Future Differs

[kahhong]

Hi there,
Are they the same?

1. Will we have an extra class this afternoon?
2. Are we having an extra class this afternoon?



Thank You


Warmest Regards,
-kahhong

[Casiopea]

Are we having is short for Are we going to have.

going to have => having

[rewboss]

Well, the present continuous is sometimes a contraction of the "to be going to" construction, but not always.

"Will" is used to describe the future when a decision is being made at the time of speaking ("Oh, we have no milk -- I'll buy some more") or when we are making a prediction ("You will love London").

"Going to" is used to describe the future either when it has already been planned ("I'm going to buy some milk -- do you need anything from the shops?") or when it is about to happen ("Look at those black clouds -- it's going to rain").

The present continuous is used to describe the future when it has been planned and organised ("I'm flying to New York next week; I bought the tickets yesterday").

Often the meanings overlap,which is why we can use the present continuous as a contraction of "going to", especially to avoid sentences like "I am going to go to Pete's house" or "I am going to come back on Wednesday" (which sounds stupid because "go" and "come" are opposites).

In the sentences you cite:

"Will we..." is asking the teacher to make a prediction. (If you want to ask the teacher to make a decision, you would normally use "Shall we..." -- at least in British English -- which is alternative to "will".)

"Are we having..." is asking the teacher to explain what has been arranged previously. Perhaps the teacher had to ask permission from the head teacher.

[MrPedantic]

Originally Posted by kahhong

1. Will we have an extra class this afternoon?
2. Are we having an extra class this afternoon?

I find a slight difference in the speaker's attitude to the event ("the class this afternoon").

To me, #1 presents the event "from the outside": the speaker seems to keep the "class" at a distance.

#2 on the other hand seems to present the event "from the inside": the speaker places himself "inside" the event.

MrP

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by rewboss

Are we having..." is asking the teacher to explain what has been arranged previously. Perhaps the teacher had to ask permission from the head teacher.

Originally Posted by MrPedantic

I find a slight difference in the speaker's attitude to the event.

Ah, yes.

#1 lack of present evidence
"Will we have . . . ?"
"Will it rain?"

#2 present evidence
"Are we going to have / having . . . ?" Notice . . .
"Is it going to rain? Notice the clouds have just rolled in."