The future – Final: present simple and present continuous

Dr. Grammar says:

“What’s wrong with this sentence? She is going to have an English class at 6, and then she is going to have a music lesson.”

EXPLANATION:

We have looked at forming the future using will and be going to. This lesson, we are going to look at using present simple and present continuous for the future.

How do we make them?

For information on how to form the present simple and the present continuous, look back at the lesson “Verb tense – Present simple or continuous”.

When do we use present simple for the future?

We often use the present simple to describe scheduled actions in the near future. Commonly this is done for transport, but may be used for other scheduled events too.

For example:

The train arrives at 11am.

When does the bus leave?

The concert starts at 8 pm.

All these examples can be the present tense, and they are about the future, and generally about today (the near future).

When do we use present continuous for the future?

Very similar to be going to, we use the present continuous to describe future arrangements. This means it can be used in the same place as the present simple above (near future), but also in the distant future too.

For example:

We are meeting them at the airport next week.

The company is opening a new branch in 2012.

I am eating lunch with Phuoc this afternoon.

How can we learn to use these tenses?

By doing the exercises below!

So…

She is going to have an English class at 6, and then she is going to have a music lesson. X

= This is OK, but there is another way we can say it.

She has an English class at 6, and then she has a music lesson. √

= These are both scheduled events in the near future, so we can use the present simple.

EXERCISE:

Use the rules above to help you decide if the gaps should be filled with the present simple or the present continuous:

1. My bus …………………… (leave) at 3 pm.

2. Next year I …………………… (move) to Australia.

3. The bank …………………… (close) at 12 pm today, but next year they …………………… (change) this to 1 pm.

4. My favourite band …………………… (play) in Vietnam next year so I …………………… (buy) tickets online tonight.

5. The plane …………………… (take off) in ten minutes and then …………………… (land) three hours later.

Answers:

1. My bus leaves at 3 pm.

Or

    My bus is leaving at 3 pm

2. Next year I am moving to Australia.

3. The bank closes at 12 pm today, but next year they are changing this to 1 pm.

Or

    The bank is closing at 12 pm today, but next year they are changing this to 1 pm

4. My favourite band is playing in Vietnam next year so I am buying tickets online tonight.

5. The plane takes off in ten minutes and then lands three hours later.

Or

    The plane is taking off in ten minutes and then is landing three hours later.

FURTHER PRACTICE:

Find some stories (short stories, newspaper stories, anything written in the future!) and look for sentences which talk about the future. Do they use the present simple or the present continuous?

When you are confident that you understand the two tenses, write your own story in the future, and try to use the types of future from the lesson above. Show it to a friend and have them correct it for you. 

This material is provided by the Australian Centre for Education and Training (ACET).