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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

Will be stopping Vs Will stop

Dear EnglishForward.com Readers,

I was hoping someone would be able to clearly give me an explination as to why train annoucements say:

"This train will be stopping at X station, Y station and Z station."

as opposed to...

"This train will stop at X station, Y station and Z station."

There are many other examples of this style of usage in English. I would be very grateful if anyone could shed light on this question.

Kindest Regards,

Paul Ashton
Osaka, Japan.
  

Top answer

All such announcements use the progressive future tense? I never noticed that. And it's surprising since the two are so similar.

— CalifJim

  • All such announcements use the progressive future tense?
  • I never noticed that.
  • And it's surprising since the two are so similar.
  • In fact the difference so subtle that it eludes analysis.
  • The progressive form seems more like a gentle reminder, a friendly bit of advice.
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2 Answers
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All such announcements use the progressive future tense? I never noticed that. And it's surprising since the two are so similar. In fact the difference so subtle that it eludes analysis.

The progressive form seems more like a gentle reminder, a friendly bit of advice. It is sometimes called a descriptive tense. It merely describes to the patron what he can expect.
The si
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AnonymousDear EnglishForward.com Readers,

I was hoping someone would be able to clearly give me an explination as to why train annoucements say:

"This train will be stopping at X station, Y station and Z station."

as opposed to...

"This train will stop at X station, Y station and Z station."
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