Ch 4 · Lesson 10English · Chapter 4 · Lesson 10 · Grammar primer
Plans and timetables: I'm meeting Sara at six
The present continuous for a plan with a time (I'm meeting Sara at six) and the present simple for a timetable (the train leaves at nine).
The short version
A plan with a time takes the present continuous
Sara .
Why?Hide
When a plan is fixed, with a time, a place or another person, English uses am, is or are plus -ing, just like for now. The time word tells you it is the future. For plans, ask What are you doing tonight?, not What do you do tonight?
Timetables take the present simple
.
Why?Hide
When a timetable or a calendar sets the time, English uses the present simple for the future: trains, films, shops, classes. Your own plans are not timetables, so say I'm going to London next week, not I go to London next week.
For the future, English also uses two present forms. The present continuous is for a plan with a time: I'm meeting Sara at six. The present simple is for a timetable: The train leaves at nine.
| Form | Use it for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| continuous | Sara . | |
| continuous | . | |
| timetable | . | |
| calendar | . |
Will and going to are on the will vs going to page.
The present continuous: I'm meeting Sara at six
The form is the same as for now: am, is or are, then the verb with -ing.
| Who | Example |
|---|---|
Tom. | |
| / / | Ana. |
| / / | . |
A time word makes it the future. With no time word, it usually means now.
.(now: come and see).(a plan for later)
Use it when the plan is fixed: you have the time, the place, another person or the tickets.
.Tom .?
I'm going to meet Sara is also correct. It says you decided; I'm meeting Sara says the time is fixed with her.
The present simple: the train leaves at nine
The present simple is for the future only when a timetable or a calendar sets the time. Someone else decides it.
| What | Example |
|---|---|
. | |
. | |
. | |
. | |
. |
Your own plans are not timetables, so they do not take the present simple:
London .(not I go to London)
Which one?
| The plan | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| continuous | Tom . | |
| timetable | . | |
| , | . | |
. |
Going further: Common mistakes and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
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