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Futur/aide
Message de jihaire posté le 30-10-2020 à 08:41:57 (S | E | F)
Hello

I found this sentence.
Don’t phone them now. They will be having dinner.
( Lien internet

I don't understand the use of "will".I would have said:
Don’t phone them now. They are having dinner.
or
Don’t phone them now. They may be having dinner.
or
Don’t phone them after 7 pm. They will be having dinner.

Thank you for your help
have a nice (??) lockdown
J.R.

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Modifié par lucile83 le 30-10-2020 09:12
Mise en forme standard

Réponse : Futur/aide de teacher83, postée le 30-10-2020 à 08:45:30 (S | E)
Hello,
In this sentence ' Don’t phone them now. They will be having dinner', Will be can replaced by ' be about to' meaning that the action is not taking place yet ( at the moment) but will soon begin, in a few minutes.
It just means that the action is planned ( a habit) or the narrator knows it's happening.

I hope this helps!
Regards,
Teacher83

Réponse : Futur/aide de jihaire, postée le 30-10-2020 à 10:27:09 (S | E)
Thank you very much

Réponse : Futur/aide de gerondif, postée le 30-10-2020 à 11:02:35 (S | E)
Hello
My interpretation would rather be :
Ne leur téléphone pas maintenant car ils seront vraisemblablement en train de manger à l'heure où tu les appelleras.
I don't see it as a near-future but as a guess.
A bit like.
He's late!
Oh well! He will have forgotten our appointment.

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