Would you clarify which kind of given forms and when native speakers choose in order to speak about future. For example :
1) I'm doing it (I'm fixing the car tomorrow)
2) I'll do it (I'll fix the car tomorrow)
Are there any differences in meaning or grammar usage?
Are they exactly the same and interchangeable?
asked Dec 6, 2016 at 7:31
-
I would use the first sentence if the future action is very close to the present.– Mohd Zulkanien SarbiniCommented Dec 6, 2016 at 8:20
-
@user178049 could you post a more detailed answer with some examples for both structures !!– Yazdan Samiei PoorCommented Dec 6, 2016 at 8:24
-
That's just my opinion though. We commonly used the present prog. to express a future event that has been already prepared.– Mohd Zulkanien SarbiniCommented Dec 6, 2016 at 8:39
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
For future tense, "I'll do it" or "I will do it" is the one you need.
"I'm doing it" is an example of the present progressive (or present continuous), which means that it is happening in the present. So "I'm fixing the car" means that you're doing it right now.
However, when you use the present continuous with an expression of time, e.g. tomorrow, next week, over Christmas; then it can be used to express the future. So if you include the "tomorrow" then "I'll fix the car tomorrow" and "I'm fixing the car tomorrow" are pretty much equivalent.
More info here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/episode73/languagepoint.shtml
-
I don't think so.I'm sure sometimes it is referred to future.(e.g. A: what are you doing this weekend? B: I'm visiting my fiance' . Commented Dec 6, 2016 at 7:49
-
@YazdanSamieiPoor sorry, I hadn't finished my answer. See my updated version above. Commented Dec 6, 2016 at 7:54
-
-
-
But the link you provided says : Time expressions are often (but not always) used when present continuous is used to talk about future arrangements. Commented Dec 6, 2016 at 8:09
I'll do it.
I will do it.
means that there is a particular time, in the future, when you will start to do something and people will be able to see you doing it.
I'm doing it.
usually means you are currently working on something, but can also mean
I'm doing something about it.
like
I'm thinking about it but I've not started to do anything visible about it yet.
A: Are you doing the laundry?
B: I'm doing it.
A: But I don't hear the washing machine running!
B: Haven't gotten to that part yet...
which backs into the idiom
I'm working on it.
which may mean you are actually doing the work, but also gets used to mean
I know I have to do it, and will get around to it, but I'm not doing it right now.
especially when someone is pestering you to get something done which you haven't started on.
A: Did you fix the garage door yet?
B: I'm working on it.
A: It's been a month now!
Context is key. Your two phrases may be interchangeable, or they may mean completely different things.
