Thread: Tenses

Originally Posted by pushvv

I am a bit confused. What is the difference between

Server is going to provide something.

and

Server is going to be providing something.

To me it also indicates when the service will be provided.

"The server is going to provide something" sounds more like it will be immediate.

"The server will be providing something" sounds like it will just be sometime in the future.

That's what it seems like to me, along with what everyone else said

Originally Posted by coco

To me it also indicates when the service will be provided.

"The server is going to provide something" sounds more like it will be immediate.

"The server will be providing something" sounds like it will just be sometime in the future.

That's what it seems like to me, along with what everyone else said

The difference of "will" vs. "going to" wasn't part of the original question.

Let's forget the server bit for a while. Servers do not plan etc. so the distinction becomes a bit muddy.

I am going to provide food.
I am going to be providing food.

Here it is more clear: the first sentence means that on the one occasion we are talking about I will bring something to eat. The second means that beginning with the time we are talking about and for the time span we are talking about I will begin to bring something to eat and continue to do so. The first could be about one meeting, the meeting after that someone else is going to bring the food, whereas the second could be about several meetings, to each of which I am going to bring the food.