I'm Busy!
You already know this tense — you learned it in Class 24 for what is happening right now. Here it does a second job with no change at all: it talks about the future. Only the time word tells you which one you mean.
Warm-up
Short answers. Tap a card when you have answered it.
How to say a time and a date together: It's on Friday, the thirty-first of October, at ten o'clock. Day, then date, then time — always in that order.
Useful language
Appointments
Click a phrase, then click its meaning. Correct pairs turn green.
Times and days
Click a word in the bank, then click a gap. Click a filled gap to clear it.
- When the time is exactly 1:00, we say "one _____".
- Seven in the morning is written 7:00 _____
- Three in the afternoon is written 3:00 _____
- Today, but late, after dinner: _____.
- Not today, the day after today: _____.
- The evening of the day after today: _____.
- Not this Saturday and Sunday, but the two after them: _____.
- Not this month, but the one after it: _____.
Trying to plan one evening
Watch first. It is a comedy sketch, and every one of us has lived it. The comprehension questions have the minute written on them.
A man sends a message to his friends. "Hey guys. Haven't seen you in a while. We should hang out — so I don't feel like a friendless loser."
The replies come back in seconds. Sure! Yeah man! Totally! Haven't seen you in forever! Great! Everybody wants to meet.
Then he asks the only difficult question: when can you meet? And that is exactly where it starts to go wrong.
"Any evening weekday is fine." — "I'm available Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday." — "I'm only free on even numbered days." — "I can only do dates with prime numbers."
The math gets worse. Trains going northwest at sixty miles an hour, arrival times that are the square root of somebody else's, and a rule that the first to arrive must be a man.
Somehow they reach an answer: 5:27 p.m. this Thursday. Cool. Sounds good. That works for me. Great. See you all then.
And then the messages start again. "Sorry, I can't make it, my sister's in town." "I just remembered I'm a total flake." "My arm fell off." Nobody goes.
Multiple choice
Click an answer and you get the result right away, with the reason. The blue number is where to look in the video.
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0:00At the beginning, what is the man doing?
You hear the sound of the message going out.
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0:05What does he want to do?
"We should hang out."
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0:08Why does he want it?
He says it out loud while he is typing it.
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0:17Do his friends like the idea?
Sure! Yeah man! Totally! Great! Four answers in three seconds.
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0:22What does he ask next?
Four words, and the whole thing falls apart after them.
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0:24One friend is free:
"Any evening weekday is fine." The easiest friend in the group.
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0:25Another can meet on:
Three days in the middle of the week.
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0:29One friend is only free on:
And the next one can only do prime numbers, which makes it impossible.
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0:39"I'm leaving work at ______."
Nobody leaves work at 5:12. That is the joke.
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1:26What time do they finally agree on?
After all that math, a time nobody could ever have guessed.
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1:59What happens after they agree?
One message at a time, until there is nobody left.
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2:12Which excuse is in the video?
The excuses get worse as they go, and that is the point.
The same tense, a different time
Nothing new to build. Be plus -ing, exactly as in Class 24. What changed is what it means, and the only thing that tells you is the time word at the end of the sentence.
- What are you doing tonight? — I'm studying with Jack.
- When is the party starting? — It's starting at 1 p.m.
- Where are you going on Friday? — I'm meeting Mila for lunch.
- Negative and question work the same: She isn't traveling next week. · Are they having a meeting this afternoon? — No, they aren't.
- Future time words: tonight · tomorrow · tomorrow night · next weekend · next month · on Friday · at 5:27
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What do we build this tense with?
Exactly the same as Class 24. Nothing new.
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What kind of future do we use it for?
Something already in your diary, not something you hope for.
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"What are you doing tonight?" — Choose the answer.
The first is your habit; the third has no be.
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"______ the party starting?" — "At 1 p.m."
One party, and starting is already waiting for a be.
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"Are they having a meeting this afternoon?" They aren't. You say:
The answer repeats the verb from the question.
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Which sentence is correct?
The not goes after is, and does never meets -ing.
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Which one is a future time word?
The other two are what the same tense means without a time word.
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A friend asks about Saturday. Which answer is polite and clear?
Say no, and leave a door open. Two short sentences.
Present or future?
Every sentence below has the same tense. Only the time word decides.
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"I'm leaving work at 5:12."
He is still at work. The time 5:12 has not arrived yet.
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"I'm having a meeting now."
Now. He is in the room.
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"I'm meeting my friend for dinner tonight."
Tonight is still to come, and dinner is booked.
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"I'm going to the dentist at the moment."
At the moment — he is in the car, on his way.
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"I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow morning."
Tomorrow morning. The appointment is in the diary.
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"I'm doing a course this month."
This month includes today, so the course has already started.
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"I'm talking to clients right now."
You would not say this out loud, but the tense is clear.
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"We're seeing a movie next weekend."
Next weekend, and the tickets are probably already bought.
Write the sentence
Use the present continuous and short forms. Example: I – not – have a party – tonight. → I'm not having a party tonight.
The time word goes at the end. English puts it there almost always: I'm meeting my friends this evening, not I'm this evening meeting my friends.
aI – meet – my friends – this evening.
bPete – not – see a friend – on Thursday.
cMy sister – do a course – next December.
dI – not – go to London – tomorrow.
eI – stay at home – tonight.
fDaniel – go to the dentist – on Monday.
gGeorge – see the doctor – on Friday.
hAlice – study for a test – next weekend.
iBob – talk to a client – on Saturday.
Order the questions
Put the words in order. In the questions, am, is or are comes before the person. The last one is a negative sentence — there the person comes first.
ordertomorrow / to / Is / the office / Claudia / going ?
orderthe students / the test / When / are / doing ?
orderhaving / are / we / Where / the meeting ?
orderin May / course / Is / your / starting ?
orderyou / doing / weekend / What / are / next ?
orderWhat / you / are / tonight / doing ?
orderthe party / When / starting / is ?
ordergoing / are / Where / on Friday / you ?
orderthey / a meeting / Are / this afternoon / having ?
order, negativetraveling / She / next week / isn't .
Role-play: making a plan
First fill your own diary for next week — some real things, some invented. Then we try to find one free time for both of us.
Useful language
My week
70–110 words. Write your diary for next week, day by day, with a time for each appointment. Use the present continuous eight times, including two negatives, and finish with one question inviting me somewhere.
My results
Check your score, then copy it and send it to your teacher on WhatsApp.
Every evening this week, say one sentence about tomorrow. "I'm working at eight." "I'm meeting my sister at six." Ten seconds. By Sunday it will come out without you thinking about it.