Business Tenses Warmups
Grammar in Business Contexts
Tense
Present Simple
Use for facts, routines, responsibilities, policies and permanent situations — how things normally are. Also for fixed schedules and timetables, even in the future.
The company operates in 14 markets. She reports directly to the CFO. We don't charge setup fees. Q4 closes on December 31.
Watch out: third-person -s: ✗ She manage the team → ✓ She manages the team. Questions need do/does: ✗ What your team does? → ✓ What does your team do? Stative verbs (know, need, depend, belong) stay simple: ✗ It's depending on the client → ✓ It depends on the client.
Topic 01
Company Policies & Rules
- What is your company's policy on working from home? How many days a week do people come into the office?
- Who approves your expenses, and how long does reimbursement usually take?
- What does your company require before it signs a contract with a new vendor or partner?
- What kind of information do you need permission to share with clients or outside partners?
- Which company rule do people break most often, and what happens when they do?
Topic 02
Job Roles & Responsibilities
- What does a typical day look like for you? What do you usually do first in the morning?
- Who do you report to, and how often do you meet with them one-on-one?
- Which decisions can you make on your own, and which ones need sign-off from someone above you?
- Which teams do you work with most closely, and what do they need from you?
- What does someone need to know — or be good at — to do your job well?
Topic 03
Industry Facts & Market Conditions
- What does your company sell, and who buys it?
- Who are your main competitors, and what makes your company different from them?
- What do customers in your industry care about most when they choose a supplier?
- How does regulation affect the way companies in your sector operate?
- What's one thing about your industry that most outsiders don't understand?
Topic 04
Reporting Lines & Team Structure
- How is your company organized — by function, by product, by region, or something else?
- Who makes the final call on big decisions like budgets, hiring and strategy?
- How does important information reach your team — all-hands meetings, email, chat channels, your manager?
- How many levels of management are there between you and the CEO? Does that help or slow things down?
- Does your company use cross-functional teams? How do they decide who owns what?
Topic 05
Tools, Processes & Schedules
- Which tools does your team use every day, and what do you use each one for?
- What happens when a customer reports a problem? Walk me through the process step by step.
- How does a new feature, product or campaign get approved at your company?
- What does a new hire do in their first week at your company?
- When does your fiscal year end, and how does the end of a quarter change your workload?
Tense
Present Continuous
Use for things happening now or around now: current projects, temporary situations and trends that are changing. Also for future arrangements that are already in the calendar.
We're negotiating with three vendors at the moment. Prices are going up across the industry. I'm meeting the client on Thursday.
Contrast: I work in finance (permanent) vs. I'm working on the budget review this month (temporary).
Watch out: stative verbs don't usually take -ing: ✗ I'm needing access → ✓ I need access. ✗ We're having three offices → ✓ We have three offices.
Topic 01
Current Projects & Priorities
- What are you working on this week, and what's taking up most of your time?
- What is your team focusing on this quarter?
- What's slowing you down at the moment? Are you waiting on anything from other people?
- Is your company hiring right now? Which roles are you trying to fill?
- What new tools or ways of working is your team trying out at the moment?
Topic 02
Clients & Deals in Progress
- Which clients, deals or stakeholders are you spending the most time on right now?
- Are you negotiating anything at the moment — a contract, a budget, a deadline? What's the sticking point?
- What are clients asking for this year? Are they pushing harder on price or on delivery dates?
- Is your company reviewing or renegotiating any big contracts at the moment? Why?
- Which of your current projects is going well, and which one is causing problems?
Topic 03
Active Campaigns & Marketing
- What is your company promoting at the moment, and who is it targeting?
- Is your company spending more on marketing right now, or is it cutting back?
- Which channels are bringing in the most leads or customers at the moment?
- Are you testing anything new right now — a new format, a new platform, a new pricing offer?
- How is your company's message to customers changing, and why?
Topic 04
Changes & Trends Around You
- Is your company going through any big changes right now — a reorganization, new leadership, a new strategy?
