Use of attending

Question

What does the word 'attending' convey in this sentence?Attending my friend's graduation party.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

AnonymousWhat does the word 'attending' convey in this sentence?

It is not a sentence. There is no subject, nor inflected verb.

It could be a caption of a photo of yourself at the party.

You can write:
He will be attending my friend's graduation party.

It means that he plans to go to the party.

Anonymous · Answer

AlpheccaStars AnonymousWhat does the word 'attending' convey in this sentence?It is not a sentence. There is no subject, nor inflected verb.It could be a caption of a photo of yourself at the party.You can write:He will be attending my friend's graduation party.It means that he plans to go to the party.

Thank you. Yes, my concern was that 'attending' means planning to go to. But could it be used just like you said when I am at the party already as in the picture you have shown? I thought attending means going to and not at the place presently, because I saw a friend write it under a similar picture.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Anonymous Yes, my concern was that 'attending' means planning to go to.

No. It means being present.

I attended every monthly progress meeting last year.
I attend every seminar that my boss tells me to.

Anonymous · Answer

AlpheccaStarsmy concern was that 'attending' means planning to go to.No. It means being present.

I see. So in the sentence I wrote or 'attending' alone means being present at the event and not going to, right?

AlpheccaStarsI attended every monthly progress meeting last year.I attend every seminar that my boss tells me to.

'Attend' in these example sound like 'go to'. Does that have the same meaning as 'being present at something'?

Also, does the meaning just depend on how 'attend' is used in a sentence, such as in the first sentence you wrote that showed a fried will go to a party?

Thanks again.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

AnonymousI see. So in the sentence I wrote or 'attending' alone means being present at the event and not going to, right?

Yes. It does not mean you are on your way, but present at the event.
It can mean plan to go in the present or future, but that is similar to meet, travel, and many other verbs:

I am meeting / will meet them next week.
I am attending / will attend that meeting next week.
I am travelling / will travel to New York next week.
I am going / will go to the meeting next week.

In the past, these all mean about the same:
I went to the seminar last week.
I was at the seminar last week.
I attended the seminar last week.

But, you do not go to a webinar, you attend a webinar (a virtual meeting).

The noun, attendance, comes from the verb attend.
I had a perfect attendance record at school.
The attendance at the conference was less this year compared to last year.

Anonymous · Answer

AlpheccaStarsYes. It does not mean you are on your way, but present at the event. It can mean plan to go in the present or future, but that is similar to meet, travel, and many other verbs:

Thank you very much. That was very helpful!

Use of attending

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