Be going to

English Grammar Notes

Positive & Negative Sentences
The positive and negative structures for Be Going To are as follows:

Positive Negative

I am going to I am not going to

You are going to You are not going to
He is going to He is not going to
She is going to She is not going to
It is going to It is not going to
We are going to We are not going to
You are going to You are not going to
They are not going
They are going to
to

The structure BE GOING TO is normally used to indicate the future in English. We use this
structure:
1. When we have already decided or we INTEND to do something in the future. (Prior
Plan)

The decision has been made before the moment of speaking.

● I'm going to India next year.

● We talked about it yesterday and I'm going to quit my job tomorrow.

2. When there are definite signs that something is going to happen. (Evidence)
Something is likely to happen based on the evidence or experience you have.
● It's so cold! I think it is going to snow
3. When something is about to happen:
● Get back! The bomb is going to explode.

Questions with BE GOING TO

Questions are formed by changing the order of the subject and the verb BE:

Affirmativ
e You are going to win the race.

  Subject BE GOING TO
 
 win the
Question Are you going to
race?
  BE Subject GOING TO
You are going to be sick if you eat that. (Positive sentence)
Are you going to be sick if you eat that? (Question)

We are going to take orange juice to the party. (Positive sentence)

Are we going to take orange juice to the party? (Question)

Gonna
Sometimes when we speak quickly, GOING TO sounds like GONNA. While it is
grammatically incorrect, it is used a lot in very informal English. You will also occasionally
see the word Gonna written in song titles or in song lyrics.

I'm gonna go to the beach tomorrow.

= I'm going to go to the beach tomorrow.

He's gonna bring his girlfriend to the party.

= He's going to bring his girlfriend to the party.

Future - Will
English Grammar Notes
We normally use WILL to speak about the future. It is always combined with another verb.

Since WILL is classified as a modal verb (like can, would, could, should) it has the same
characteristics:

1. It does not change in the third person (i.e. he, she, it)
2. It is always combined with another verb in the base form (i.e. without 'to')
3. We don't use it with 'Do' in questions or negatives.

Examples of Will:

● I will go to the cinema tonight.

● He will play tennis tomorrow.
● She will be happy with her exam results.
● They will take the bus to the South next week.

When to use WILL

We use WILL in the following circumstances:

1. For things that we decide to do now. (Rapid Decisions)

This is when you make a decision at that moment, in a spontaneous way.

● I'll call a taxi for you.

● I think we'll go right now. (I just decided this right now)
● Which one? Um, I will have the chicken sandwich please.

2. When we think or believe something about the future. (Prediction)

This can be based on personal judgement or opinion.

 ● The President will not be re-elected at the next election.
● I think it will rain later so take an umbrella with you.
● I think you will find the movie interesting.

Notice how you often use "I think..." before the subject + will.

3. To make an offer, a promise or a threat.

● You look tired. I'll finish the dishes for you.

● I will do my best to help you.
● If you say anything I will kill you!
● I will have it ready by tomorrow.
● I'll drive you to work if you want.
● Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. (won't = will not)

4. For a habit that is a predictable behaviour

● My daughter will fall asleep as soon as she is put into bed.

● He will give up if he starts losing. He always does that.

5. You use WON'T when someone refuses to do something.

● I told him to clean his room but he won't do it.

● She won't listen to anything I say.

Negative Sentences with WILL

In the negative, we add NOT to the end of WILL and not to the main verb. (= will not)

Examples:

● I will not be in the office tomorrow. (correct)

I will be not in the office tomorrow. (Incorrect)
● They will not stay here. (correct)
They will stay not here. (Incorrect)

Contractions
It is possible to use contractions in both positive and negative sentences.

With positive contractions WILL becomes 'LL and is joined to the subject:

Positive
Contraction

I will I'll
You will you'll
He will he'll
She will she'll
It will it'll
We will we'll
You will you'll
They
they'll
will

With negative contractions, will not becomes won't:

Negative
Contraction

I will not I won't

You will not you won't
He will not he won't
She will not she won't
It will not it won't
We will not we won't
You will not you won't
They will not they won't

Questions
To form a question using WILL, we reverse the order of the subject and WILL:

Affirmativ
e He will be here tomorrow.

  Subject WILL Verb

 
here
Question Will he be
tomorrow?
  WILL Subject Verb

Examples:

Will they win the cup?

- Yes, they will.
- No, they won't.

Will you tell him the truth?

