Present Simple Tense. Use #3: Scheduled Events in the Near Future
Speakers occasionally use present simple to talk about scheduled events in the near future. This is most commonly done when talking about public transportation, but it can be used with other scheduled events as well. It can be a little confusing to grasp (суметь понять) that present tenses can be used to express the future.
Example: The plane leaves tonight at 8pm.- Самолет вылетает сегодня в 8 вечера.
Example: The train doesn’t arrive at 9pm., it arrives at 10pm.- Поезд не прибывает в 9 вечера., он прибывает в 10 вечера.
Here we talk of the transport schedules. The idea is that the times are certain, and it is the certainty of this that is expressed with present simple.
Example: The party starts at 7pm. – Вечеринка начинается в 7 вечера.
Here we talk of things that are not related to transport, but nonetheless have a scheduled time.
