Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
upcoming, incoming, oncoming (adjs.)
Functional shift has reversed the order of these verbs plus a preposition and turned the combinations into adjectives. Upcoming (from coming up) means “forthcoming, coming soon,” as in There is a carnival upcoming in July; The upcoming meetings will be important. Oncoming also means “approaching,” as in We watched the oncoming train, and incoming means “coming in, arriving,” as in Here is the incoming mail. All three are Standard, as are others of a similar pattern. See ONGOING; OUTGOING.
