We have discussed once or twice whether English has a future tense. Here's a link to an article titled "The Lord which was and is" by Geoffrey Pullum on Language Log that briefly reviews a considerable range of data involve "will" and other constructions and their meanings. Pullum is coauthor with Rodney Huddleston of The Cambridge Grammar of the English Langauge. http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/ Scroll down till you find the title. Herb To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/