This is a reminder to learners of English that we do not use the Future Simple ‘will’ as often as you might think. In fact, if you use that tense in the wrong situation to talk about the future, it ‘will’ sound unnatural… so, be warned!
Present Progressive (or Continuous) to talk about future arrangements / plans
English speakers often use the present continuous tense (subject + ‘be’ = verb-ing) to talk about plans for the future, which someone has decided and organised with other people. For example;
- ‘’I’m spending the holidays with my brother and his wife’’ (meaning – my brother, his wife and I have made a plan to spend the coming holidays together. We do not usually say ‘’I will spend…’’ ).
- ‘’We’re visiting the museum at 10 o’clock tomorrow morning’’ (meaning – we have made a plan to go to the museum together at that time and, possibly, we have also paid for tickets. We do not usually say ‘’I will visit…’’).
It doesn’t just have to be a plan you have made between yourself and other people, sometimes the plan is made by a group of people or an organisation or company, and you are a part of that plan:
- ‘’I’m working this evening’’ (meaning – my employer has asked me to work and I have agreed to do so. We do not usually say ‘’I will work…’’).
- ‘’She is giving a guided tour tomorrow morning’’ (meaning – she has made this plan with the tour company. We do not usually say ‘’I will give…’’).
It is not always necessary to say who the arrangement is with. For example,
David: ‘’So, what is everyone doing at Easter?’’
Emily: ‘’I’m spending a week with my son’s family.’’
Paul: ‘’I’m visiting Rome with my best friend.’’
In this exchange, Emily and Paul understand that David is talking about arrangements that they have possibly made, even though he does not say, nor does he know, who the arrangements are with.
Note – in using the Present Progressive tense, the responses of Emily and Paul are understood to be about the future, only because David’s question was asked using that tense, and included the future time ‘at Easter’. Had David omitted the future time and asked ‘So, what is everyone doing?’, Emily and Paul would probably have told him what they are doing now, at the present time. So, an important element of using this tense to talk about future plans is that a time in the future must be mentioned within the conversation. If not, the Present Progressive reverts to its main meaning, which is to talk about continuing actions in the present.
Present Progressive (or Continuous) to talk about things which you are ‘on the point of’ doing
In English we often use the Present Progressive tense to talk about things we are ‘on the point of’ doing. This is especially the case with verbs of movement, such as go, come, leave etc.
- ‘’I’m going to the supermarket. Can I get you anything?’’
- ‘’I’m leaving for work, so I can’t speak to you.’’
Note – in these cases there is no need to include a future time because it is understood that although the action is not already in progress, it is ‘just about to happen’
At the moment it’s difficult to talk about plans for the near future, but maybe you could think about using the Present Progressive to talk about what you’re watching on TV this weekend, or even what you’re doing next Easter, or where you are going with your family next Summer, when life will, hopefully, be back to some normality.
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