- Yes, I will.
- No, I won't.

Will she get angry?

- Yes, she will.
- No, she won't.

Future - Will vs. Going to

English Grammar Rules
When to use GOING TO
The structure BE GOING TO is normally used to indicate the future but with some type of
connection to the present. We use it in the following situations:

1. When we have already decided or we INTEND to do something in the future. (Prior

Plan)

The decision has been made before the moment of speaking.

● They're going to retire to the beach - in fact they have already bought a little beach
house.
● I'm going to accept the job offer.

2. When there are definite signs that something is going to happen. (Evidence)

Something is likely to happen based on the evidence or experience you have.

● I think it is going to rain - I just felt a drop.

● I don't feel well. I think I'm going to throw up. (throw up = vomit)

3. When something is about to happen:

● Get back! The bomb is going to explode.

When to use WILL

In other cases, where there is no implicit or explicit connection to the present, use WILL:

1. For things that we decide to do now. (Rapid Decisions)

This is when you make a decision at that moment, in a spontaneous way.

● I'll buy one for you too.

● I think I'll try one of those. (I just decided this right now)

2. When we think or believe something about the future. (Prediction)

● My team will not win the league this season.

● I think it will rain later so take an umbrella with you.

Note: You can use both Will and Going to for making future predictions.

3. To make an offer, a promise or a threat.

● I'll give you a discount if you buy it right now.

● I promise I will behave next time.
● I'll take you to the movies if you'd like.

4. You use WON'T when someone refuses to do something.

● I told him to take out the trash but he won't do it.

● My kids won't listen to anything I say.
● My car won't start.

Future Predictions
As you can see, both Will and Going to can be used for making future predictions without
having a real difference in meaning.

● The weather report says it will rain tomorrow. (Correct)

● The weather report says it is going to rain tomorrow. (Correct)

Compare Will vs. Going To

If someone asks: "Are you busy this evening?"

If I respond: "Yes, I'm going to the movies." I use going to because it is a plan I made
earlier (before I was asked the question). - In this case we cannot use Will.

If I haven't made plans, then you can say either: "I will probably watch TV." OR
"I'm probably going to watch TV."

Both will and going to are possible in this situation because we are predicting what will
happen (since we haven't made any plans).

Quick Summary Chart

A very confusing concept is when to use WILL and when to use BE GOING TO when we
refer the future.

Both refer to the future and there is a slight difference between the two though in most
cases they can be used interchangeably with no difference in meaning. Even if you misuse
them, a native speaker is going to understand you without any problems.

Talking about the future

When we know about the future, we normally use the present tense.
1. We use the present simple for something scheduled:
We have a lesson next Monday.
The train arrives at 6.30 in the morning.
The holidays start next week.
It's my birthday tomorrow.
2. We can use the present continuous for plans or arrangements:
I'm playing football tomorrow.
They are coming to see us tomorrow.
We're having a party at Christmas.
3. We use will:

● when we express beliefs about the future:

It will be a nice day tomorrow.
I think Brazil will win the World Cup.
I'm sure you will enjoy the film.

● to mean want to or be willing to:

I hope you will come to my party.
George says he will help us.

● to make offers and promises:

I'll see you tomorrow.
We'll send you an email.

● to talk about offers and promises:

Tim will be at the meeting.
Mary will help with the cooking.
4. We use be going to:

● to talk about plans or intentions:

I'm going to drive to work today.
They are going to move to Manchester.

● to make predictions based on evidence we can see:

Be careful! You are going to fall. (= I can see that you might fall.)
Look at those black clouds. I think it's going to rain. (= I can see that it will
rain.)
5. We use will be with an -ing form for something happening before and
after a specific time in the future:
I'll be working at eight o'clock. Can you come later?
They'll be waiting for you when you arrive.
6. We can use will be with an -ing form instead of the present continuous
or be going to when we are talking about plans, arrangements and
intentions:
They'll be coming to see us next week.
I'll be driving to work tomorrow.
7. We often use verbs like would like, plan, want, mean, hope, expect to
talk about the future:
What are you going to do next year? I'd like to go to university.
We plan to go to France for our holidays.
George wants to buy a new car.
8. We use modals may, might and could when we are not sure about the
future:
I might stay at home tonight or I might go to the cinema.
We could see Mary at the meeting. She sometimes goes.
9. We can use should if we think there's a good chance of something
happening:
We should be home in time for tea.
The game should be over by eight o'clock.