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I am confused about the usage of the present simple in the future tense. Doesn't it refer only to schedules? The following example deviates from this rule.

We’re on holiday in Paris next week. (Taken from English File Pre-Intermediate SB)

Shouldn't it be: We will be/are going to be in Paris next week?

Thanks in advance for your contribution :)

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  • When you say it 'refers only to schedules', doesn't this describe your example? "We're in Paris next week" is seems to me a similar usage to "I'm on duty next Saturday". – Kate Bunting Dec 2 '19 at 9:29
  • English does not have a future tense, so the only way to refer to future actions is by using the present tense. "We are going to be in Paris next week" and "we are in Paris next week" both use the exact same verb in the exact same tense. "We are". Likewise for "we will". That's the present tense of the verb. – RegDwigнt♦ Dec 2 '19 at 9:44
  • Futurity in tenses other than future tense is reflected by reference to time. For a scheduled future activity, we can use present tense. – Ram Pillai Dec 2 '19 at 11:50

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