present continuous with future meaning

Lecture No.13
Present Continuous (I am doing) with a future meaning
This is Ben s diary for next week.
He is playing tennis on Monday afternoon.
He is going to the dentist on Tuesday morning.
He is having dinner with Kate on Friday.
In all these examples, Ben has already decided and arranged to do these things.
I m doing something (tomorrow) = I have already decided and arranged to do it.
What are you doing on Saturday evening? (not What do you do .)
I m going to the theatre. (not I go. )
What time is Katherine arriving tomorrow?
Half past ten. I m meeting her at the station.
I m not working tomorrow, so we can go out somewhere.
Steve isn t playing football next Saturday. He s hurt his leg.
I m going to (do) is also possible in these sentences :
What are you going to do on Saturday evening ?
Do not use will to talk about what you have arranged to do :
What are you doing this evening? (not What will you do )
A lex is getting married next month. (not will get )
You can also use the present continuous for an action just before you begin to do it. This happens especially with verbs of movement (go/come/leave etc.):
I m tired. I m going to bed now. Good night. (not I go to bed now )
Jess, are you ready yet? Yes, I m coming. (not I come )
Present simple (I do) with a future meaning
We use the present simple when we talk about timetables, programmes etc. (for public
transport, cinemas etc.):
My train leaves at 11.30, so I need to be at the station by 11.15 .
What time does the film start this evening?
lt s Wednesday tomorrow. Tomorrow is Wednesday .
You can use the present simple to talk about people if their plans are fixed like a timetable: I start my new job on Monday.
What time do you finish work tomorrow?
But the continuous is more usual for personal arrangements:
What time are you meeting Ann tomorrow? (not do you meet )
Compare:
Present continuous Present simple
What time are you arriving? What time does the train arrive ?
I m going to the cinema this evening. The film starts at 8.15 (this evening)
Exercises
1. I ..............................(leave) now. I ve come to say goodbye.
2. Have you seen Liz recently ?
No, but ....................................... ............. ............... (we / meet) for lunch next week.
3.You are on the train to London and you ask another passenger :
Excuse me. What time .... .. . ......... ..... (this train / get) to London ?
4.You are talking to Helen :
Helen, I........ ( go) to the supermarket .... (you / come ) with me ?
5.You and a friend are watching television. You say:
I m bored with this programme. What time . . .. ...... ... .......... (it / end ?)
. 6.I ........ ( not /use) the car this evening, so you can have it
7.Sue . . .... .. ....... (come) to see us tomorrow.
((She / travel) ........ by train and her train .................. (arrive) at 10.15.
(I m) going to (do)
I am going to do something= I have already decided to do it, I intend to do it :
I Are you going to eat anything? No, I m not hungry .
I hear Sarah has won some money. What is she going to do with it.
She s going to buy a new car .
I m just going to make a quick phone call. Can you wait for me ?
This cheese smells horrible. I m not going to eat it .
I am doing and I am going to do
We use I am doing (present continuous) when we say what we have arranged to do- for example, arranged to meet somebody, arranged to go somewhere:
What time are you meeting Ann this evening?
I m leaving tomorrow. I ve got my plane ticket .
I am going to do something= I ve decided to do it (but perhaps not arranged to do it):
Your shoes are dirty. Yes, I know. I m going to clean them., (=I ve decided to clean
them, but I haven t arranged to clean them. )
I ve decided not to stay here any longer. Tomorrow I m going to Look for somewhere else to stay.
Often the difference is very small and either form is possible.
: You can also say that ~something is going to happen in the future. For example
The man isn t looking where he is going .
He is going to walk into the wall.
Some more examples:
When we say that something is going to happen,
the situation now makes this clear. The man is walking towards the wall now, so we can see that he is going to walk into it/ situation now future happening:
Look at those black clouds! lt s going to rain. (the clouds are there now )
I feel terrible. I think I m going to be sick. (I feel terrible now )
The economic situation is bad now and things are going to get worse.
I was going to do something= I intended to do it, but didn t do it :
We were going to travel by train, but then we decided to go by car instead.
Peter was going to do the exam, but he changed his mind .
I was just going to cross the road when somebody shouted Stop.!
You can say that something was going to happen (but didn t happen ):
I thought it was going to rain, but it didn t .
Exercises
Write a question with going to for each situation .
1.Your friend has won some money. You ask:
(what / do with it?) ................................ .
2.Your friend is going to a party tonight. You ask :
................................ .(what / wear ?)
3.Your friend has just bought a new table. You ask: ( where I put it ?) ............
(who / invite ?)................ . 4.Your friend has decided to have a party. You ask:
What is going to happen in these situations? Use the words in brackets .
1.There are a lot of black clouds in the sky. (rain) .................. .
2.lt is 8.30. Tom is leaving his house. He has to be at work at 8.45, but the journey takes 30 minutes. (late) .............................. .
3.There is a hole in the bottom of the boat. A lot of water is coming in through the hole. (sink) The boat .................................. .
4.Lucy and Chris are driving. There is very little petrol left in the tank. The nearest petrol station is a long way away. (run out) They...................................... .
Complete the sentences with was/were going to +the following verbs:
buy/ give up/ phone/ play/ say/ travel
1.We ... ...... by train, but then we decided to go by car instead.
2.I . ....... .... some new clothes yesterday, but I was very busy and
didn t have time to go to the shops .
3.Oliver and I . . ................ tennis last week, but he had to cancel
because he d hurt his knee.
4. I .........................Jane, but I decided to email her instead.
5. When I last saw Tim, he ....... his job.
6.I m sorry I interrupted you. What you ............... ..?