Let's suppose I'm gonna ask my collegue whether he or she is working this evening. Could you please explain what is the difference between the two phrases below?
Will you work this evening?
Will you be working this evening?
Which one should I use?
Learn English – “Will you work this evening?” vs “Will you be working this evening?”
future-constructionsfuture-continuousgrammar
Related Solutions
Where are you? is asking where one is right now. Generally, it implies that the querent and the respondent are in different locations, and the querent wishes to know the respondent's present location.
Where have you been? is asking where one was at a recent time in the past, over an undefined period. It implies nothing about the current location of either the querent or the respondent. It does imply that the querent expected the respondent to be somewhere at a specific time, but the respondent was not at the appointed place at the appointed time.
Example
(Q is Querent, R is Respondent.)
(Q is talking to R over the telephone. They have planned to meet at the train station at a specific time.)
Q: I'm at the ticket concourse, and I don't see you. Where are you?
R: Oh, I must have misunderstood you when we agreed to meet - I'm on the platform. Stay there, I'll come over to you.
(Q is Querent, R is Respondent.)
(Q is a parent, waiting at home for R, a minor, who has just returned from seeing friends - later than R had promised to be home.)
Q: I thought you were to be home by nine-o-clock! Where have you been?
R: I'm sorry; we went to the Burger Barn after getting out of the movie, and just lost track of the time talking about stuff.
What is the work you can't not do?
This might depend on context, but probably means "What is the work that you must do?" The sentence makes me think of a stressed student or employee who has too many tasks and a friend is trying to help them decide what has to be done and what can wait or be forgotten about. This is a grammatical sentence that would not be used in a formal sentence but would be said by a native speaker.
What is the work you can't not to do?
This sentence is not correct English. Root forms of verbs (to do, to be, to eat, to dance, etc.) cannot be used in this way. Since the sentence shows that the second person "you" is the one doing or not doing the work, the verb "to do" must be conjugated for the second person. This is not a grammatical sentence that would not be used by a native speaker.
What is the work you can not do? (or What is the work you cannot do?)
This is a fine English sentence, but it does not have the same meaning as the first one. Instead, this question asks "you" what tasks they are not able to do. Maybe a student cannot complete their homework because they don't understand the problem. Maybe an artist cannot continue painting because they do not have the correct paint. This is a grammatical sentence that could be used in a formal sentence and could be said by a native speaker. However, this sentence sounds awkward to me. I would likely say "What work are you not able to do?" instead.
What the work is you can not do?
What the work is you can't not do?
Both of these are not correct because they are missing a verb between the adjective "what" and the article "the." English does not always need articles. For example, in my previous sentence, the phrase "What work are you not able to do?" is okay and even sounds more natural than "What is the work..." However, if you have a question word + article + noun, then you also need a verb. Here are some more examples:
Correct
When is the concert?
Who is the singer?
How late does the concert last?
Why is there a dog on the stage?
Who is yelling "fire?"
Where is an emergency exit?
Also Correct
Who gave you that gift?
What color is it?
What gift did you get for your sister?
Incorrect
When the concert?
Where an emergency exit?
Who the singer?
I hope this helps you!
Best Answer
When asking about arrangements we usually use the present continuous:
When asking people to make a decision about something in the future we use will:
Example (2) makes it sound as if the listener has a choice over whether they will work. It might be understood as a request by the speaker asking them to work. It depends on the context.
When asking about how someone is going to be spending their time, or when asking what activity someone will be doing at a particular point, we use will be doing. i.e. the future continuous:
Example (3) is asking whether the OP is going to be spending their time working this evening.
Given the wording of the Original Poster's question, it seems that the most suitable form for their particular query would be (1). Notice that this is the form that the Original Poster actually used in their question: