Future
In English we use various tenses and constructions to reference the future.
The main future tenses are:
The future tense marks the event or action described by the verb as not having happened yet, but expected to happen in the future.
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Be Going To
Form
Usage
We use be going to to talk about planned events in the future
We also use it to talk about intentions or predictions based on what we can see or feel now:
going to go
If we use be going to with go, we get this:
This is often abbreviated to:
Will
Form
Note that will is sometimes abbreviated to 'll in informal speech and writing.
Usage
We use will to make predictions and promises:
We can also use will when we just decide to do something (i.e. a spontaneous action):
Formally, it's used to talk about planned events:
Will vs Be Going To
Sometimes it is difficult to choose between be going to and will:
Practically speaking there's little choose between using be going to and will in certain circumstances. Using will implies that we are speaking about a fact rather than an opinion but even then there are occasions when either is appropriate.
See Also
Fortune Telling - an activity to practice future tenses
