If you party with them, you will be spending them with them.

Question

Hello.

My my friend is complaining that she never spend time with her class mates because they are always partying.

i tell her:

if you party with them, you are/you will be/ you will spend time with them.

Where is the difference between those tenses?

I really don’t understand when to use “will be-ing” “will” “be-ing”

could you please explain that to me again maybe worth some examples?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

franziska bohnMy my friend is complaining that she never spends time with her classmates because they are always partying.

A native speaker would answer:

If you party with them, you will be spending time with them.

It is describing an event which emphasizes duration (a period of time), so the continuous is used. (While the party is going on, you are spending time.)

This is a conditional sentence where the probability of future occurrence is 100%.

The simple present is in the if-clause, and the future in the main clause.

Anonymous · Answer

To comment further on this:

Your Friend: "I never get to spend time with my classmates because they're always partying."

You: "Well, if you go and party with them, you'll be 'spending time with them'." Note: in speech, the phrase in single quotes ' ', "spending time with them" is emphasized, because you're being a little sarcastic here. The other two alternatives, "you will be spending time with them" and "you will spend time with them" have essentially the same meaning and would be emphasized the same way in speech.

If you party with them, you will be spending them with them.

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