Present simple be going to or present progressive

[Rachel Adams]

Hello.

These sentences are from English File.

The exercise asks to use the correct form of the verb. Present simple/progressive, be going to. The future simple is not given.

I used 'going to' in both but I was wondering if the simple present tense and the progressive are also possible.

1. 'I think it's going to rain tonight.' 'I think it rains tonight.'(?)

2. 'We are going to see a film next Saturday.' 'We see a film next Saturday.' (?)

 

[Rachel Adams]

Neither the present simple nor the present progressive is natural in #1.
Both are possible in #2, though the present simple needs a forced context.

This use of the present simple in a sentence like # 2 isn't mentioned in Swan and other books. Most of them mention timetables. What kind of use is it in the sentence #2?

 

[GoesStation]

You've set up a plan for a week in Paris, and you're describing some of the highlights. The day is Thursday.

"We arrive tomorrow and check into the Travelodge Hotel. The next day, we eat breakfast at McDonald's, lunch at Burger King, and, for a taste of the local cuisine, dinner at Bip Burger. Sunday we tour a mall. … We see a film next Saturday.“

 

[Rachel Adams]

Neither the present simple nor the present progressive is natural in #1.
Both are possible in #2, though the present simple needs a forced context.

And if I use 'will' in both, especially in the second sentence what would be its exact meaning? Does it mean 'we want to see a film' in #2?

 

[GoesStation]

And if I use 'will' in both, especially in the second sentence what would be its exact meaning? Does it mean 'we want to see a film' in #2?

No. It means you're certain that you're going to see a film. The same applies to sentence one. There aren't many contexts where native speakers would use "will" in either sentence.

 

[Rachel Adams]

No. It means you're certain that you're going to see a film. The same applies to sentence one. There aren't many contexts where native speakers would use "will" in either sentence.

I didn't use the present progressive in #2. 'We are seeing a film next Saturday' compared to 'We are going to see...' is as natural, isn't it?