1. Focusing on a future action
The future passive describes an expected action affecting the subject: a document will be sent, a person invited or winners announced. Will can express a prediction, plan or promise; it does not itself guarantee the outcome and can be qualified by probably.
Unlike active will, as in I will call you, the focus here is on the future change rather than the person performing it: something will be done, someone will be given something, or something will be announced.
Subject (recipient of the action) + will + be + V3
- subject / S —
- The grammatical subject: who or what the clause is about; the verb agrees with it. In The book was written, the book is the subject, although someone else does the action.
- V3 / past participle —
- The third verb form: worked, gone, seen. Used after have/has or in the passive, for example; it is not always the same as V2.
The winners will be announced tomorrow.
The winners will be announced tomorrow.
The winners are the people being announced; who announces them, such as a presenter or committee, is unspecified and unimportant here.
You will be given a certificate at the end of the course.
You will be given a certificate at the end of the course.
You is the recipient of the promise; will be given naturally sounds like an assurance from the course organisers.
2. Form: three fixed parts
Every sentence in this pattern contains three parts: will, be and the past participle (V3). Will does not change with the person: I/she/they will. Be always remains the infinitive and is unchanged too. For irregular verbs, learn the specific past participle.
In this pattern, will needs the base form be: will be published, not will been published. Been follows have, has or had; the longer future perfect will have been published is also correct, but it is a different construction.
will + be + V3 (not will + been + V3, will + V1 or will + V2)
- V1 / base form —
- The base verb without to: work, go, be.
- V2 / past form —
- The form used in a Past Simple statement: worked, went, saw.
- V3 / past participle —
- The third verb form: worked, gone, seen. Used after have/has or in the passive, for example; it is not always the same as V2.
The results will be published next week.
The results will be published next week.
Be is the infinitive immediately after will; published is the correct past participle of the regular verb publish.
The letter will be sent tomorrow.
The letter will be sent tomorrow.
Send is irregular: send, sent, sent. Use sent, not sended, after will be.
3. Three common meanings: prediction, plan and promise
Will be + V3 can convey an uncertain prediction, possibly about something not yet confirmed; an official plan or schedule, with an agreed date or procedure; or a personal promise or assurance addressed to a particular person.
Context helps distinguish these meanings: probably or I think can make a prediction more cautious; an approved date or official source suggests a plan; I promise explicitly signals a promise. Addressing you does not by itself make a promise: You will be delayed can be a simple prediction.
The match will probably be cancelled because of the storm.
The match will probably be cancelled because of the storm.
Probably shows that this is a prediction rather than a final decision.
Your order will be delivered by Thursday.
Your order will be delivered by Thursday.
In a message from a seller, this may promise delivery. In another context, the same sentence may express a prediction; your order alone does not determine the intention.
4. Negatives: won't be + V3
Form the negative by inserting not immediately after will and before be, or by using the contraction won't: will not be + V3 or won't be + V3. Be and the past participle do not change.
The position of the negative matters for the meaning: it negates the action itself, as in won't be cancelled, rather than another part of the sentence.
will + not + be + V3 = won't be + V3
- V3 / past participle —
- The third verb form: worked, gone, seen. Used after have/has or in the passive, for example; it is not always the same as V2.
The event won't be cancelled, even if it rains.
The event won't be cancelled, even if it rains.
Won't be cancelled negates the cancellation itself; even if it rains preserves the possible reason being discussed.
Passengers will not be charged extra for this delay.
Passengers will not be charged extra for this delay.
The full form will not is natural in official announcements; charged is the past participle of the regular verb charge.
5. Questions and short answers
In a yes/no question, put will before the subject: Will the road be repaired? To ask about the time, add When: When will the road be repaired? If the question word itself is the subject, do not add another subject: Who will be invited?
In a positive short answer, will is NOT contracted: Yes, it will. (not Yes, it'll.). In a negative short answer, both forms are possible: No, it won't. and No, it will not.
Will + subject + be + V3? — Yes, subject + will. / No, subject + won't.
- subject / S —
- The grammatical subject: who or what the clause is about; the verb agrees with it. In The book was written, the book is the subject, although someone else does the action.
- V3 / past participle —
- The third verb form: worked, gone, seen. Used after have/has or in the passive, for example; it is not always the same as V2.
Will the road be finished by December?
Will the road be finished by December?
Will comes before the road, and be comes before finished; this is the order in a yes/no question.
When will the tickets be released?
When will the tickets be released?
When comes first, followed by the same structure as a yes/no question: will + the tickets + be + released.
6. When to name the agent with by
When the agent is unknown or unimportant, it can be omitted: The winners will be announced. If the agent matters, add by + agent. This phrase does not have to come immediately after V3: The winners will be announced tomorrow by the director.
Omitting the agent is a choice that reflects the speaker's focus on the result rather than on the person acting. It is not a universal ban on adding by when the identity of the agent is relevant.
The contract will be signed by the CEO next Monday.
The contract will be signed by the CEO next Monday.
By the CEO is included because that particular person matters to the message.
The report will be finished by Friday.
The report will be finished by Friday.
Here, by Friday is a time expression meaning no later than Friday, not the agent of the action. The preposition by has two different meanings depending on context.
7. Contrasts with neighbouring forms and the limits of this rule
Will be + V3, for a prediction or plan, and must/should/can be + V3, for obligation, advice or possibility, share the structure modal + be + V3 but differ in meaning: The door will be locked at 9pm predicts what will happen, whereas The door must be locked at 9pm states a requirement.
The Present Simple passive often describes a regular procedure: The bins are collected every Monday. Will be + V3 can describe one future occurrence or a future routine: From next month, the bins will be collected every Tuesday. The choice depends on the time perspective, not just on the number of repetitions.
This rule does NOT cover the perfect passive, has/have been or had been + V3: sequence and connections to the present or another past event belong to neighbouring rules in this topic. It also does not cover going to be + V3 or continuous forms such as will be being done. Before producing your own answer, check that all three parts, will, be and V3, are present, that not comes immediately after will, and that questions have the correct word order.
The door must be locked at 9pm.
The door must be locked at 9pm.
Must be locked expresses an obligation; will be locked would sound like a neutral prediction without the requirement.
The bins are collected every Monday, but this week they will be collected on Tuesday because of the holiday.
The bins are collected every Monday, but this week they will be collected on Tuesday because of the holiday.
Are collected describes a regular routine; will be collected describes one specific exception this week.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:The results will been published next week.
Correct:The results will be published next week.
The simple future passive requires will be published. Been would need have: will have been published is a different, perfect construction.
Incorrect:The winners will be announce tomorrow.
Correct:The winners will be announced tomorrow.
After will be, use the past participle announced, not the base form announce.
Incorrect:You will contacted by email.
Correct:You will be contacted by email.
Be is missing; without it, will contacted is not a correct English structure.
Incorrect:The letter will be send tomorrow.
Correct:The letter will be sent tomorrow.
Send is irregular: its past participle is sent, not send.
Incorrect:Will the report finished by Friday?
Correct:Will the report be finished by Friday?
Be is missing after the subject the report in this question; the correct order is will + subject + be + V3?