Future Tense – Future Tense vs. Future Continuous Tense

Using the present tense for future events indicates certainty, consistency, and familiarity. In other words, use this to talk about events which will happen, which happen on a regular basis (or are predictable in some way), and about which you have some personal knowledge.

The holidays start next week.

I know this happens every year, last year I saw it happen in the same way, and I am sure it will happen the same way this year.

The train leaves in five minutes

I know the train leaves at a specific time, I know that trains usually leave on time, and I have seen the schedule to confirm when the train will leave.

The gala event starts tomorrow

I have personal knowledge that it is scheduled for tomorrow, I know that events like this usually start on schedule, and I feel comfortable asserting that it will definitely happen.

If any of these three does not exist, there is uncertainty, and the future tense will be more appropriate.

We get paid on Friday

I know this happens with some consistency and regularity, as I've already received at least one paycheck on Friday.

We will get paid on Friday

Oops, now there is some doubt. I hope this will happen, but I'm not sure it'll happen.

Here's another example: given no other context, consider these two sentences:

He will make the winning shot of the game in twenty seconds.

He makes the winning shot of the game in twenty seconds.

The first indicates a future condition, but the context is unclear. Do I really know this will happen? Probably not. More likely I'm expressing an opinion, or a personal hope.

But the second sentence, that expresses an odd certainty. The context is either that we are watching a recording of the game which I have seen before, or that I'm psychic, and I've already seen this happen with my mental powers.

You can use either of those sentences to say that you have arranged to visit your mother tomorrow. They both clearly express that meaning.

Saying

I'll be visiting my mother tomorrow

somewhat emphasises that tomorrow you will be busy (visiting your mother), so you won't be available to do other things. Doing this thing will be in progress, so other things can't be in progress.

So, you might slightly prefer to use this sentence when someone invites you to do something tomorrow, or requests that you do something tomorrow, and you want to politely explain that you have arranged to do something else (you will be doing something else).

It might be a bit clearer, because we tend to use future continuous forms when we want to specify the time when we expect to be doing something. Consider:

"Are you coming to the meetup tomorrow (at four o'clock)?"
"I can't, I'll be visiting my mother (at that time)."

But, especially if this is an informal spoken conversation, you could still politely refuse using the present continuous form; there won't be anything incorrect or rude or ambiguous about it.