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38
Ever since his return he had been losing strength and flesh.
She had been acting for a long time without a rest and she badly needed one.
Even now he could not stop, though he had been running all the way from the village.
The past perfect continuous is usually rendered in Russian by the past tense, imperfective.
Future tenses
§ 42. All the future tenses (the future indefinite (the simple future), the future continuous, the future perfect,
the future perfect continuous) refer the actions they denote to the future. The difference between them is due to
their different relation to the categories of aspect and perfect.
Their specific time reference limits their use in comparison with the present and the past tenses.
Among the future tenses the future indefinite is the most frequently used, while the use of the future
continuous and the future perfect is rather limited, because the situations to which they are applicable seldom
arise. As to the future perfect continuous, it is hardly ever used.
The future indefinite
§ 43. Formation. The future indefinite is formed analytically by means of the auxiliary verb shall for the
first person singular or plural and will for the second and third person singular or plural and the infinitive of the
notional verb without the particle to.
The modern tendency is to use will for all the persons*.
* In modern spoken English no person distinctions are found in future tenses. The only marker for any future tense is ‘ll used for
all persons singular and plural (I’ll speak, He’ll speak). Historically ‘ll is the contracted form of will.
The paradigm of the verb in the future indefinite
Affirmative
Interrogative
I shall speak
He (she, it) will speak
We shall speak
You will speak
They will speak
(I’ll speak)
Shall I speak?
Will he (she, it) speak?
Shall we speak?
Will you speak?
Will they speak?
Negative
I shall not (shan’t) speak
He (she, it) will not (won’t) speak
We shall not (shan’t) speak
You will not (won’t) speak
They will not (won’t) speak
Negative-interrogative
a)
Shall I not speak?
Will he (she, it) not speak?
Shall we not speak?
Will you not speak?
Will they not speak?
b)
Shan’t I speak?
Won’t be (she, it) speak?
Shan’t we speak?
Won’t you speak?
Won’t they speak?
§ 44. The future indefinite is used to denote:
1.
Simple facts in the future.
He will return tomorrow.
I shan’t stay with them.