- Is your team moving to a new system or platform at the moment? How is it going?
- How is AI changing the way your team works? What are people actually using it for?
- Are customer expectations changing in your industry? What are customers asking for more often?
- Is your company growing, holding steady or cutting back right now? What's driving that?
Topic 05
Arrangements Already in the Calendar
- What are you doing after this class? What's next in your calendar today?
- Who are you meeting this week, and what's each meeting about?
- Are you traveling for work anytime soon? Where are you going, and who are you seeing there?
- When is your team presenting its next results or update, and who's attending?
- Are you taking any time off in the next few months? Who's covering for you while you're away?
Tense
Present Perfect
Use when the time period is unfinished or not mentioned: experience, results so far, and recent news that matters now. Common with so far, this quarter, yet, already, just, ever, never, for and since.
We've closed three deals this quarter. Have you sent the proposal yet? I've worked with fintech clients since 2019.
Contrast with past simple: as soon as you mention a finished time or start telling the story, switch. We've closed three deals this quarter — we closed the biggest one in May. Have you ever lost a client? — Yes, we lost one in 2024. They moved to a cheaper vendor.
Watch out: ✗ We have launched it last week → ✓ We launched it last week. ✗ I work here since 2021 → ✓ I've worked here since 2021.
Topic 01
Career Achievements & Experience
- What's the biggest thing you've achieved in your career so far?
- How many companies have you worked for, and which one has taught you the most?
- Have you ever led a team or a project? What's the most important thing you've learned from it?
- What's the most complex project you've ever worked on? What made it so difficult?
- Which skills have you developed most in the last two or three years?
Topic 02
Results So Far: Status Updates
- What has your team achieved so far this quarter? Give me two or three concrete results.
- What have you finished this week, and what haven't you finished yet?
- Has your team hit its targets so far this year? Where have you done better or worse than planned?
- What has changed in your team since the start of the year — people, tools, priorities?
- Your manager asks for a quick update on your main project. What have you done, and what's still open?
Topic 03
Company Milestones & Decisions
- What has your company achieved in the last twelve months that you're proud of?
- Has your company made any big decisions recently? How have they affected your work?
- Has your company launched anything new this year — a product, a service, a market? How has it gone so far?
- Has your company ever changed direction completely? What triggered the change?
- Who has joined your company or team recently, and what difference have they made?
Topic 04
Client Relationships
- Who is your longest-standing client or stakeholder, and how long have you worked with them?
- Have you ever lost an important client? What happened?
- What's the most useful feedback you've ever gotten from a client or colleague?
- Have you ever had to say no to a client? How did you handle it?
- Which client relationship has been the hardest to manage, and what have you done to improve it?
Topic 05
Mistakes & Lessons Learned
- Have you ever made a decision at work that you regret? What did you learn from it?
- Have you ever launched or delivered something that didn't work? What have you changed since then?
- Has a serious bug, error or outage ever reached your customers? How did your team respond?
- Have you ever badly underestimated how long a project would take? What do you do differently now?
- What's the best piece of professional advice you've ever received, and how has it changed the way you work?
Tense
Present Perfect Continuous
Use for an activity that started in the past and is still going on (or has only just stopped), when you want to stress how long or how hard. Common with how long, for, since, all week, lately and recently.
We've been working on the migration since March. I've been chasing their legal team all week. Sales have been growing steadily.
Contrast with present perfect: the continuous describes the activity; the simple counts results. I've been calling them all morning vs. I've called them three times. I've been writing the report (maybe not finished) vs. I've written the report (done).
Watch out: ✗ I'm working here for five years → ✓ I've been working here for five years. Stative verbs stay in the present perfect: ✗ I've been knowing her since 2020 → ✓ I've known her since 2020.
Topic 01
Ongoing Projects
- What's your main project right now, and how long have you been working on it?
- What has your team been focusing on over the last few weeks or sprints?
- What problem have you been trying to solve lately? What have you tried so far?
