将 / 将要: will, about to; 将 as formal 把
【五05】【五10】副词、介词 / adverbs (时间)
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
Before a verb, 将 (or 将要) means "will, is about to": a formal future for announcing plans and events (明年我们将去国外考察, 电视剧将要开始了). It is more written than 会, 要 or 快要 ("soon"), and you read it in announcements, the press and speeches.
将 is also a preposition: 将 + object + verb is the written twin of 把 (禁止将食物带进图书馆). It goes after the subject, just like 把.
Among friends you would say 会, 要 or 把. In front of investors, in a press release or in regulations, 将 sets the right tone.
Examples
明年我们公司将搬到杭州。
Míngnián wǒmen gōngsī jiāng bāndào Hángzhōu.Next year our company will move to Hangzhou.
飞机将要起飞，请大家关闭手机。
Fēijī jiāngyào qǐfēi, qǐng dàjiā guānbì shǒujī.The plane is about to take off; please switch off your phones.
本次会议将在下周三上午九点举行。
Běn cì huìyì jiāng zài xià zhōusān shàngwǔ jiǔ diǎn jǔxíng.The meeting will be held next Wednesday at nine in the morning.
专家预计，未来几年网络用户的数量将继续增加。
Zhuānjiā yùjì, wèilái jǐ nián wǎngluò yònghù de shùliàng jiāng jìxù zēngjiā.Experts expect the number of internet users to keep growing over the coming years.
我们将这个好消息告诉了所有的朋友。
Wǒmen jiāng zhège hǎo xiāoxi gàosu le suǒyǒu de péngyou.We told all our friends the good news.
禁止将食物带进图书馆。
Jìnzhǐ jiāng shíwù dàijìn túshūguǎn.Food must not be taken into the library.
Common mistakes
✗ 昨天他将去北京 → ✓ 明天他将去北京 (将 looks forward).
✗ 将书我拿来了 → ✓ 我将书拿来了 (将 comes after the subject, right before the object).