Hm, knowing which tense to use to describe a future event or a future plan can be confusing, but it’s just the beginning. After that comes the real trouble - learning whether to use Past Simple or Present Perfect, trying to use Conditionals properly, and wrapping your head around each and every Conditional type.

But we don’t want to discourage you. Rather, we want you to have fun learning the English language in San Diego. We’ll take it slow, start with the basics, and help you learn how to talk about the future first.

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WHICH TENSE IS USED FOR NEAR FUTURE?

It’s not about having a single tense dedicated to be used when talking about the near future, no. You can use different tenses to talk about events that are going to happen in the near future. The trick is in knowing what you’re trying to say.

Let us elaborate a bit further. For example, if you’re making a spontaneous decision that’s set in the near future, you’ll use a different tense that you would if talking about a schedule event in the near future.

So rather than trying to find a dedicated near-future tense for you to use, we’ll separate the four tenses you can use to talk about the near future into four categories, based on the meaning, rather than the grammar.

1. Scheduled events - If an event is happening in the near future, but is scheduled to happen and you cannot do anything to change it, you’ll use Present Simple Tense to describe it - “I have a lesson in three hours.” or “My train leaves in three minutes.”
2. Arrangements and plans - If you’ve made a plan to do something in the near future, you’ll use Present Continuous tense to describe that event - “I’m visiting my grandfather in a couple of hours.” or “I’m playing basketball tomorrow.”
3. Intentions - If you want to do something, i.e. you’re intending to do something in the near future, but you’re not sure if you’re really going through with it, you’ll use “to be going to” - I’m going to take the car to work today.” or “I’m going to quit my job tomorrow!”
4. Spontaneous decisions - Finally, if you’re giving in to your spontaneity, and you’re making near-future decisions on the spot, use Future Simple Tense - “I’ll buy a new sweater as soon as I finish work.” or “I will come and help you move!”

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HOW DO YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR FUTURE PLANS?

Well, you use Present Continuous, as you’ve already said, right? True, but there are other ways of making plans for the future. Using Present Continuous Tense certainly is the way to go in most situations, but that can still differ.

That is why we’re going to do something a bit unorthodox, something not by the California Department of Education canon. We’re going to separate the tenses you can use to make plans about the future into four categories depending on the level of certainty that they’re actually going to happen.

Mind you, we’re doing this just to be as exhaustive as possible, not to confuse you. You can implement this categorization if you want, but you don’t have to, not should you if you’re still a beginner.

You can stick to Present Continuous Tense without losing any of the meaning you’re trying to convey. But, if there ever comes a time when you want to your English to be a bit more nuanced, read this!

1. 100% certainty - Similar to scheduled events, you can use Present Simple to talk about a foolproof future plan - “We start the party at 8PM.” or “We leave for the seaside tomorrow!”
2. Great certainty - This is the Present Continuous area! Yes, plans made using this tense are certain enough, but something still might happen to disrupt them - “I’m going out with my friend tomorrow.” or “We’re playing Call of Duty after school!”
3. It’s mostly certain - OK, so you really want to do something, but you’re not sure if something will come up? Use “to be going to” to talk about such plans - “I’m going to finish homework as soon as I come back home.” or “We’re going to visit London next weekend.”
4. Uncertainty - Not to bring Future Simple down, but this is one unreliable tense. It’s not bad, it’s just spontaneous. If you’re making a spur-of-the-moment future plan, this is your tense - “I’ll study hard today!” or “I’ll help you finish the project tomorrow.”

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“OK, THAT’S IT, I NEED A GOOD SCHOOL OF LANGUAGE IN SAN DIEGO FOR ALL THIS…”

If you’re in San Diego, learning the English language on your own and struggling with it, don’t despair, College of English Language is here for you! We’ll give it our all to make English as easy as possible to you, and at our school and with the help of out superstar teacher, you’ll start speaking English without breaking a sweat. If you’d like to enjoy the San Diego Museum of Art, but your English is preventing you, stop by our school and let’s learn together!