From Ed Sheeran's song Thinking Out Loud:
And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 70
Why is it not
And, darling, I will love you 'til we're 70
?
Why is progressive used here?
Answer
From Ed Sheeran's song Thinking Out Loud:
And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 70
Why is it not
And, darling, I will love you 'til we're 70
Why is progressive used here?
I don't know why the author chose the progressive.
But the difference between the two is as follows:
I will love you until we're 70
Every reference to the future is somewhat of a prediction, because we are talking about things that haven't happened yet.
will + base infinitive is the most common way to refer to future time. The use of to will involves the speaker's volition.
The use of will here refers to the speaker's current resolve to carry through on a particular action. Here, the speaker is promising that he will love the person until they are 70.
I will be loving you until we are 70
Here, the reference is not to the speaker's volition. Rather, the subtle meaning is that the thing predicted will happen without the interference of anyone's volition. The predicted event will happen as a matter of course, not because someone is promising it will happen. There is a matter-of-fact attitude, as in 'Oh, by the way II'll be loving you until we're 70.'
There is a famous song called "She'll be coming 'round the mountain" which has the chorus
She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes
This is the same use of will be + present progressive. It refers to her coming around the mountain as something that will happen without the involvement or interference of anyone's will (volition). The predicted event will happen, and that is that. No reference to the subject's resolve or intention is made.
Another example:
I'll drive to New York Tuesday.
Here, this includes the speaker's will or volition. He's made a decision about the event and so his will is involved. Also the meaning expressed is that the speaker is referring to his current resolve to carry out the stated action.
By comparison,
I'll be driving to New York Tuesday.
does not really refer to the speaker's resolve, and it is not a promise; but merely a statement (prediction) of what will occur Tuesday.
So, if someone says
I'll be driving to New York Tuesday; why don't you ride with me?
The speaker is, again, mentioning the future as a matter of course. (No one has decided that I'm driving to New York Tuesday, it is just something that is going to happen.) Since the action of my driving to New York Tuesday is going to happen, my driving you to New York is no problem or trouble at all.
Note: this answer relies heaviliy on:
Leech, Geoffrey N. (2014-01-14). Meaning and the English Verb. Taylor and Francis.
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