- Which tools have you been using more recently, and how have they been working out?
- What have you been spending too much time on lately, and why?
Topic 02
Clients, Sales & Follow-Ups
- Is there a client, deal or approval you've been chasing for a while? How long have you been waiting?
- How long have you been working with your most important client or stakeholder?
- Have you been changing your approach to clients or sales recently? What have you been trying?
- Which negotiation or discussion has been dragging on the longest, and why?
- How have your numbers been looking this quarter? Have they been going up, going down or holding steady?
Topic 03
Trends in Your Industry
- How has your team been using AI tools over the last year? What's been working, and what hasn't?
- Have salaries or prices in your industry been rising lately? How is that affecting your company?
- What have customers been asking for more often recently?
- Which competitors have been growing fastest lately, and what have they been doing differently?
- What has everyone in your industry been talking about this year?
Topic 04
Personal Professional Development
- What skill have you been trying to improve, and how long have you been working on it?
- Have you been taking any courses, reading anything or listening to anything useful for your work lately?
- How long have you been studying English, and what has been helping you most?
- Have you been mentoring or training anyone at work? How has it been going?
- What have you been doing differently in meetings or presentations recently? Has it made a difference?
Topic 05
Company-Wide Efforts
- What has your company been trying to improve this year, and how is it going?
- Has your company been cutting costs lately? Where has the pressure been greatest?
- Has your company been hiring, or has it been freezing headcount? How has that affected your team?
- Is there a change your company has been talking about for a long time that still hasn't happened?
- What has leadership been telling employees recently, and how have people been reacting?
Tense
Past Simple
Use for finished actions and situations at a finished time: yesterday, last quarter, in May, two years ago, when I joined. It's the main tense for stories, retros and incident reports.
We launched the product in Q3. I worked at that company for three years (I don't work there now). The deal closed last Friday.
Contrast: We've hit our target this year (the year isn't over) vs. We hit our target last year (finished). Has the client replied? — Yes, they replied an hour ago.
Watch out: did + base verb in questions and negatives: ✗ Did you sent it? → ✓ Did you send it? ✗ We didn't knew → ✓ We didn't know. No past simple with since: ✗ I worked here since 2020 → ✓ I've worked here since 2020.
Topic 01
Past Projects & Retros
- What was the last project you finished? What went well, and what didn't?
- Think about a project that ran late. What happened, and what did you change afterward?
- What was the biggest problem you faced on a past project, and how did you solve it?
- Think about your last retrospective or postmortem. What did the team decide to change?
- When did your company last change its product, pricing or branding in a big way? What triggered it?
Topic 02
Previous Jobs & Roles
- How did you end up in your current role? Walk me through the main steps.
- What did you do before your current job, and why did you leave?
- What was your first job, and what did it teach you?
- What was your proudest moment at a previous company?
- Who was the best manager you ever had, and what did they do differently?
Topic 03
Reporting What Happened
- What did you do at work yesterday? Give me a quick standup-style update.
- How did last quarter go for your team? Which numbers did you hit, and which did you miss?
- What was the most useful meeting you had last week, and what did you decide?
- When did you last deal with an angry client or an urgent problem? What did you do?
- What did you spend most of your time on last month? Was that the right priority?
Topic 04
Difficult Business Conversations
- Tell me about the toughest negotiation you were part of. What made it so hard?
- When did you last have to tell a client or stakeholder something they didn't want to hear? How did they react?
- Tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision from above. What did you do?
- Describe a time you gave someone critical feedback. How did you prepare, and how did it go?
- Tell me about a working relationship that broke down. What went wrong?
Topic 05
Company History & Turning Points
- When and how did your company start? What did it sell in the beginning?
- What was the biggest turning point in your company's history? What happened?
- When did your company enter its first foreign market, and how did it go?
- When did your company last restructure or cut jobs? How did it affect your team?
- What was the last big shock to your industry — a new law, a new competitor, a price spike? How did your company respond?
