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How to express strong decision?

The following context is given:
Two friends are talking about by-time. One of them want to express very strong decision of to swim the next year. How it can be said?
My understanding: I think it is a fixed arrangement. This implies we can use Present Progressive to express that:
I'm swimming the next year.
But how to express very strong decision? Will this sentence express very strong decision, if we emphasize to be+ swimming
during the speaking?
grammar

future-tense

asked Jul 7 '14 at 6:30

D.B
2,194

"I'm swimming the next year." is weird! Also, what do you mean by swimming? Taking part in a
competition or learning swimming? Maulik V Jul 7 '14 at 6:40
@MaulikV learning swimming D.B Jul 7 '14 at 6:48
2

Present be-Ving is OK for a future action in the near future, with next year it really sounds weird, even if
decision is strong, as you say. I'd much rather say "I'll learn (be learning) to swim next year". Laure Jul 7
'14 at 8:52

@DmitryFucintv Yes, that's correct. For sure means the same here as definitely or certainly. Note also
that I'll is a contraction of I will , placing it in the future tense. Esoteric Screen Name Jul 7 '14 at 17:06

It's correct but not necessary if you use will, will here shows a strong decision has been made. Laure
Jul 7 '14 at 17:09

4 Answers

As Laure notes, next year can be considered a bit too far in the future for present
tenses. However, it would not be uncommon to hear something like this in colloquial
conversation:
Next year, I'm learning how to swim.
I prefer using will here, because the action is in the not-so-near future. Will also
conveys a powerful sense of certainty or determination when properly stressed:
I will be learning how to swim next year.
You can also add definitely or a similar emphasizer to highlight the strength of the
decision.
I've stuck with progressive tenses as that's what's mentioned explicitly in the question.
They suggest that the learning will be a somewhat involved or longer process, and also
leave open some possibility that it will not be completed by the end of the next year.
answered Jul 7 '14 at 16:29
Esoteric Screen Name
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"Will be learning" isn't a common construction in spoken English. Simple future tense "I will swim" is actually
quite emphatic to an English speaker. wordsmythe Jul 7 '14 at 18:02
What about "I'm going to take swim lessons next year"?. Is not "be+going+to" for plans? rewobs Jul 7
'14 at 20:43
@rewobs Yes, that indicates a plan. Esoteric Screen Name Jul 8 '14 at 0:42
@wordsmythe As I wrote, I left it in progressive tense because that was a distinct choice made by the OP
and carries different nuances than the simple. Will be gerund is a common construction where I'm from;
perhaps that's a regional difference. And "quite emphatic" is an overstatement. Naked, unemphasized will
does indicate a definite decision, but it does not suggest the sort of determination and resolve that were
requested. Esoteric Screen Name Jul 8 '14 at 0:46
@EsotericScreenName, I don't think the OP was making a choice so much as asking if their understanding
was correct. My interpretation (and I'll grant that this will differ depending on where one is in the Englishspeaking world) of "will be swimming" matches the idea of an appointment, but not the idea of "strong
decision." wordsmythe Jul 9 '14 at 15:28

Swimming is not synonymous with learning to swim : you would have to explicitly
state that.
Colloquially, I would say:
I'm definitely learning to swim next year.
You might also say:
I'm definitely going to learn to swim next year.
Definitely implies a firm decision.
answered Jul 7 '14 at 9:26
user8543
2,184

One could also say "by next year, I will have learned to swim."
answered Jul 7 '14 at 16:13
Obfuskater
1,940

17

This meaning is slightly different from the original: having finished learning how to swim by next year
(yours) versus being in the process of learning next year (question's). But I do agree that the use of will is
called for here. Esoteric Screen Name Jul 7 '14 at 16:19

If you say,
"I'm learning to swim next year."
It usually implies you have already enrolled in a course, paid your fee, unavailable.
Likewise if a woman declines a man's offer to go out on a date on Saturday night claiming the
old, put-down excuse, "I'm washing my hair on Saturday Night," she means that her
hair-washing plans are pretty much already a foregone conclusion.
answered Jul 8 '14 at 10:48