Teaching the Present Progressive Futurate

Abstract

This paper discusses the usage and meaning of the present progressive futurate from the perspective of English grammar teaching and proposes an alternative method of teaching this grammatical concept, which involves the use of films. This paper first analyzes the data and observations presented in related previous studies and verifies the validity of the following three specific constraints on the usage of the present progressive futurate that they proposed: the constraint on action, constraint on verb types, and proximity of time reference. The analyses of each constraint with data-in the form of dialogues-from English films highlight the grammatical features and meaning of the present progressive futurate. Real-life problems that are associated with English grammar teaching and are caused by these constraints are discussed. Subsequently, this paper proposes a method for teaching this futurate. This method involves comparing the usage of two of the more familiar English future expressions-will + infinitive and be going to-in the dialogues of the films such as Ocean's Twelve (2004) and Catch Me If You Can (2002). This comparison enables EFL learners to grasp the pragmatic differences among future expressions and better understand the meaning of the present progressive futurate.