Tense
Past Continuous
Use for an activity in progress at a moment in the past — often the background to a shorter event in the past simple. Also for two activities going on at the same time.
We were finalizing the contract when their CFO resigned. While QA was testing, the developers were fixing the last bugs. At 3 p.m. yesterday, I was presenting to the board.
Pattern: longer background action → past continuous; short event that interrupts it → past simple (usually after when).
Watch out: don't use it for a whole finished period: ✗ I was working there for five years → ✓ I worked there for five years. Stative verbs stay simple: ✗ I was knowing the answer → ✓ I knew the answer.
Topic 01
Background to Events
- What were you working on when you heard your company's last big announcement?
- What were you doing when the last serious problem or outage hit? How did you find out?
- When you joined your company, what was your team working on?
- Was your market growing or shrinking when your company launched its most important product?
- What were you doing at this time yesterday? And at this time last Monday?
Topic 02
Parallel Tasks & Team Activity
- Think of the last big launch or deadline. What were the different teams doing in the final week?
- While you were handling your part of the last big deadline, what were your colleagues doing?
- Tell me about a time two teams were working on the same problem without realizing it. What was each team doing?
- During your last crisis or incident, who was talking to the client while others were fixing the problem?
- Describe a day when too many things were happening at once. What were you trying to do?
Topic 03
Interrupted Plans & Pivots
- Were you ever working on a project when it was suddenly canceled or put on hold? What were you doing when you heard?
- Tell me about a time you were preparing a presentation or pitch and something went wrong.
- Were you ever in the middle of a negotiation when the other side suddenly changed the terms? What were you discussing at the time?
- Describe a time a client changed their requirements while your team was building something for them.
- Tell me about a time you were making good progress toward a goal when something outside your control stopped you.
Topic 04
Early Career Situations
- What were you doing — studying, working, something else — when you chose your current career?
- What were you working on when you got your first real break?
- What were you doing when you realized what kind of work you really enjoy?
- What were you working on when you made your first big mistake at work?
- Were you ever working at a company when it went through a crisis? What were people saying and doing at the time?
Topic 05
Market Conditions at Key Moments
- Was the economy growing or struggling when you started your career? What were companies doing?
- The last time your company set a big budget or raised money, what were leadership or investors focusing on?
- What were your competitors doing when your company launched its latest product or service?
- What were customers complaining about when your company decided to make its last big change?
- When AI tools first appeared in your workplace, how were people reacting? Who was using them, and who was ignoring them?
Tense
Past Perfect
Use to show that something happened before another point in the past — the “earlier past.” It needs a past reference point (a past simple verb, by the time, before, when).
By the time we signed, we had spent three months on due diligence. She had never managed a team before she took the role. When I joined the call, they had already agreed on the price.
Contrast: When I joined, the meeting started (I joined, then it started) vs. When I joined, the meeting had started (it started first — I was late).
Watch out: it isn't a “more past” past simple. With no earlier/later contrast, use the past simple: ✗ Last year we had opened an office in Berlin → ✓ Last year we opened an office in Berlin. After before/after the order is already clear, so the past simple is fine too: We tested it before we launched it.
Topic 01
Before a Key Business Event
- Think of the most important launch you've been part of. What had your team done to prepare before launch day?
- When you started your current job, what had you already heard about the company?
- Before your company entered a new market, what research had it done?
- Had your company tried other approaches before it found the strategy that worked? What had gone wrong?
- By the time your last big deal or project was approved, how many rounds of changes had you gone through?
Topic 02
Experience Before a Role
- What experience had you gained before you got your current job?
- Had you worked in this industry before you joined your current company, or was it new to you?
- By the time you led your first big project, what had you already learned the hard way?
- Had you ever managed people or budgets before you got your first leadership role?
- What had you expected the job to be like before you started, and how was the reality different?
Topic 03
Before a Problem or Crisis
- Think of a serious incident or outage. Had anyone warned the team about the risk before it happened?
- By the time you realized a project was off track, what had already gone wrong?
