I am visiting/I am going to visit the city soon.

[Hansman]

I know that progressive tense can mean meanings for the future and then, is there any nuance between 'be doing' and 'be going to do'?

1) I am visiting the city soon.
2) I am going to visit the city soon.

I feel like both carry the same meaning or is there any difference in meaning between them?

 

[probus]

Strictly speaking, of course, they have different meanings. But I agree with you that in inormal everyday usage people often use 1 when they really mean 2.

 

[Hansman]

Strictly speaking, of course, they have different meanings.

Thank you so much. Could you let me know the different meanings between them?

 

[tedmc]

1 implies the visit is happening now or the near future.
2 refers to a future intended action.

 

[5jj]

1. the present progressive (also known as the present continuous)

The present progressive can refer to a future situation that has been arranged before the present time. The arrangement continues through the present until the situation occurs:

Emma is seeing Luke tomorrow, (They arranged this meeting yesterday)

Note that only the context or co-text (in the last example the word tomorrow) can tell us which time-period a present progressive verb form refers to.

Also note that it is simply not possible to make arrangements for some future situations. It is therefore not normally possible to say X It is raining tomorrow. X

2. BE + going to

Although you may hear or read that this form indicates ‘present intention’, this is not always true. It is hard to imagine any intention in this sentence: “Look at those black clouds; it is going to rain soon.”

BE + going to refers to a future situation for which there is present evidence. In the previous example, the present evidence is the black clouds. In the following example, the present evidence may simply be the speaker’s knowledge that Emma and Luke have arranged the meeting:

Emma is going to see Luke tomorrow.

When the present evidence is an arrangement, then there is, practically speaking, no real difference in meaning between the present progressive and BE + going to.


From Ways of Expressing the Future.