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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4It is common to use the present tense instead of the future, though it can be ambiguous – Henry Oct 23 '11 at 21:45
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@Henry and Mahnax: "I am (not) going" is present tense, too. – RegDwigнt♦ Oct 23 '11 at 23:58
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1@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) – Tim Lymington Oct 25 '11 at 11:29
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.
answered Oct 23 '11 at 22:35
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Edited, better? – user11550 Oct 24 '11 at 1:12
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5Sometimes I wish people did use explanation marks. It would make life easier. =) – TLP Oct 24 '11 at 1:46
