What is the difference between present continuous and future continuous?

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  1. What time are you meeting Jane?
    What time will you be meeting Jane?

  2. Henry is not coming to the party next week.
    Henry will not be coming to the party next week.

  3. What time are you arriving?
    What time will you be arriving?

Answer

In normal use, the sentence pairs they are essentially the same.

However, there is a subtle difference. It applies equally to each of the pairs, so I will focus on the first.

Note that in the following, this difference would probably not apply, but I’m pointing it out because there could be such a difference in the right situation.

  • What time are you meeting Jane?
    This is asking about something that is currently planned. The meeting with Jane is scheduled, and the question is asking the time of that schedule. "Let me check. Ah, here it is in my calendar. I meet her at 10:30."
  • What time will you be meeting Jane?
    Let’s suppose there is no such calendar entry. However, you have very firm plans of making one Or, let’s suppose that Jane doesn’t even know who you are, and you haven’t even contacted her yet. However, you fully intend to introduce yourself and set up a meeting with her at some point. In both cases, the meeting does not actually exist. But you can still answer the question if you have the intention of meeting her anyway. "Currently, there is no meeting. But I intend for it to be at 10:30."

In short:

  • The what time are you form expresses something actually in existence as a plan for the future.
  • The what time will you form expresses something that is an intention about the future.

The other two pairs have the same distinction, although if you analyze the negative version similarly, it could be given a sinister light.

For instance, a villain in a story who is not willing to let Henry attend the party, even though his attendance has already been planned, would be more likely to say Henry will not be coming, if the villain is thinking of arranging an accident for him. The is not version is still possible in this sense, but probably more likely if the villain has already arranged that accident.

This can be a very subtle difference in meaning, and the distinction is often not made. For practical purposes, the two forms are interchangeable.

Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Andrew Clarke , Answer Author : Jason Bassford

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