Look at these examples to see how will, going to and the present continuous are used.
Oh great! That meeting after work's been cancelled. I'll go to that yoga class instead.
I'm going to try to visit my relatives in Australia this year.
The restaurant is reserved for 8. We're having a drink at Beale's first.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Grammar explanation
We use different verb forms to talk about our plans for the future, depending on what kind of plan it is: a spontaneous plan, a pre-decided plan or an arrangement.
will
We use will to talk about spontaneous plans decided at the moment of speaking.
Oops, I forgot to phone Mum! I'll do it after dinner.
I can't decide what to wear tonight. I know! I'll wear my green shirt.
There's no milk. I'll buy some when I go to the shops.
going to
We use going to to talk about plans decided before the moment of speaking.
I'm going to phone Mum after dinner. I told her I'd call at 8 o'clock.
I'm going to wear my black dress tonight.
I'm going to go to the supermarket after work. What do we need?
Present continuous
We usually use the present continuous when the plan is an arrangement – already confirmed with at least one other person and we know the time and place.
I'm meeting Jane at 8 o'clock on Saturday.
We're having a party next Saturday. Would you like to come?
We often use the present continuous to ask about people's future plans.
Are you doing anything interesting this weekend?
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hello dear teachers 🙋♂️
I have read your reply("English has many ways to talk about the future but doesn't have a single future tense")in response to someone's question here.
I don't understand this🤔.We use future simple,continuous,perfect tenses in English.Please make this clear?
Thanks
Hello jassa,
The name 'future simple' describes 'will', which is not in fact a tense but rather a modal verb. You can see this if you consider a sentence using 'will':
You can use many different modal verbs instead of will and still refer to the future:
Some languages have a grammatical future tense but English does not. Instead we use a range of different grammatical and lexical constructions to talk about different meanings related to the future (hopes, beliefs, intentions, plans, arrangements etc).
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Peter,
Could you explain me please very easy about past continuous, simple past and past perfect ?
thank you
Please make this clear sir...
For making predictions about future, we can use both "will" And "be going to"? Or " Be going to " is used to talk about future predictions based on evidences only?
Thanks
Hello jassa,
Please post questions once only. Repeat questions are simply deleted and it is makes the process of replying slower. We answer as quickly as our small team is able.
Will expresses belief or hope whereas be going to is a prediction based on some kind of evidence, as you say.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Sorry for that dear sir.
And thanks for your answer 🙏
_____ a car! They've accepted my offer today.
-I'll get
-I'm getting
In this question, I chose the first option, and it was marked incorrect. Isn't it possible that the speaker, decided to buy a car at the moment of speaking? Can you give more similar examples? For example: I will adopt a kid! I have been promoted to "Director". OR I am going to adopt a kid! I just got a promotion. Tbh, both look the same. Thanks. I await your reply.
Hello Howard Manzi,
Although both items are structurally possible in the sentence, I think the second option is clearly better for the context. The second sentence tells us the speaker's offer (presumable for the car) has been accepted, and so there is an arrangement between two parties. Present continuous is better for this meaning.
Will suggests a decision, as you say, but logically the decision to buy a car comes first and the search for a suitable car and the negotiation over price follows, so will does not match this context.
Some similar examples:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Okay. I get you. I guess it depends on the perspective of the speaker. There might not be a relation between the two sentences. It is possible for a decision to be spontaneous. For example, the sentence I wrote earlier: I will travel to Africa! I have just gotten a pay rise. It is possible that the person just decided in that moment because of the extra money, so in that sense, wouldn't "will" be correct than using the present continuous? Thanks
Hello again Howard,
Sure it's possible to take a spontaneous decision in response to a particular event, as you say. In the original example, however, the sequence was clear: decide to make an offer > make an offer > have the offer accepted > get the car.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team