Talking about the future

 

Present Progressive (plans)

Are you doing anything this evening? I'm working on Thursday.

We're leaving for Cardiff on Monday.

 

 

Be going + infinitive (plans and predictions)

 

Plans

 

What are you going to do next year? I'm going to learn Chinese.

We're going to take ten litres of water with us.

 

Predictions

 

We're going to crash! It's going to rain.

She's going to have a baby.

 

 

Will (predictions etc.)

 

Ilyoulheletc. will ('ll) go (I 'Nill to go he wills go)

will Iletc. go? (do I will go?)

Iletc. will not (won't) go

 

You will have a long and interesting life. I hope my children will be good-looking. They probably won't be tall.

 

For 'll u f r o. l94.

Tomorrow will be warm and sunny.

If you don't eat you'll die.

 

 

Present Progressive, going to and will: the differences

 

t.Rlw:..... '..

·. We use both the PrPtogrwe: md

goin,r.toto talk abou.t.J:?lans:.W:e the

P ept·P.rcigres ve eSJ'edaltywben we.talk

about tJ.mesandplaces. Compare;

I'm going to travel round the world. I'm travelling to France next week.

2. Predictions:

We use both going to and will to predict (to say

what we think or know will happeo io the future}.

We prefer going to wheo we can 'see things omiog - when it is vety clear what is going to happen. Compare:

Look! It's going to rain.

Perhaps it will snow tomorrow.

She's going to have a baby.

Do you think the baby will have blue eyes?