Present Continuous: Future Arrangements

I am visiting Florence with Lily this weekend! 😎🚂

Why is “I’m going to visit Florence next weekend.” crossed out? Is it wrong? 😳

Well, it’s not wrong, no, but the meaning is a bit different! So in this video we are going to talk about using present continuous for future and how it’s different from “be going to”. I will explain the difference between plans and arrangements. And we will practise pronouncing a nasal sound which you can find in all verbs in present continuous! 😉 And of course there will be lots of examples to help you understand the grammar. 😃

This video is suitable for A2 learners of English studying towards a B1 level.

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Check what you have learnt! 🤓

1) “We / take / the train to London in the evening.”
- can you turn these words into a sentence in present continuous?
2) When using present continuous for future, what information does the sentence HAVE to have?
3) A: “Filip’s playing the violin.”
B: “Filip’s playing at a concert tonight.”
- which of these two sentences talks about the present and which one talks about the future?
4) A: “I’m playing squash in the morning.”
B: “I’m going to play squash in the morning.”
- what’s the difference between these two sentences?
5) Practise pronouncing: “This is exciting, I’m seeing Sink The Pink sing tonight!” 🗣

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Have you answered the above questions? 🧐 If not, do not read further - below are the answers!

1) “We are taking the train to London in the evening.”
2) When you use present continuous for future, you have to include future time information, such as “next week, tonight, tomorrow…”, to indicate we are talking about the future.
3) Sentence A is about the present. Sentence B is about the future because it has future time information - “tonight”.
4) Sentence A is an arrangement - it uses present continuous, so it means it’s almost certain I will play squash in the morning. Maybe I’m going with my friend or I have already booked the court.
Sentence B is a plan - it’s not 100% yet. I want to go, but maybe I haven’t booked it yet or asked anyone to come with me.
5) Practise and check out the pronunciation section of the video to hear me pronounce it!

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A bit about Filip ✌🏼

Filip is a fully qualified teacher of English as a foreign/second language with a Cambridge CELTA qualification and a postgraduate degree. He currently lives and works for an International House school in Italy. This video series has been designed to help A2 level students of English reach a B1 level.