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Do you think it's correct if I use present continuous tense in this sentence?

Tonight, Mike and I are watching a film at home.

I think present continuous is used for arrangement. But my teacher say that I should use "be going to" in stead of "present continuous tense".

Please help me. Thanks.

19932 gembui
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  • I have a feeling this has been dealt with earlier here. See previous related posts. Good Luck. – Kris Oct 22 '18 at 06:25
  • Meanwhile, "... when talking about a planned event in the future. " http://examples.yourdictionary.com/present-continuous-tense-examples.html – Kris Oct 22 '18 at 06:28

2 Answers2

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Well, we use the Present Continuous to talk about something in the future that we have agreed to do:

Tim and I are going to the theatre tonight, then we're having dinner at White's.

Are you doing anything at the weekend? - I'm playing tennis with Mary on Saturday.

So, I'd say it's OK to use the Present Continuous in your sentence about watching TV at home. Using the Present Continuous, you show your agreement to do it together.

But your teacher is right too. Of course, we can say "Mike and I are going to watch a film." But using to be going to, we talk about our plans, rather than arrangements.

There are many grammar books that deal with the issue (Present Continuous vs. to be going to for future events). But the explanation I have given is inspired by Oxford Living Grammar intermediate.

Enguroo
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  • How about this sentence? " They are going to bring out a new album soon" or "they are bringing out a new album soon". Can you help me with this one? – 19932 gembui Oct 22 '18 at 06:01
  • @19932gembui both sentences are correct, but they mean different things. "they are going"... implies they they are planning to do it. "they are bringing out..." means it's arranged, not just planned. I'd assume they already have a release date. – Enguroo Oct 22 '18 at 06:04
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    So we can say that "be going to" implies intentions or plans whereas "present continous tense" prefers arranged plans? – 19932 gembui Oct 22 '18 at 06:06
  • True. You also need to cite a reliable source. – Kris Oct 22 '18 at 06:24
  • @19932gembui right. Think about it as plans/intentions vs. arrangements – Enguroo Oct 22 '18 at 08:04
  • @Kris I've done it now. – Enguroo Oct 22 '18 at 08:12
  • Agreement is necessary. Tim might reply: "you may be going to White's for dinner, dear, but you seem to have forgotten that I am going on from the theatre to my club." The auxiliary 'am' in the continuous present is a routine future. Moreover, the simple present works in a similar fashion. – Tuffy Oct 22 '18 at 08:14
  • @Tuffy I just want to add that we use the Present Simple to talk about something in the future that is OFFICIALLY ORGANIZED, for example on a timetable or schedule. – Enguroo Oct 22 '18 at 08:33
  • "I am not coming tomorrow" has no element of agreement; there's no third party in the first place. See also the link I provided at the OP. – Kris Oct 24 '18 at 06:50
  • "7 We can use the present simple and the present continuous to talk about the future: I'm meeting Ellie tomorrow night** https://archive.org/stream/OxfordLivingGrammarElementary/Oxford_living_grammar_Interm_djvu.txt – Kris Oct 24 '18 at 06:57
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If you are saying the time it's something previously arranged so it must be on progressive future not going to because is not a plan you are thinking about u just decided, more than a mere plan.

shirlley cordeiro
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    Hi Shirley, welcome to EL&U. Since we're "serious language enthusiasts" here, we expect answers to be well written, whereas yours is poorly expressed and therefore makes little sense. Also, using u instead of you might be okay in text messages but not in formal writing. Please [edit] your post to improve the wording, and please also provide a reference (eg a grammar book or web page) to show that what you're suggesting is not mere personal opinion or supposition. For further guidance, see [answer] and take the EL&U [Tour]. :-) – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten May 17 '19 at 00:56