By the end of this exercise, you can use the present simple and present progressive with future meaning — for timetables, time clauses and arrangements — to talk and write about future plans.
Free Year 9 English practice: use the present simple and present progressive with future meaning — timetables, time clauses and arrangements — then write about a future trip. B1/B2.
Read the blog post, then answer the comprehension questions.
Next month I am flying to California to spend the autumn term with a host family in San Diego, and the nearer the date gets, the more I realise how much I am looking forward to it — and how much I am dreading the goodbye at the airport. My host mother, Elena, is picking me up on Saturday evening, and on Sunday the whole family is taking me to the beach, which they say is the proper way to welcome a visitor from a cold country.
School starts on the first Monday in September, so I arrive just in time. My timetable came last week and looks punishing: lessons begin at eight thirty every morning and the last one ends at half past three, which leaves far less free time than I am used to. We are going to Los Angeles during the October break, and Elena has already booked the hotel. The flight home leaves on 23 December, two days before Christmas, so I will be home for the holidays — but part of me already wonders whether I will want to come back at all.
1 How long is Mia staying in California?
2 What does Mia think of her new timetable?
3 How does Mia feel about the goodbye at the airport?
4 What does the final sentence suggest about Mia?
5 In “which they say is the proper way to welcome a visitor”, what does “which” refer to?
6 Why does Mia write “School starts on the first Monday in September” in the present simple?
Choose the correct present form (simple or progressive) for each gap.
1 I’ll text you as soon as the plane ___ in San Diego.
2 We ___ a barbecue on Saturday — the whole street is invited.
3 The last bus back from the beach ___ at midnight, so we mustn’t miss it.
4 We won’t set off for the beach until the fog ___ a little.
5 Before you ___ for the airport, check that you’ve packed your passport.
6 Her flight ___ at 6.05 tomorrow morning — it’s always the first one out.
7 I ___ my grandparents on Sunday — we’ve already fixed the time.
8 (Review) If the weather ___ good at the weekend, we’ll go surfing.
Choose the most natural future form for each sentence.
1 I haven’t got my diary with me. Wait — I ___ check the date on my phone.
2 We’ve decided: next year we ___ a road trip down the coast.
3 Look at those dark clouds — it ___ rain.
4 The concert ___ at eight, but the doors open at seven.
5 I ___ San Francisco next month — the flights and hotel are booked.
6 Don’t worry about the bus — I ___ you a lift to school.
Your class is planning a week in California.
Two options are on the table: a city week in San Francisco or a nature week in Yosemite. Write a short text (80–120 words) for your class explaining which trip you would choose and why. Use at least three present simple or present progressive forms with future meaning (for example: The train leaves…, We are staying…).
Review your answers below, then send them to your teacher.
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