'We are having a party this evening' - Why do we use the present continuous?

Question

I have a sentence:

We are having a party this evening.

I don't know why we use present continuous. In grammar, we don't use having for possess.

Answer 1

We use the present continuous for things that are going to happen in the future, but which we have already arranged with other people.

The question "Why do we use the present continuous for future plans" is a very good question.

Well, one reason is that English only has two tenses. It has a past tense and a non-past (present) tense. We need to use some kind of present tense construction to describe our plans about the future.

We usually use the present simple, for example, I play the violin to describe things that generally or usually or often happen. We usually use will for predictions or guarantees about the future I will play the violin for you, I promise. We normally use the present continuous for things when we want to show that they are happening now, as opposed to usually Shhh, Bertha's playing the violin.

In English, when we make arrangements with other people, we think that that plan has already started to happen. This isn't such a strange idea. Imagine you see me dressed in very nice clothes and wearing lots of aftershave. You might say "Why are you looking so smart today?" I might answer you "I'm meeting a special girl this evening. We're going out for a meal." You can already see the results of my plan. I've chosen special clothes. I've put on some aftershave. My plan has already started happening. So this plan is happening right now. It started when I arranged to have a date. The process has already started even though my actual date is this evening, not right now. We use the present continuous for things that are happening now. So, when we make arrangements in English, we usually use the present continuous.

The Original Poster's question

We are having a party this evening.

The speaker is using the present continuous in this sentence because this plan has already started. It is in process right now.

Answer 2

One use of the present continuous is talking about fixed plans in the (near) future.

• I'm doing my homework this evening. I'm starting university in September. Sally is meeting John at seven o'clock this evening in a restaurant downtown.

See Grammar Lessons, future, point 1. Link

The present continuous has several uses. English Page gives an overview: 1 now - 2 longer actions, now - 3 near future - 4 with always Link

Answer 3

To have a party is like to throw a party. Both mean to host a party.

We often use is/are going to to refer to future time or events in the future.

See "When I grow up, I am going to be a doctor"- Is it correct?.

In depth explanation of the difference between "will" and "going to"?.

When to use "be going to" / present continuous in future?.

Why is 'what will you do tomorrow evening' incorrect?.