- Before a key colleague resigned, had you noticed any warning signs?
- Had anyone documented the process before the person who knew it best left the company?
- When a client finally escalated a complaint, how many times had they raised the issue before?
Topic 04
Before a Company Transformation
- Before your company's last big reorganization, what had leadership told employees about it?
- When a new manager or leader arrived, what changes had the team already started on its own?
- Had your team seen the last big market shift coming, or did it catch everyone by surprise?
- Before the solution that finally worked, what had your team already tried?
- By the time your company changed strategy, how much time or money had it already put into the old plan?
Topic 05
Due Diligence & Pre-Decision Research
- Before your company chose its current main software or supplier, how many options had it compared?
- By the time you made your last hire, how many candidates had you interviewed?
- Had legal reviewed the contract before you signed the most important agreement of your career?
- What had gone wrong with the old version of a product or process before your team redesigned it?
- Before you accepted your current job offer, what had you found out about the company?
Tense
Past Perfect Continuous
Use for an activity that had been going on for a period of time up to a moment in the past. It stresses duration, and it often explains a past result.
By the time we landed the deal, we had been pitching to them for six months. The team was exhausted because they had been working weekends for a month.
Contrast: We had been testing for weeks (duration of the activity) vs. We had run 40 tests (a completed count — past perfect).
Watch out: the reference point must be in the past. If the activity is still going on now, use the present perfect continuous: ✗ I had been working here for three years (and I still do) → ✓ I've been working here for three years.
Topic 01
Long-Term Efforts That Led to a Result
- How long had you been working toward your current role before you got it?
- When you finally closed your biggest deal or finished your biggest project, how long had you been working on it?
- How long had your team been developing your last major product or feature before it went live?
- How long had management been discussing a big change before they finally made it?
- Think of a goal you finally reached. What had you been doing to get there?
Topic 02
Buildup Before a Turning Point
- How long had your team been struggling with a problem before someone found the fix?
- When a colleague resigned, how long had they been thinking about leaving? Did anyone know?
- How long had customers been complaining about something before your company finally fixed it?
- Before the last crisis became visible, what had been going wrong behind the scenes?
- How long had your team been working without a clear process before someone introduced one?
Topic 03
Before a Promotion or Career Move
- How long had you been doing your job before you were promoted for the first time?
- Before your last promotion, had you been doing work beyond your official job title? What had you been doing?
- How long had you been studying for your most important qualification before you passed?
- How long had you been thinking about changing jobs before you actually did it?
- How long had you been working in your current role before you started to feel truly confident?
Topic 04
Explaining Why Something Happened
- Think of a time your team burned out or missed a deadline. What had you been doing in the weeks before?
- Think of a project that went wrong. What had people been ignoring or putting off?
- When you joined your current company, what had the team been doing before you arrived?
- Think of a big success. What had you been doing differently in the months before?
- Think of a client who left. What had been happening in the relationship before they decided to go?
Topic 05
Delayed Decisions
- How long had your team been waiting for approval before your last project finally got the green light?
- By the time your last important contract was signed, how long had the two sides been negotiating?
- How long had your team been asking for more people or budget before they finally got them?
- Before your company hired someone for a key role, who had been doing that work?
- How long had people been asking for a better process or tool before management agreed to it?
Tense
Future — will
Use for predictions (often with I think, probably, I doubt), decisions made at the moment of speaking, offers and promises.
I think the market will consolidate further. Good point — I'll check with legal and get back to you by Friday. Don't worry, we won't miss the deadline.
Contrast: I'll call them (deciding now) vs. I'm going to call them (decided earlier) vs. I'm calling them at 3 (arranged) vs. The call starts at 3 (fixed schedule).
Watch out: no will after when, as soon as, if, before, after or until: ✗ I'll send it when I will get the numbers → ✓ I'll send it when I get the numbers. Word order with probably: ✓ It will probably slip. ✓ It probably won't slip.
Topic 01
Industry Predictions
- What do you think will be the biggest change in your industry over the next five years?
- Do you think AI will replace jobs in your field, or will it mostly change how people do them?
- Which skills do you think will matter less in your profession in the future, and which will matter more?
- Do you think your company will still work the same way — office, remote, hybrid — in three years?
- Which part of your market do you think will grow fastest, and which part will shrink?
Topic 02
Commitments & Promises
- A new client asks what they can expect in the first month. What will you promise them?
- Your manager wants the report by Friday, but you need until Monday. What will you say? (For example: “I'll send you a first draft on Friday…”)
- A client pushes for a discount you can't approve. What will you offer instead?
- Think of a colleague who's waiting for something from you. What will you send them, and when?
- What's one thing you'll do differently on your next project? Promise it out loud.
Topic 03
Quick Decisions & Offers
- In a meeting, someone says, “We don't have the latest sales figures.” Offer to help. (For example: “I'll pull them from the CRM after the call.”)
- A client emails: “The file you sent won't open.” Reply in one or two sentences.
- Your manager says, “We need someone to present this to the leadership team.” Volunteer — or politely decline and suggest someone else.
- In a standup, a teammate says they're blocked because they don't have access to a system. What do you say?
- At the end of a call, the client asks, “So, what are the next steps?” Summarize who will do what.
Topic 04
Business Forecasting
- Do you think your company will hit its targets this year? What will make the difference?
- What do you think will be the hardest part of next quarter for your team?
- Which costs do you think will rise next year, and which will stay flat?
- If current trends continue, what will your market look like in three years?
- What's the biggest risk to your business next year? How likely is it that it will actually happen?
Topic 05
Technology & the Workplace of the Future
- How do you think AI agents will change your day-to-day work in the next two or three years?
- Will professionals still need to learn English for business in ten years, or will translation tools be good enough?
- What skills will young professionals need to get hired in your field in 2030?
- Will the five-day workweek still exist in your industry in ten years? What might replace it?
- Which tasks in your job do you think will be fully automated, and which never will be?
Tense
Future — going to
Use for plans and intentions decided before now, and for predictions based on evidence you can see now.
We're going to expand into the DACH region next year. Looking at the pipeline, Q4 is going to be tight. I'm not going to renew that contract.
Contrast: going to = the decision already exists; will = deciding or predicting now; present continuous = arranged with other people (We're meeting them on the 14th); present simple = timetables (The release goes live on Tuesday).
Watch out: don't drop the verb be: ✗ We going to hire → ✓ We're going to hire. In fast speech you'll hear “gonna” — fine to understand, but don't write it in emails.
Topic 01
Business Plans & Roadmaps
- What is your company going to focus on for the rest of the year?
- Is your team going to change anything about how it works next quarter? What, and why?
- Are you going to hire anyone in the next six months? For which roles?
- What is your team going to build, deliver or improve next — and why that first?
- What are you personally going to do differently next quarter?
Topic 02
Upcoming Launches & Releases
- What's the next thing your company is going to launch or release?
- How are you going to tell existing customers about it?
- What's going to change inside the company because of it — training, processes, support?
- How are you going to measure whether it worked?
- What's going to be the hardest part of getting it out on time?
Topic 03
Intentions & Career Plans
- What are you going to focus on in your professional development this year?
- Are you going to stay in your current role for the next couple of years, or are you going to look for a change?
- What are you going to do to get to the next level in your career?
- Are you going to take any courses or get any certifications this year? Which ones?
- What feedback did you get in your last performance review, and what are you going to do about it?
Topic 04
Predictions Based on Evidence
- Look at your current pipeline or workload. Are you going to hit your targets this quarter? Why or why not?
- Based on what you're seeing right now, which of your competitors is going to struggle?
- Look at your calendar for next week. Is it going to be busy? What's going to take the most time?
- Based on recent customer feedback, which request is going to become a priority soon?
- If nothing changes, which problem in your team is going to get worse?
Topic 05
Strategic Decisions Already Made
- What big decision has your company already made that it's going to put into practice this year?
