Mandarin Chinese Grammar for Pimsleur Students/Future tense

Mandarin Chinese Grammar for Pimsleur Students NOUNS - Pronouns - Nouns - Proper nouns VERBS - Activity verbs - Adjectival stative verbs - Non-adjectival stative verbs - Yes/No answers - Past tense - Future tense OTHERS - Negation - Questions - Adverbs - Conjunctions - Prepositions - Numbers - Phrases

Future tense

The future tense is generally indicated by the auxiliary verb 要 (yào). 会 (huì) can also be used in the same way. The difference in meaning is slight; 要 conveys more of a "plan to" or "going to" meaning, while 会 means a default "will," indicating that the speaker is rather confident that the following action will happen, at least when compared to 要.

要

yào

will, want

我们要坐飞机去 ◦	wŏmen yào zuò fēijī qù.	We will travel by airplane.
我要现在吃午饭 ◦	wŏ yào xiàn zài chī wŭfàn.	I am going to have lunch now.
要几个小时 ?	yào jĭ ge xiăoshí?	How many hours is it going to be?
我会迟到。	wŏ huì chí dào.	I will be late.