[Grammar] A really confusing grammar rule

[CFRP]

I've been trying to grasp the general difference between some of the future forms and there's especially one that bothers me a lot.

My "Practical Englis Usage" (Third Edition) by Michael Swan says:

We use present progressive for future actions and events that have some present reality. It is most common in discussions of personal arrangements and fixed plans, when the time and place have been decided:

What are you doing this evening? ~ I'm washing my hair.


but


my "A Practical English Grammar" (Fourth Edition) by A.J Thomson and A. V. Martinet says:

The present continuous (progressive) can express a definite arrangement in the near future:

What are you doing next Saturday? ~ I'm going to the seaside. / The neighbours are coming to watch TV. / I'm not doing anything. I'm staying at home. I'm going to write letters. (I'm writing letters... would not be possible). - but why? All the possible answers are in present progressive except the last one which "would not be possible".


Why the discrepancy? Why is it possible to say I'm washing my hair but not I'm writing letters? After all, both actions are "personal arrangements and fxed plans, when the time and place have been decided".
I find both my grammars excellent books but this is something I cannot fathom and (at least at this point of my English learning) it seems to me they contradict each other.

 

[2006]

Welcome to the forums!

my "A Practical English Grammar" (Fourth Edition) by A.J Thomson and A. V. Martinet says:

The present continuous (progressive) can express a definite arrangement in the near future:

What are you doing next Saturday? ~ I'm going to the seaside. / The neighbours are coming to watch TV. / I'm not doing anything. I'm staying at home. I'm going to write letters. (I'm writing letters... would not be possible). It is possible! -

 

[2006]

? edited at 17:40

 

[2006]

What is the editing all about??

 

[Tdol]

I've been trying to grasp the general difference between some of the future forms

There is a lot of overlap between the future forms, where we can use more than one form. The rules are basically attempts to synthesise the reasoning behind our choices, but often that does not mean that no other form is possible.

 

[CFRP]

Thank you for your replies! But there's still one small thing... Consider this true conversation:

MY TEAMMATE: What are you doing on Saturday?
ME: I'm going to repair my bike / I'm repairing my bike

According to my grammars the first one (going to) implies that there's an intention and also some preparations have been made (= I have prepared all the necessary tools and spare parts so I am ready to start repairing my bike).
Does the second one imply my personal arrangement, my fixed plan, when the time and place have been decided? (please note: I have decided, nobody else, this is my private plan/intention to repair the bike and be ready for a race on Sunday. No preparations habe been made so far but I am 100% sure I will be repairing my bike)
Are both answers correct here?



(Sorry for bold letters in "please note:...", I cannot remove this)

 

[Rover_KE]

(Sorry for bold letters in "please note:...", I cannot remove this)

Click on Edit Post. Highlight the bold sentences, click on B and they should return to normal. Click Save.

 

[SoothingDave]

Thank you for your replies! But there's still one small thing... Consider this true conversation:

MY TEAMMATE: What are you doing on Saturday?
ME: I'm going to repair my bike / I'm repairing my bike

According to my grammars the first one (going to) implies that there's an intention and also some preparations have been made (= I have prepared all the necessary tools and spare parts so I am ready to start repairing my bike).
Does the second one imply my personal arrangement, my fixed plan, when the time and place have been decided? (please note: I have decided, nobody else, this is my private plan/intention to repair the bike and be ready for a race on Sunday. No preparations habe been made so far but I am 100% sure I will be repairing my bike)
Are both answers correct here?



(Sorry for bold letters in "please note:...", I cannot remove this)

Both forms mean the same thing to me, and neither one tells me whether you have arranged for all the tools and parts required. They both speak of plans for the day, not a state of how prepared you are to accomplish what you are planning.

 

[emsr2d2]

? edited at 17:40

I edited it because in the original, a part of the HTML was missing and the quote box did not appear. Sorry - I forgot to explain that in the "Reasons for editing" box.

 

[Tdol]

Both forms mean the same thing to me, and neither one tells me whether you have arranged for all the tools and parts required. They both speak of plans for the day, not a state of how prepared you are to accomplish what you are planning.

If I'd arranged for a friend to come over and help, I'd be more likely to use the second. If I were doing it by myself, I'd probably use the first regardless of the degree of preparation.

 

[CFRP]

Both forms mean the same thing to me, and neither one tells me whether you have arranged for all the tools and parts required. They both speak of plans for the day, not a state of how prepared you are to accomplish what you are planning.

Wow..., that's 100% contrary to my textbook clarifications....:lol:

Two years ago I was in Zambia. One day I was walking under the Victoria Falls Bridge and watching bungee jumpers jump off the bridge. One girl from Australia asked me something about the bridge and also told me she had jumped the previous day. We talked for a while and I said: "I'm going to jump tomorrow". Later that day I started thinking about this and developed some doubts about the correct use of "going to" in my sentence. Now, after what you have all told me I believe it was a gramatically correct sentence but would "I'm jumping tomorrow" have been correct too?
I had not made any special preparations for my jump (except for coming to Zambia :-D) at that time, it was only my (strong) intention.

 

[SoothingDave]

Yes, "I'm jumping tomorrow" would have also been correct. As would be "I'll jump tomorrow" and "I'll be jumping tomorrow."