I'm waiting / I'll be waiting

Question

We can say 'I'll be playing golf tomorrow' or 'I'm playing golf tomorrow'.

But, how about 'I'll be waiting for you tomorrow' and 'I'm waiting for you tomorrow'?

'I'm waiting for you tomorrow' sounds completely wrong - but I can't explain why.

Can anyone help?

Thanks.

Fivejedjon · Accepted Answer

A very interesting question. Please bear in mind that my response is a personal opinion only.

I believe that the present progressive with reference to future situations is used when the speaker wishes to indicate that an arrangement for the future situation has duration, and that that duration is limited, i.e. it has a beginning and end. Precisely when the beginning is may not be important, but the end (of the arrangement) is the (beginning of) the (time-limited) situation arranged. Thus, if I say “I am playing golf tomorrow”, the arrangement has been made by the moment of speaking, and that arrangement ends when the situation (the playing) starts.

Note that the situation arranged is telic – it is bounded by limits. We don’t know how long the game of golf will last, but we do know that it will begin and end tomorrow. Thus, if we say “I am playing golf with George at ten tomorrow”, the implication is that the arrangement is for the beginning of the playing of golf at ten.

When we speak of ‘living’ somewhere, the situation of living is unbounded unless we specifically mention a start- or end-point. We are therefore extremely unlikely to say “I am living in Spainnext year”, though we could say “I am living in Spainfor the whole of next year”. The fact that we might choose another way to express this thought is not really relevant; the present progressive is possible for this telic situation.

Similarly, the situation of someone waiting is atelic, unless we explicitly supply limits, as in “I waited /will wait for John for ten minutes”. So, it’s possible to say, for example of someone who frequently arrives later than planned, “”I’ve arranged to meet Luke at ten tomorrow. He’d better be there on time! I’m waiting for him for just ten minutes, and then I’m going home if he hasn’t turned up. However, it is not normally natural to use this construction for an atelic situation – “I ~~am waiting for John tomorrow~~”.

WILL BE ….-ING can have two possible overtones, both stemming from the combination of the ideas of certainty (WILL) and limited duration (progressive form).

The first possibility is that the speaker is describing a situation already begun, having duration, and not completed by the time mentioned or implied. This would be explicit in: “Lindsay is leaving for London at four o’clock tomoroow. At five, she will be driving down the M1” or “John’s plane is die at seven tomorrow. That flight is never on time, so I’ll probably (still) be waiting in the arrivals lounge at eight.

The second possibility is that the speaker is more concerned with the pure certainty of the action happening than any volitional aspect that might be implied by the use of WILL by itself. This idea can be illustrated more clearly in the following example. If someone says “I’d like to know what Andrea thinks about this”, one of the responses might be: “I’ll be seeing her tomorrow. I’ll ask her”. The first half of the utterance indicates the speaker’s simple presentation of the fact of the future meeting. It is claimed by some writers, with some justification, that the use of WILL BE ….-ING implies, by its lack of reference to intention, volition or arrangement, a ‘casual’ future.

So, “I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow” is possible. It does not, of itself, indicate intention, volition, or arrangement.

Optilang · Answer

Thanks, 5jjd

Tkacka15 · Answer

Optilang'I'm waiting for you tomorrow' sounds completely wrong

I wonder whether the question made out of that affirmative sentence could be acceptable, namely "Are you waiting for me tomorrow?"
Does the asking person ask about the 'arranged' waiting?

CalifJim · Answer

tkacka15I wonder whether the question made out of that affirmative sentence could be acceptable, namely "Are you waiting for me tomorrow?"

I have to say that it sounds "off" to me.

tkacka15Does the asking person ask about the 'arranged' waiting?

My brain has to do a lot of gymnastics to perceive that meaning in it. It seems to be one of those interpretations that is much more theoretical than practical, though I suppose there may be some extraordinary scenario in which it works. Just my opinion.

CJ

Tkacka15 · Answer

CalifJimMy brain has to do a lot of gymnastics to perceive that meaning in it.

I see. Unfortunately, my brain lacks the native-speaker intuition hence that speculative question of mine.

CalifJim · Answer

Oddly enough, if it's not that simple yes-no question, it sounds all right to me. For example, if a work colleague of mine meets me for lunch every day, but he waits at one location some days and at another location on other days, depending where in the factory his duties are scheduled for that day, I might ask,

Where are you waiting for me tomorrow?

For some reason it was easier for me to think of a situation like that than like the original one you proposed.

CJ

Tkacka15 · Answer

CalifJimOddly enough, if it's not that simple yes-no question, it sounds all right to me.

Thank you for the reply.

Fivejedjon · Answer

CalifJim For example, if a work colleague of mine meets me for lunch every day, but he waits at one location some days and at another location on other days, depending where in the factory his duties are scheduled for that day, I might ask,Where are you waiting for me tomorrow?

I think this may be explained by the idea of telicity I suggested above.. If these people go into lunch together, then the waiting will be only for the short time between the arrivals of the two people, and can be considered a bounded time-period.

A more open question about whether waiting will occur does not seem to me to fit into the bounded-time idea.

Incidentally, I thought of this telicity idea only yesterday when I was trying to come up with an answer to Opti's question. I'd be interested to hear what others think about it. I have been unable to find any help in the standard grammars.

Optilang · Answer

CalifJimWhere are you waiting for me tomorrow?

However, I still hear myself answering: 'I'll be waiting on the corner' and not 'I'm waiting on the corner'.

CalifJim · Answer

fivejedjonI thought of this telicity idea only yesterday when I was trying to come up with an answer to Opti's question.

Whenever it's a matter of telicity, I run to Vendler for help, but I'm not so sure he can handle these cases.

CJ

I'm waiting / I'll be waiting

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