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I hope it won't be raining when we leave church

I hope it won't rain when we leave church

I can't see the difference. For me both mean the same thing and I think first one is better.

The second one is not a general statement and a rain has always a beginning and an end that always last longer than we would like, so "won't be raining" seems to be better.

After thinking of it the only difference I see is that in the first sentence the rain has begun before we have left the church and in the second sentence the rain has begun while we are leaving church.

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  • Possible duplicate of "It is raining" or "it is rainy"?
    – Ced
    Commented Mar 27, 2019 at 11:17
  • no I have not employed the noun rainy in my question
    – Yves Lefol
    Commented Mar 27, 2019 at 11:24
  • Yes, the difference you see is correct :)
    – Bella Swan
    Commented Mar 27, 2019 at 11:42

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Your first example is correct:

I hope it won't be raining when we leave church.

The meaning of this is that you hope that rain will not be falling at the moment you leave church.

Your second example is not quite right:

I hope it won't rain when we leave church.

"Won't" is a contraction of "will not" and is a modal verb. Because "when we leave church" refers to a specific moment in time it doesn't make sense to use a modal verb alone, because at that time it will either be raining or not. You should say instead:

I hope it doesn't rain when we leave church.

Of course, you could also say:

I hope it isn't raining when we leave church.

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  • believe me the second example is a solution to an exercise but why present tense for an event that will happen in the future
    – Yves Lefol
    Commented Mar 27, 2019 at 15:18

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