting you and running after you?" (A. Cronin); 10. "Depend on it, he will be thinking pretty hard about this whole business from now on" (Th. Dreiser); 11. "Every minute, waking or sleeping, you'll be wondering if tomorrow you'll be dead" (A. Maltz); 12. "But, Doctor, her sister goes to work. We'll be both working. And Jan will be alone all day" (D. Cusack).