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Often, someone will say:

I'm not living in a senior's home!

When the intended meaning is:

I will not be living in a senior's home!

Is this acceptable?

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It is common to use the present tense instead of the future, though it can be ambiguous – Henry Oct 23 '11 at 21:45
@Henry and Mahnax: "I am (not) going" is present tense, too. – RegDwighт♦ Oct 23 '11 at 23:58
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@RegDwightѬſ道: needs amplification. "I am going to the pub" is present tense. "I am going to be there all day" is future. (it's a cunning plan to confuse the foreigners) – TimLymington Oct 25 '11 at 11:29

1 Answer

up vote 5 down vote accepted

Your two quotes don't actually have the same meaning. "I'm not living there!" is close to "I refuse to live there", while "I'm not going to be living there" is a prediction. Technically, the first is "I will not live there", while the second is "I shall not live there", but I doubt whether many people these days appreciate the difference, particularly with exclamation marks and apostrophes involved.

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Edited, better? – Mahnax Oct 24 '11 at 1:12
5  
Sometimes I wish people did use explanation marks. It would make life easier. =) – TLP Oct 24 '11 at 1:46

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