Subordinating Time Conjunctions
Use of the future to express likes and dislikes (hopes)
Brahim and Chafik are making plans for the summer vacation.
Paul: Tell me Brahim, what will you do when school finishes?
Becky: I will go to visit my grandma and grandpa in Setif. I’ll stay with them for one week.
Paul: And how will you spend your time when you come back?
Becky: I will simply stay in bed all day long and listen to my favourite songs on Youtube, watch TV and eat pop corn.
Paul: I don’t think Dad will like that. What will you tell him when he finds you lying in bed?
Becky: Don’t worry about me. I’ll get up and dress quickly as soon as I hear him arrive.
The words: as soon as, when, before, after, while and until (till) are called: subordinating time conjunctions.
They introduce subordinating time clauses. When a sentence has 2 clauses that refer to the future, we use the present simple in time clause and “will” future simple in the main clause.
Subordinate time clause (present simple) + main clause (future simple)
When we start with the subordinate time clause, we put a comma after the time clause.
When Samy comes back from Britain | , | we will give a party. |
Subordinate Time Clause | comma | Main Clause |
If the time conjunction comes in the middle, we don’t use a comma.
We will give a party | when | he comes back from Britain. |
Main Clause |
Subordinate Time Claus |