We can use “will” with any of the question words to make future tense questions.
In this lesson, we will focus on the words why and who.
- “Why” asks about a reason.
- “Who” asks about a person.
Question Word + will + subject + verb…?
A) Who will you invite to dinner this Saturday?
B) I will invite Erin and Tina to dinner.
A) Why will you buy a new car?
B) I will buy a new car because I want to get a fast car.
We can make negative questions by using “will + subject + not + verb” or “won’t + subject + verb”. Negative questions are most commonly used with “why”.
- Why will you not come to my party?
- Why won’t you play on our soccer team?
- Who will you not invite to party from your work?
After the subject, we can also put an adjective, noun, or prepositional phrase.
Question Word + will + subject + (not) be…?
- Why will it not be cheap?
- Why won’t it be available next week?
- Why will it be expensive?
- Why will the office party be at your house?
- Who will you be with at the coffee shop?
We use this pattern if “who” is the subject of the question.
Who + will + verb….?
A) Who will come to dinner?
B) Jane and Tina will come to dinner.
A) Who will do this part?
B) Bill will do it.
We can make these questions negative.
Who + will not/won’t + verb…?
A) Who will not come to the meeting?
B) I think Tim won’t come.
A) Who won’t donate money to the charity?
B) Nobody. Everybody will donate something.
We can also use adjectives, nouns, or prepositional phrases when “who” is the subject.
Who + will (not) be + adjective/noun…?
- Who will not be ready in 10 minutes?
- Who won’t be here tomorrow?
- Who will be in the meeting this afternoon?
- Who will be the new king?
Make sure to get a lot of practice with these essential questions.
Example Questions
“Who” as the object of a question:
- Who will you invite to your Christmas party?
- Who will we want to talk to at the conference?
- Who will she ask for help?
- Who will they travel with?
“Who” as the subject of a question:
- Who will go to the party?
- Who will get fired?
- Who will eat dinner with us?
- Who will get promoted?
“Why” questions:
- Why will you go there?
- Why won’t we accept her offer?
- Why will he not return our calls?
- Why will she quit school at the end of this semester?
- Why will Erin not tell us her problem?
- Why will it not work?
- Why will they not be quiet?
- Why will the babies not stop crying?
- Why will it be interesting?
- Why will the lecture not be free?
English Conversation 1
A) Why will you not help us with this project?
B) I don’t want to because nobody helped me with my project last time.
A) That is a little bit selfish.
B) Maybe, you’re right. I will think about it.
English Conversation 2
A) Who will come to the Christmas party?
B) Many people will come to the party. I think more than 50 people will be there.
A) Wow! That is a lot of people. Will I know anybody?
B) I am sure you will know many people. Don’t worry.
Practice speaking English and improve your English grammar by finishing the questions below and then practice making your own questions. It is the best way to learn English and improve your English fluency.
Tip: Say the questions aloud. This will help you practice speaking English and improve your pronunciation and fluency.
Who will you _______________?
Who will _______________?
Why will he _______________ later?
Why will they _______________?
Why will she not _______________?
Why will he _______________ tomorrow?
Why will you _______________ next week?
Why will your family _______________?
Why won’t your family _______________?
