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When : What tense to put behind...

WHEN: What tense shall I put behind it? 

If you ask students what tense must be used behind  'when', after thinking a little, they will inevitably answer: ‘ NO future!' ...  This is a strange and short way of expressing mixed up and badly understood rules... Let's try to see if things can be a little clearer... 

1) You should always check whether the sentence is a direct interrogative:

If it is the case (shown by intonation when speaking and the question mark when reading), then, the clause is a direct interrogative clause, or more simply, a question, and 'when' is a direct interrogative pronoun =>

                   WHEN + any tense or mode + ? =

A direct interrogative clause introduced by a direct interrogative pronoun.

ex:  When did you go to Australia? Three years ago. (when + preterite)

ex:  When will you have coffee with me?  (when + future)

ex:  When should he have left home ?  (when + modal)

2) Sometimes, 'when' is preceded by a main clause introducing an indirect interrogative clause: 'when' is then an adverb.

When =  at what moment?; I don't know; do you know?;  I wonder ( = I ask myself) ; I am (not) sure;

The expression: the day when= relative pronoun) + future, is used in the same way.

ex : He doesn't know when he will be able to come to see you. 

                       'WHEN' used in  AN  INDIRECT INTERROGATIVE CLAUSE=> is followed by the FUTURE.

3) Very often, 'when' is a temporal subordinate conjunction, it then introduces a temporal subordinate and is NEVER followed by a future.

If the main cause is in the future (shall/will + verb) , the subordinate is in the present; if the main clause is in the conditional (would + verb), the subordinate will be in the past:

ex: 'Will you still love me when I'm 64?'  (TheBeatles)

ex:  He'll phone you when he knows the result of his exam. 

Now, you have all the necessary elements to sort this complicated point out . I don't guarantee you will succeed right away (unless you think very carefully ! ) ... but I'm sure you will do it!  

Force and courage !                               

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