The Future Tense with "GOING TO"
In the English language, the future tense can be formed with am/is/are (not) + base form:
| to be | + going to | + base form | ||
| I | am (not) | going to | train | for tomorrow. |
| You | are (not) | going to | see | a great movie. |
| He/She/It | is (not) | going to | be | very surprised. |
| We | are (not) | going to | buy | a new house soon. |
| They | are (not) | going to | repair | my car today. |
When to use “going to” in the English grammar:
Fixed intentions and Propositions
These are events which can, to some extent, be controlled by the speaker.
- I'm going to show you a film about monkeys today.
- My parents are going to sell the house.
Planned actions in the future
Notice in the examples below that also “Present Progressive” can be used in such situations. This often happens in modern spoken English.
- Ann is going to have a party on Friday. - Ann is having a party on Friday.
- When are you going to fly to Boston? - When are you flying to Boston?
Near future
The “going to” structure is also used when making predictions about the future due to indications or even evidence.
- Take an umbrella with you. It's going to rain today. (Black clouds can be seen; maybe it’s already starting to rain...)
- Look at James! He is going to repair the roof of his garden shed. (He has his tool box with him and a ladder under the arm.)
Actions in the past which had been planned but were never done - was/were + going to
- I was going to phone you last night, but then I forgot.
- Tom was going to come today, but he remembered hockey practice.
Do you like wijng? Share it with your friends, add it to you prefered social network:
