Present tenses - I am doing/I do - for the future

This lesson explains how we use two present tenses in English to talk about future events: the present continuous (I am doing) for personal plans and arrangements, and the present simple (I do) for timetables and fixed schedules.

• Present continuous (I am doing): used for planned personal arrangements with a specific time or person.
• Present simple (I do): used for timetables, schedules and fixed public events (trains, flights, meetings on a published schedule).
• Key: time expressions help choose the tense (e.g., tomorrow, next Friday → present continuous; at 9 PM, every Monday → present simple).

Decide which present tense to use by asking: is this a personal plan or a fixed schedule?

• Use present continuous (I am + -ing) for personal arrangements: meetings, appointments, plans made with others.
• Use present simple for timetables and schedules: transport times, official programs, regular timetables.
• Include a time expression to make the future meaning clear (e.g., tomorrow, next week, at 9 AM, every Monday).

Arrangements = present continuous. Timetables = present simple.

Learners often confuse the two present forms or misuse them. Watch for these universal errors:

• Using present simple for personal arrangements (e.g., 'I meet him tomorrow' instead of 'I am meeting him tomorrow').
• Using present continuous for fixed public timetables (e.g., 'The train is leaving at 9' when referring to an official timetable).
• Forgetting the -ing form after 'be' in present continuous (e.g., 'I am meet' instead of 'I am meeting').
• Ignoring time expressions that indicate which tense is more natural (e.g., mixing 'every Monday' with present continuous).

Check the type of future event (personal plan vs schedule) and the verb form (-ing vs base form).