hey there! today we will begin a series on future tenses and inflation.
future tenses can cause you a headache and it’s difficult to wrap your head around it. but when you get the hang of it you will have a great tool at your disposal to negotiate and position yourself in conversations. so, today we will begin with when and how we can use WILL.
but to start with a little “dad joke” about inflation: why did the inflation rate go to the doctor? because it was feeling a little down! (ok,ok.. we are not a comedy newsletter, let’s go to the point).
inflation in Prosperia
here is a story about inflation with the verb WILL..
it is with will because it is a prediction without evidence.
some time in the future, in a small country called Prosperia, the government will mismanage the economy. they will print too much money and spend it on unnecessary projects. as a result, prices will start to rise rapidly. this is known as inflation. the citizens of Prosperia will begin to feel the effects of inflation as the cost of living will become increasingly expensive. they will have to spend more money to buy the same goods and services. the price of food, clothing, and housing will all go up.
as inflation will continue to rise, the government will try to control it by raising interest rates. but this will only make things worse as it will discourage borrowing and spending, leading to a decrease in economic growth. the citizens will become frustrated as their purchasing power will decrease and their savings will be worthless.
the government will finally realize its mistake and will take steps to correct it. they will reduce government spending and increase taxes to balance the budget. they will also implement policies to increase the supply of goods and services, which will help to decrease the overall price level.
as the economy will start to recover, the citizens of Prosperia will see their purchasing power increase once again. they will be able to afford the things they need and their savings will regain their value. they will learn the importance of responsible economic management and will make sure that the government will never make the same mistake again.
vocab: you can click here and see the vocab using Google Translator.
extra, extra! A Khan Academy youtube explanation of what inflation is?
grammar tips – future
to begin with, we’ll give you a quick overview of the future forms.
there are four ways to form the future depending on how sure the action will happen (there are several futures):
- will + bare infinitive (that is the infinitive without the TO)
- going to + bare infinitive
- present continuous
- present simple
we use these forms to indicate certainty, and intention. so while we can use all forms and still be grammatically correct, the correctness depends on what the speaker wants to express.
so without further ado, here we go. we use Will to express:
- a decision taken about a future action;
- a possibility, like after I hope, wish, think, maybe, might, believe…;
- a promise;
- a prediction without proof, like an opinion;
- an offer.
discussion questions / exercises
talk/write about future situations. use will and some of the vocabulary.
- when does the story occur?
- how will the government mismanage the economy in the story?
- what will be the result of the government’s actions?
- what will be the effect of inflation on the citizens of Prosperia?
- how will the government try to control inflation in the story?
- what will be the effect of raising interest rates on the economy?
- how will the citizens of Prosperia feel about inflation?
- what steps will the government take to correct their mistake?
- how will decreasing government spending and increasing taxes help to balance the budget?
- what will be the ultimate outcome for the citizens of Prosperia in the story?
- what will be the causes of inflation in the story?
- what will be the effect of inflation on the citizens’ savings?
- what will be the impact of inflation on the economic growth in the story?
- what will be the effect of increasing the supply of goods and services on inflation?
- how will the government’s mistake be corrected?
- what does it mean that purchasing power decreases?
- what does it mean that savings will regain their value?
that’s it for today
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