Meaning & use
Future English
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountable
The form of English that may be spoken in coming centuries, imagined as changed by technology, global use, and new words.
Grammar: Uncountable: say 'Future English will change,' not 'a Future English.'
Patterns
- Future English will …
- the future of English
Linguists debate whether Future English will have fewer verb endings.
In one imagined Future English, spelling matches sound much more closely.
Texting and global trade are often named as forces shaping Future English.
noununcountablespecialist
A variety of English taught or used for talking about future events, such as the will and going to patterns.
Grammar: Used mainly in teaching contexts; often written with a capital F and E.
Patterns
- the Future English lesson
- Future English forms
Today's Future English lesson covers 'will' and 'going to.'
The textbook puts Future English in unit seven.
Common combinations
- the future of English
- The future of English may lie in its many global varieties.
- Future English will sound different
- Many predict that Future English will sound different from today's speech.
- shaped by technology
- Future English is shaped by technology more than by any single country.
- a variety of English
- Singapore English is one variety of English that keeps changing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- World English
- Refers to English as a global language today; Future English looks ahead to later forms.
- Global English
- Focuses on current worldwide use, while Future English is speculative.
Word family
- English noun
- The language itself, spoken in many countries.
- futuristic adjective
- Looking very modern or ahead of its time; used for objects, not language.
Commonly confused: Future English or Old English?
Future English vs Old English
Old English is the earliest recorded stage of the language, roughly 450–1150; Future English is a guess about what comes next.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'Future English' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
'Future English' is an uncountable label for a possible later form of the language, so it fits as the subject of a prediction. Option 0 wrongly treats it as a personal variety, option 2 needs 'a' before the noun phrase, and option 3 uses a plural verb with an uncountable noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Future English”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.