Learn how to use the simple present tense to talk about scheduling an appointment in the future
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Daniel: Hey everybody, Daniel here. |
| Chinhiro: Chihiro here. Making an Appointment 3. |
| Daniel: So, what are we clearing up for everybody today? |
| Chihiro: In this lesson, you will learn how to set up a meeting. |
| Daniel: This conversation takes place on the telephone. |
| Chihiro: The conversation takes place between Paul and Mike, two business partners. |
| Daniel: The speakers will be speaking casually. |
| Chihiro: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Paul: Hello. |
| Mike: Hi, Mr. Smith. This is Mike Johnson from Snoozy Graphics. |
| Paul: Hi, Mike. How are you? |
| Mike: Busy as always but fine, thank you. I was wondering if we could discuss the new marketing campaign over lunch sometime this week. |
| Paul: Sure. I'm available Thursday or Friday. |
| Mike: How’s Friday? |
| Paul: Friday works for me. |
| Mike: How about we meet at the Rockland Café at noon? |
| Paul: Well, I have a meeting that morning, so can we make it twelve-thirty just in case? |
| Mike: Sure, no problem. I'll have a proposal ready for you by then. |
| Paul: Great. I look forward to it. I'll see you then. |
| Mike: See you then. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Daniel: Sounds like another typical lunch at the office. |
| Chihiro: Yeah, you know what? I personally don't like lunch meetings myself, I like to enjoy my lunch without having to think about work. |
| Daniel: Right, but you know lunch meetings are very popular for busy business people. They see it as an opportunity to have lunch while they discuss some business matters. |
| Chihiro: And some people also prefer restaurants or cafes like the one in the dialogue to have these meetings because it's more casual than the office. Oh well, better business lunch than no lunch at all I guess. |
| Daniel: You got that right. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Chihiro: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first word is: |
| Daniel: busy [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: full of activity, engaged in activity, occupied |
| Daniel: busy [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Daniel: busy [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: Next. |
| campaign [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: activities done in order to achieve a particular result |
| campaign [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| campaign [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: Next. |
| Daniel: available [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: not busy, easy to get or use |
| Daniel: available [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Daniel: available [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: Next. |
| to meet [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: to come together |
| to meet [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| to meet [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: Next. |
| Daniel: noon [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: midday, twelve o'clock p.m. |
| Daniel: noon [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Daniel: noon [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: Next. |
| meeting [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: a gathering of people |
| meeting [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| meeting [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: Next. |
| Daniel: graphic [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: pictures or images on a screen of some sort such as a |
| television or a computer |
| Daniel: graphic [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Daniel: graphic [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: Next. |
| to discuss [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: to talk about with another person or other people |
| to discuss [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| to discuss [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: Next. |
| Daniel: just in case [natural native speed] |
| Chihiro: as a precaution, if there should happen to be |
| Daniel: just in case [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Daniel: just in case [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Chihiro: Let’s take a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Daniel: The first phrase we’ll look at is, |
| Chihiro: “I was wondering.” |
| Daniel: Mike says this when he makes a proposal of discussing the campaign over lunch. It's an indirect |
| way of asking a question, therefore, it sounds polite. Another example is, |
| Chihiro: “Connie was wondering whether she could use your laptop.” |
| Daniel: Here, the person is asking whether Connie could use the laptop or not by using this phrase as oppose to, |