- Is your company going to change its prices or its business model? What's behind the decision?
- Is your team going to switch to a new tool, framework or way of working? Who decided, and why?
- Is your company going to open, close or move any offices or locations?
- Are you going to attend or speak at any events this year? What are you going to talk about?
Tense
Future Continuous
Use for an activity that will be in progress at a particular time in the future, and for things that will happen anyway as part of the normal routine. It's also a polite, low-pressure way to ask about someone's plans.
This time next week, I'll be presenting to the board. On Thursday the team will be testing the new build, so expect slow replies. Will you be joining the call tomorrow? I'll be seeing Dana at the conference anyway, so I can ask her.
Contrast: At 10, I'll be presenting (in progress at 10) vs. By 10, I'll have presented (finished before 10 — future perfect).
Watch out: by + a time usually needs the future perfect: ✗ By Friday we'll be finishing the audit → ✓ By Friday we'll have finished the audit.
Topic 01
What You'll Be Doing at a Future Point
- What will you be doing at this time tomorrow?
- What will you be working on this time next month?
- If everything goes to plan, what kind of work will you be doing in five years?
- What will your team be focusing on next quarter?
- At your next one-on-one or team update, what will you be reporting?
Topic 02
Parallel Future Activities
- While you're on vacation, who will be handling your work, and what will they be doing?
- During the next launch or deadline week, what will the different teams be doing?
- While leadership is away at its next strategy offsite, what will the rest of the company be working on?
- When the next new system goes live, what will the support team be doing to help users?
- While your colleagues are in meetings tomorrow, what will you be doing?
Topic 03
Client-Facing Future Situations
- During a new client's first month, what will your team be doing to help them settle in?
- At your next client review or quarterly business review, what will you be presenting?
- While a client is testing your product or reviewing your work, what will your team be doing?
- Ask a client three polite questions about their plans with “Will you be …?” (For example: “Will you be bringing anyone from IT to the workshop?”)
- Over the next six months, what will your team be doing to keep your best clients happy?
Topic 04
Future Business Conditions
- In ten years, will most people in your field be working alongside AI agents every day? What will those agents be doing?
- In 2035, will people in your industry still be commuting to an office, or will most of them be working remotely?
- Five years from now, will your company still be selling the same products, or will it be doing something different?
- Will small companies in your market still be competing with the big players, or will they be selling out to them?
- Three years from now, what will you be doing in your job that you don't do today?
Topic 05
During an Event or Process
- Where will you be working next week — in the office, at home, on the road? What will you be doing there?
- During your company's next busy season or year-end close, what will you be doing day to day?
- While a new system is being rolled out, how will your team be working around the disruption?
- At the next conference or trade show you attend, what will you be doing — selling, learning, networking?
- Will you be traveling, attending events or taking time off in the next few months? Answer in full sentences.
Tense
Future Perfect
Use for something that will be finished before a point in the future. Look for by + a time: by Friday, by the end of Q3, by the time….
By the end of Q3, we'll have launched three new features. By the time you read this, I'll have left for the airport. In March, I'll have been at the company for ten years.
Contrast: By Friday I'll have finished the report (done before Friday) vs. On Friday I'll be finishing the report (still working on it).
Watch out: after by the time, use the present simple, not will: ✗ By the time the client will sign… → ✓ By the time the client signs, we'll have spent four months on this deal. In casual speech people often say “I'll finish it by Friday” — that's fine, but in a status update “will have finished” makes the deadline clearer.
Topic 01
Project Completion Deadlines
- By the end of this week, what will you have finished?
- By the end of this quarter, what will your team have delivered?
- Will you have finished your current project by the original deadline? If not, what won't you have done?
- By the end of the year, how many releases, campaigns or deals will your team have completed?
- By the time of your next big review meeting, what will you have achieved that you can show?
Topic 02
Growth & Revenue Targets
- By the end of the fiscal year, will your company have hit its revenue target? Why or why not?
