0

Context : in a meeting:

A: I will summarize the progress of our project..... I think that we can't finish this project on time.

B: Really? If so, I will give/ going to give/ am giving you 5 months in addition to finish this project.

In this context 2, Are 3 forms good to use or only "will give" is good to use?

In this context, as I see, the speaker makes decision at the time of speaking.

As my grammar books say, for decisions made right on the spot (on at the time of speaking) , we should use "will" future simple. So, how about other forms ( are going to give/ am giving)? Are these 2 forms less commonly used in this context?

What is the difference between 3 forms?

5
  • 1
    i am going to summarize (present intention)
    – Yves Lefol
    Commented Jun 16 at 9:05
  • Thank you for correcting my post
    – LE123
    Commented Jun 16 at 9:17
  • The first sentence is not idiomatic. It's a bit off. It should be something like "I don't think we will be able to finish this project on time". There are errors in the second sentence.
    – Billy Kerr
    Commented Jun 16 at 10:01
  • 2
    @YvesLefol - or 'summarise' if you use British English. Also, it should be 'five months' - we use words for numbers less than some amount, often 11, and 'months' should be plural. Commented Jun 16 at 10:02
  • 1
    "As my grammar books say, for decisions made right on the spot (on at the time of speaking) , we should use 'will' future simple." —This seems like a strange rule. You can get better answers if you edit to quote exactly what it said, and we can talk about whether it's wrong or whether there's a misunderstanding. Commented Jun 25 at 19:14

2 Answers 2

3

There's a missing am for the second one, and 's' for month.

Edit

I will give/ [am] going to give/ am giving you [five additional] month[s] to finish this project.

All three versions are fine.

I prefer five additional months to 5 months in addition.

Edit 2 I incorporate Kate's comments. 'If so' suggests that it's a decision B has made on the spot in response to A's announcement, and hence 'will give' is the most natural.

9
  • 2
    I prefer 'five' to '5' in anything more formal than a jotted note or text message. Commented Jun 16 at 10:03
  • 1
    Thanks, @Michael Harvey. You're right. Commented Jun 16 at 11:26
  • To me, I am giving would be more natural if B had already planned to extend the deadline. "If so" suggests that it's a decision B has made on the spot in response to A's announcement. Commented Jun 16 at 13:05
  • @SeowjoohengSingapore my grammar books say that with decisions decided on the spot, we should use “will”. So I thì k that in this example we shoul use “will” too. Is it right? But you advised that 3 forms are good to use.
    – LE123
    Commented Jun 19 at 3:44
  • 1
    These two are fine too as I've said in my original answer. Commented Jun 21 at 0:40
0

I don't really think the speaker B is making an on-the-spot decision for the future, rather they say about what they are doing right now, and it is giving additional time for the project completion:

B: Really? If so, I am giving you 5 months in addition to finish this project. or B: Really? If so, I give you 5 months in addition to finish this project.

However, this variant 'B: Really? If so, I will give you 5 months in addition to finish this project.' also sounds idiomatic to me.

This one 'B: Really? If so, I am going to give you 5 months in addition to finish this project.' does not sound well as it is better suited for uttering an intention, and the speaker has already made up their mind.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .