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'We have a meeting tomorrow' how is this sentence correct?

Blurry12Face
Earlier this sentence was normal for me but now that I've studied the structure of different tenses, I'm pretty sure simple future tenses use 'will' with it. This sentence is, surely, not in present tense as it is talking about tomorrow.

19 comments

possumprints•
You can typically use present simple for scheduled events. Other examples: “Our flight leaves **at 3:00 PM**.” “She has class **on Tuesdays**.” “The doctor’s office is closed **at 5:00 PM**.”
halfajack•
In a strict linguistic sense, English does not have a future tense. It has a past tense and a present tense, and a system of auxiliary verbs (will, to be going to, etc.) that can be used to indicate (relative) “futureness”. But the future “tense” (unlike the past and present) is not marked on the main verb itself and requires other verbs to be expressed. These auxiliary verbs can be used in the present tense (I will go to work) or in the past tense (I was going to go to work) to indicate events that will/might/were going to happen in the future relative to some other point in time relevant to the sentence. But they do not *have* to be used in every case. People use the normal present tense to discuss future events in English all the time. We have a meeting tomorrow. I’m going on holiday next week. He’s at work next Wednesday. The shop closes in three hours. And so on. It’s a feature of the English future “tense” not being as fully grammaticalised as the past tense and having a much looser construction. It’s almost exactly the same in German incidentally. There “werden” (to become) plays the role of English “will”, so you would say in the “future tense”: Ich werde morgen arbeiten (I will work tomorrow) But you can just as easily say (in the present tense): Ich arbeite morgen (I am working tomorrow).
el_ddddddd•
The present tense can be used for the future if it's given some context. In your sentence, the word "tomorrow" functions as this context. Here are some other examples: My daughter's exam is tomorrow (again, tomorrow makes it clear thats this is in the future, even through strictly speaking saying "will be" or "is going to be" would be more unambiguous). I'm going on holiday this year (the going will happen in the future, but because I am not going right now, it's obvious that this refers to the future.) Last round, we beat Inter Milan, so we're playing Barcelona in the final (the comparison with the past event (having beaten Inter) and the future (playing barca) and the fact that neither of these events is happening right now, would be sufficient to make it clear that the "playing" is happening in the future.)
AliciaWhimsicott•
Present tense is used here as we already have a date for the meeting, we're not talking about the future, but an established fact now. If I was talking to, say, a friend about scheduling something on that day, I would say "I have a meeting tomorrow" as a way to say "I'm busy", but "I'll have a meeting tomorrow, but I'll be free after [time]," to be an "I'm only available after a certain time," but this is probably a bit idiosyncratic for myself.
kw3lyk•
We have a meeting (scheduled for) tomorrow. We have a meeting tomorrow. It's perfectly acceptable and commonly understood to leave out the "scheduled for".
IrishFlukey•
The meeting is in the future, but we have already established the fact that we are having the meeting. The knowledge that the meeting is happening is in the present. The sentence is talking about the knowledge that the meeting will be happening rather than the meeting itself.
lukshenkup•
Permit me to add that there are philosophical/religious traditions that avoid "will" or use "will" with a qualifer, such as "God-willing," because the future is not completely within one's control. Next year, God-willing, I'll have my 100th birthday. I plan to have a large carrot cake with 100 candles.
SnooDonuts6494•
Think of it as a booking. In your diary, it says that you have a meeting tomorrow. That entry exists, *now.* It has already been scheduled to happen. "In my diary, it says that I have a meeting tomorrow." It's written there, now.
GiveMeTheCI•
If you look at your calendar, it's a literal current truth that you have a meeting (scheduled) tomorrow. Things on a schedule are often talked about in the simple present. "My place leaves at 6 tomorrow" is much more natural than "my plane is going to leave at 6 tomorrow"
Direct_Bad459•
We (currently) have a meeting (scheduled for) tomorrow
Real-Estate-Agentx44•
Ohhh I get why you're confused! 😅 Actually, "We have a meeting tomorrow" is totally correct even without "will." English uses the present simple for scheduled or fixed future events, especially things like timetables, meetings, or plans that are already set. For example: * The train leaves at 6 PM. (Not "The train will leave") * Our flight departs next Tuesday.
Vozmate_English•
I had the same question when I first started learning tenses. Actually, "We have a meeting tomorrow" is totally correct, it’s the **present simple** tense, but it’s used for **scheduled events in the future**, like timetables or fixed plans. For example: * *The train leaves at 6 PM.* (Even though it’s future, we use present simple because it’s a set schedule.) * *Our class starts next week.* You *could* say "We **will have** a meeting tomorrow," but it sounds more like a prediction or decision rather than a fixed plan. The first version sounds more natural for things already arranged.
TrittipoM1•
Use of a present tense form to refer to a future event (at least to one coming up relatively soon, a proximate future) is not uncommon. It happens in French and Czech as well as in English. "Tense" technically is different from "time referred to." In English, you can say "Sarah WILL retire in a couple of years," or "She IS GOING TO to retire next month" or "She IS FLYING out tonight" or "\[She|Her flight\] LEAVES in six hours."
CoreBrawlstars•
It’s taking about the present. Like “right now” we have a meeting arranged for tomorrow. “We WILL have a meeting tomorrow” is talking in future tense. Without the “will”, we’re talking about the present. Like we currently have a meeting planned for tomorrow. You get me?
hallerz87•
Present tense is fine as you are talking about the present state of having a meeting tomorrow. "We will have a meeting tomorrow" suggests the plan hadn't yet been made i.e. you have *now* decided that you will have a meeting tomorrow.
Decent_Cow•
We can and do talk about the future without using the future tense. The sentence you gave sounds perfectly correct. We also use the present progressive. "We are having a meeting tomorrow" is another way to say the same thing.
Cliffy73•
We currently have a meeting planned, which will,occur tomorrow.
TheCloudForest•
We have something in our calendar. It is a meeting set for tomorrow. You can also say "we'll have a meeting tomorrow", "we're going to have a meeting tomorrow", "we are having a meeting tomorrow", "we will be having a meeting tomorrow" and maybe even more formulations, with slight changes in tone but no fundamental changes in meaning.
mtchwin•
Here is how I understand it. Typically when something like this does not make sense at face value, you can think of an extra bit that is being omitted from the sentence that would help it to make sense. In this case “we have a meeting (scheduled for) tomorrow” is essentially the meaning of this sentence. It is “have” rather than “will have” because it is referring to the decision that was made to have it. “Will have” also makes sense but subtly changes the meaning to your initial understanding.