- How many new clients or users do you think your company will have gained by December?
- By this time next year, how much will your team have grown — or shrunk?
- By the end of next year, will your company have doubled its revenue, broken even or done neither? What's your guess?
- By the end of your current sales cycle or campaign, what will you have learned about your customers?
Topic 03
Hiring & Team Building
- By the end of the year, how many people will your team have hired — or lost?
- By the time your next new hire starts, what will you have prepared for their first week?
- Will anyone on your team have been promoted by the next review cycle? Who deserves it?
- By the time your next project starts, will you have put together the team you need?
- By the end of their first three months, what will a good new hire on your team have learned?
Topic 04
Professional Milestones
- By this time next year, what new skills will you have developed?
- By the end of next year, will you have moved into a new role? What kind?
- By the time you finish this English course, what will you have improved most?
- How long will you have been at your company by the end of this year?
- By the time you retire, what do you hope you'll have achieved?
Topic 05
Strategic Outcomes
- By the end of your company's current strategy period, what will it have achieved — or failed to achieve?
- By the time your current main project ends, what will have changed for your users or clients?
- By 2030, which parts of your work will your company have handed over to AI?
- By the end of the year, which old systems or processes will your company have gotten rid of?
- When your contract with a key client or partner ends, what will both sides have gotten out of it?
Tense
Future Perfect Continuous
Use to say how long an activity will have been going on at a future point. It's rare in conversation; its most common job is measuring time — work anniversaries, project milestones, and “by then we'll have been waiting for…” complaints.
In March, I'll have been working here for five years. By the time we go live, we'll have been building this platform for two years. By the end of the month, we'll have been waiting on their legal team for six weeks.
Contrast: By June we'll have been testing for three months (duration) vs. By June we'll have run 200 tests (a result — future perfect).
Watch out: use the present simple after by the time and when: ✗ By the time we will launch… → ✓ By the time we launch… Stative verbs use the future perfect simple: ✗ I'll have been knowing her → ✓ In May, I'll have known her for ten years.
Topic 01
Long-Running Projects & Timelines
- When your current project finishes, how long will you have been working on it?
- By the end of this year, how long will your team have been using its current main tool or system?
- By the time your product or service reaches its next big release, how long will the team have been working on it?
- If you still don't have an answer by the end of next month, how long will you have been waiting for that decision?
- By the time your team's biggest current problem is solved, how long will people have been complaining about it?
Topic 02
Client & Partnership Duration
- When your contract with your biggest client comes up for renewal, how long will you have been working with them?
- By the end of this year, how long will your company have been working with its oldest supplier or partner?
- By the time you hand over your current account or project to someone else, how long will you have been managing it?
- By next summer, how long will you have been working with your current manager?
- Think of a negotiation that's dragging on. If it isn't finished by the end of the month, how long will the two sides have been talking?
Topic 03
Career Tenure
- On your next work anniversary, how long will you have been working at your company?
- By the end of this year, how long will you have been working in your field?
- By the time you retire, how long will you have been working? How do you feel about that number?
- By the end of this year, how long will you have been studying English?
- By your company's next big anniversary, how long will it have been operating?
Topic 04
Ongoing Industry Changes
- By 2030, how long will your company have been using AI tools in its daily work?
- By the end of the decade, how long will your industry have been talking about the same unsolved problem? What is it?
- By the end of next year, how long will your company have been working in a hybrid or remote setup?
- When your company finally enters its next target market, how long will it have been planning the move?
- By the time your company replaces its core systems, how long will it have been running on them?
Topic 05
Process & Habit Duration
- By the end of this quarter, how long will your team have been running its current meeting routine — daily standups, weekly syncs?
- By the time your new CRM, ERP or other system feels normal to everyone, how long will people have been using it?
- By the time you finish your current course or certification, how long will you have been studying for it?
- By the time a new habit you're building at work feels automatic, how long will you have been practicing it?
- If your company keeps its current strategy until the end of next year, how long will it have been following the same plan?
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