Tenses: 'present' or 'future'

Question

Hello, - When I get home, my dog _____ at the gate waiting for me. (sits, is sitting, will be sitting)...The correct answer is 'will be sitting'. But could it make sense if I said, 'when I get home, my dog sits / is sitting at the gate waiting for me'? I'm having a little trouble understanding the present simple tense.  Here is another example:- The plane ____ at 3:30. (arrives, will arrive)...The correct answer, according to the book I've taken it from, is 'arrives', but I'd like to know why I can't say 'will arrive', please.

Fivejedjon · Accepted Answer

I dislike this type of exercise very much. The compiler has one 'correct' form in mind and does not see that several other forms are possible.

TomJ · Answer

Thanks to you, fivejedjon, for replying. Did you mean to say we could also say/use 'sits/is sitting' in my first sentence, and 'will arrive' in the second without sounding incorrect? The exercise I'm doing does contain the correct options (in the back of the book), but it doesn't explain why the other options - which it say 'incorrect' - are incorrect.

Anshh · Answer

Present simple tense is used when an event is a sure-shot. Consider the second example. It's an event of future, but its chances of happening are extremely high. In such cases simple present can be used in future tense.

The possibility of the plane's arriving at the time is high, so high, that it can be termed as a sure event. So we can say, without much hesitation, that the plane will be there, no matter what the condition.

Hope that helps,
Regards, -as

GPY · Answer

This is my take ...

1. The combination "when simple present, simple present" normally signals that the second action is routinely triggered by the first. For example, "When I walk up stairs, my leg hurts". This isn't appropriate in your example because the action of "sits waiting" is not triggered by the action of "get home".

"When I get home, my dog is sitting ..." would be correct in a present-tense narrative (relatively unusual). I suppose it might also be used loosely in the sense of "When I get home, my dog is always sitting ...", but this is not completely correct in standard English, in my opinion.

2. Both "arrives" and "will arrive" are possible. "will arrive" has more of an emphasis.

TomJ · Answer

Thanks to you too, anshh, for your help!
I've read that we can also use 'be going to' form and the 'present continuous' form for things that we're sure will happen in the future.
For eg: Look at those black clouds. It _____ (will rain, is going to rain, rains) in a few moments.
...The correct answer is 'is going to rain', but then

I wonder what's wrong with 'rains', because we also use 'present simple (in this case 'rains')' for things that are sure/certain to happen in the future.

GPY · Answer

TomJFor eg: Look at those black clouds. It ___ (will rain, is going to rain, rains) in a few moments....The correct answer is 'is going to rain', but then I wonder what's wrong with 'rains', because we also use 'present simple (in this case 'rains')' for things that are sure/certain to happen in the future.

In the absence of a time expression,* present tense is used in a future sense only for things that are scheduled or planned to happen. Weather is not scheduled or planned, so "It rains in a few moments" isn't possible, no matter how certain it appears.

*E.g. cases such as "Let's wait until the weather improves" or "I'll plant these when the weather gets a little warmer".

Fivejedjon · Answer

Many of the problems with the various ways of expressing the future are caused, in my opinion by some of the course books and student grammars that sometimes appear to suggest that in any given situation there is one, and only one appropriate form. In fact, there are often several possibilities. For example, in Luke (fly) to Istanbul next week, any of these are possible: flies, is flying, is going to fly, will fly, and will be flying. If we have much fuller context, one or two may become more likely than one or two of the others, but not necessarily.

AS GPY pointed out, there are situations in which one is simply not possible in normal life, such as It rains in a few moments, but such situations are less common than some writers suggest. (Incidentally, I disagree with GPY’s "When I get home, my dog is always sitting ...", but this is not completely correct in standard English, in my opinion. I think this is correct and natural.)

GPY · Answer

fivejedjonIncidentally, I disagree with GPY’s "When I get home, my dog is always sitting ...", but this is not completely correct in standard English, in my opinion.

Just to be clear, "When I get home, my dog is always sitting ..." sounds OK to me. It was "When I get home, my dog is sitting ..." that sounded a bit off to me. I thought the time reference felt unclear (other than in a present tense narrative).

Fivejedjon · Answer

OK, I accept that it's probably more common with an adverb of frequency, but I don't think it's particularly unnatural without; I certainly wouldn't call it  incorrect.

GPY · Answer

fivejedjonOK, I accept that it's probably more common with an adverb of frequency, but I don't think it's particularly unnatural without; I certainly wouldn't call it incorrect.

OK, you could be right.

Tenses: 'present' or 'future'

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