English Grammar: How to Use Present Simple to Talk about Future Events
The present simple can be used to talk about talk about scheduled future events. These are events that happen according to a schedule or timetable. They are usually scheduled by someone else and they are usually public events.
Tomorrow is Friday.
I fly to Paris next week.
The plane departs at 8 p.m.
The train to Ottawa leaves at 11:30 a.m.
When do you leave for NYC?
Her train arrives at 8:35 a.m. tomorrow morning.
What time does the movie start tonight?
What time do you finish work tomorrow?
What time does the store open tomorrow?
Final exams start next week.
The concert begins at 6:30 p.m.
The Monet exhibit closes on Sunday.
The sale ends next week.
Important: Only the verbs below can be used in the simple present to talk about a future scheduled event:
arrive
be
begin
close
depart
end
finish
fly
leave
open
start
Thank you too much,
Your lessons are very useful to make easier some difficult points in english.
Thanks again for your helpful lesson.
your tutorials are helpful for me ! Nice Work
Thank you very much Melanie….
Thank you good lessen useful for me .
thanks alot
Thanks, Melanie. I’ve been teaching future tense to my students and I commented with them about the use of scheduled future events this morning.
However, I thought it was only for situations where you can find a real timetable: a train station, a movie theater, etc. But thinking twice, the examples you gave us make sense! There’s a timetable implicit in them. Thanks again for your explanation and for the list of verbs to guide us. They are really useful.
I am happy that my lesson helped you, Eliana! It’s always nice to hear from a fellow teacher! : )
Good explanation. Thanks for the sentences that clearly shows what is the rule about. I have a question. Can I say:
I have English lesson next Monday.
It’s according to lesson plan. Is it correct?
“I have an English lesson on Monday.”
-or-
“I have an English lesson next Monday.”
Yes! You are correct! You have scheduled a lesson for Monday, so you can use the simple present!
= )
Great 🙂 Thank You for confirmation.
Hello dear Melanie,
Please help me to understand using Present Simple in the following sentence: “I hope James recovers from his illness soon“.
I have come across it in an English student’s book.
Thank you.
Hi, Svetlana!
Neither hope nor recover is a scheduled future event, so it is not the same use of the present simple as the verbs in this lesson.
Hope is a unique verb. You can still use the present simple after the verb hope even if you have a future meaning.
“I hope you feel better soon.”
“I hope she comes to the party tonight.”
Note the sentence structure: I hope + that-clause
🙂
Hello! Is it possible to use Present Simple in this sentence:
We go to the cinema tomorrow. (for example, if this sentence is used in a formal situation?)
I know that we use Present Continuous when we talk about plans and arrangements that have already been made (We are going to the cinema tomorrow.) But what about present simple? It seems to me that Present Simple can also be used in this case especially if the situation is formal and you speak to people that are not your friends. Or Present Simple is only used for future when we talk about timetables and schedules.
I’m so confused… Could you explain it to me please?
Hi, Lana!
You answered your own question: the present simple is only used to talk about future events when we talk about timetables and schedules, for example, “The movie starts at 6pm.”
So, you can’t say “
We go to the movies tomorrow.” There is no scheduled event. You have a planned event, so you should use the present continuous. “We’re going to the movies tomorrow.”Quick tip: Don’t say “cinema” unless you want to focus on British English. In American English use “the movies.”
Thanks for your help.
Thanks, Melanie,
I am so happy for I’ve been having you such an excellent teacher.
God bless you.
I am happy to help, Jose! Thank you!