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Anglista2008 Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

I'm catching or I'm going to catch... ?

0 Hey there,02br
02br
00Let's say I meet a friend at the station. He's running to the platform and holding a ticket. He says:02br
02br
001. I'm going to catch the train to London.02br
02br
00OR02br
02br
002. I'm catching the train to London.02br
02br
00Which one is correct? Maybe both of them? I mean, technically speaking, the answer key says that the 2nd one is OK, but I can imagine that in the first one, when that guy is uncertain whether he'll catch the train or not, it'd be possible to say 01i00I'm going to catch...02i00, wouldn't it?02br
02br
00Thanks,02br
00Take care, 0-
  

Top answer

0In my opinion, #2 has nothing to do with confidence. 02br 02br 00#1 expresses what's going to happen. Let's say you're waiting for the bus to take you to the station and you'll have very little time to get to the platform when the bus arrives at the station.

— New2grammar

  • 0In my opinion, #2 has nothing to do with confidence.
  • 02br 02br 00#1 expresses what's going to happen.
  • Let's say you're waiting for the bus to take you to the station and you'll have very little time to get to the platform when the bus arrives at the station.
  • 02br 02br 00I could be wrong.
  • 0-
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7 Answers
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0In my opinion, #2 has nothing to do with confidence. It simply tells what the person is doing.02br
02br
00#1 expresses what's going to happen. Let's say you're waiting for the bus to take you to the station and you'll have very little time to get to the platform when the bus arrives at the station. In this case, if I feel confident, I would say I'm goign to catch the train.
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0 thanks,02br
02br
00hmm... the answer key says that 01i00I'm catching...02i00 is allright...02br
02br
00but I'm not sure if 01i00I'm going to catch..02i00. in this particular context is OK or not...0-
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01. I'm going01b00 to try02b00 to catch the train to London. 01b00Intention for the future. 02b02br
02br
00 2. I'm01b00 trying to catch02b00 the train to London. 01b00What I'm doing now. This applies here. 02b0-
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0 Far be it from me to disagree with your book but in everyday speech either one is fine. 0-
0
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0Hi,02br
02br
01font00Let's say I meet a friend at the station. He's running to the platform and holding a ticket. He says:02br
02br
001. I'm going to catch the train to London.02br
02br
00OR02br
02br
002. I'm catching the train to London.02font02br
02br
01font
0
0
1i00catch a train02i00 is an achievement predicate, like 01i00win the prize02i00.02br
02br
00You haven't caught the train until you've caught the train, and you haven't won the prize until you've won the prize.02br
00Contrast that with an activity predicate like 01i00walk in the park02i00. You've w
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0Hi,02br
02br
00Note that you can also say 'I'm visiting China next year' 01i00(I've bought the ticket, booked the hotels, arranged time-off from work, etc.)02i02br
02br
00Best wishes, Clive0-
0

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