| Chihiro: “Can Connie use your laptop?” Okay, onto the second phrase. Let's look at, |
| Daniel: “Over lunch.” |
| Chihiro: The preposition “over” doesn't literally mean, “above,” but it means “while having.” In this case, Mike wants to |
| know if they could discuss the marketing campaign while having lunch. This preposition can be used for other things such as, |
| Daniel: Over dinner, over a drink, over coffee. |
| Chihiro: Okay, let's carry on to our grammar point for this lesson. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Daniel: When talking about schedules, timetables, programs, and dates, the simple present form can be used to talk |
| about future events. Let's take a look at some examples from the dialogue. |
| Chihiro: “I'm available Thursday and Friday.” |
| Daniel: And... |
| Chihiro: “Friday works for me.” |
| Daniel: Here, Paul is stating his availability in the future, but he uses the simple present. |
| Chihiro: Daniel, is there another example? |
| Daniel: Yes. “I have a meeting that morning.” |
| Chihiro: Similarly, Paul is talking about a scheduled plan, therefore he can use the simple present. |
| Daniel: Here are some other general examples, |
| Chihiro: “I start my Chinese course next week.” |
| Daniel: “The plane doesn't arrive at 9, it arrives at 10.” |
| Chihiro: “The train leaves in the afternoon.” |
Outro |
| Chihiro: That just about does it for today. |
| Daniel: Okay, bye for now! |
| Chihiro: See you soon! |
| REPETITION OF DIALOGUE |
| Paul: Hello. |
| Mike: Hi, Mr. Smith. This is Mike Johnson from Snoozy Graphics. |
| Paul: Hi, Mike. How are you? |
| Mike: Busy as always but fine, thank you. I was wondering if we could discuss the new marketing campaign |
| over lunch sometime this week. |
| Paul: Sure. I'm available Thursday or Friday. |
| Mike: How’s Friday? |
| Paul: Friday works for me. |
| Mike: How about we meet at the Rockland Café at noon? |
| Paul: Well, I have a meeting that morning, so can we make it twelve-thirty just in case? |
| Mike: Sure, no problem. I'll have a proposal ready for you by then. |
| Paul: Great. I look forward to it. I'll see you then. |
| Mike: See you then. |
97 Comments
HideHello Mina,
Thanks for taking the time to ask us your question! It's a pleasure to have you studying with us and I hope we can help you to achieve your goals.
Present simple and present progressive tense can be used to talk about scheduled future events/ planned events. Present continuous can also be used to talk about future arrangements.
If you would like further assistance, I suggest upgrading to our ‘Premium Plus’ membership to get personal instructions from one of our English teachers through our ‘MyTeacher’ feature! www.englishclass101.com/myteacher
Kindly,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
I was wondering if you can to answer me if we should always use simple present in future event or we can use future ?😎
Hello EMZ,
Thank you for getting in touch to ask us your question.😄
You can use either one of those statements and they would be correct.
If you would like further assistance or if you're still having problems understanding this I suggest contacting your teacher through the 'MyTeacher' feature on our site. Your personal teacher will be more than happy to assist you!👍
Most kindly,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
In the example of meeting, a sentence, "There will be a company meeting on Monday." is written. But the lesson said if we talk about schedules, timetables and date, we can use simple present tense. If so why that sentence is not like, "There is a company meeting on Monday" or we can use both?
Hello Weiyusheng,
Thanks for taking the time to post and share. 👍
Please feel free to ask us any questions you have throughout your studies.
Sincerely,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
I think it'll rain in the 2 hours so I bring an umbrella with me just in case.
He studys math in the next weekend.
I was/am wondering if I can go out the school to buy some fruit?
These crazy men study over dinner.
Hello Teresa,
You’re very welcome!
We wish you the best throughout your studies.
Please feel free to ask us any questions you have here or direct to your teacher in the ‘MyTeacher’ feature.
Kindly,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
Thank you so much for this lesson, it helps me a lot to improve my speech and grammar ❤️️
Hello James,
Thanks for taking the time to write to us.
You're right, both are correct but I would say the latter is 'more' correct - simply because it sounds a little 'tidier.'
We wish you all the success in your studies and thank you again.
Regards,
Éva
Team EnglishClass101.com
"I was wondering if we could discuss the new marketing campaign over lunch sometime this week."
Isn't it more correct to use the present tense?
"I'm wondering if we can discuss the new marketing campaign over lunch sometime this week."