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 the team!
I would really appreciate if you could help me understand the use of modal "will" in the sentences below:
A daughter: Mum, my flat is being decorated. Can i come and stay with you?
A mother: Of course, dear. How long will you stay?
Here, why is "will" used? I think, we can assume her staying as a plan or an intention because she could have diceded to stay with her parents before the time of the conversation with her mum so using "be going to+ verb or future/present continuous will be the best choice... and second, is it ok if we use "will" for arrangements wen we wish to express our determination about an what we have already arranged? For example,
I am helping my friend with cleaning the room. ( my arrangement with the friend)
I will help my friend with cleaning the room ( my determination, whatever happens, i am still going to help my friend
Hi Bob.Mux,
In the first example, there are several possibilities. "Will" could indicate an intention or willingness (similar in meaning to "How long do you want to stay?"), or it could indicate certainty (i.e., asking about the daughter's particular needs or requirements). You may find this Cambridge Dictionary page useful: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/will?q=Will
Yes, it is possible to say "How long are you going to stay?" or "How long are you staying?", as you mention. But in these cases, the mother assumes that the daughter has already made the decision to stay with her parents - even before asking whether it is OK to do so. In other words, the question "Can I come and stay with you?" is not genuinely asking for permission (because the answer is understood by mother and daughter to be an obvious 'yes' since the daughter has already made her plan to stay) but instead just informing the mother of the daughter's intention.
On the other hand, if we understand "Can I come and stay with you?" as a genuine request for permission, then the mother would be less likely to use going to and present continuous in her reply, because the daughter's intention depends on whether the mother gives permission or not (i.e., it's not a confirmed plan).
Interesting example and I hope that helps :)
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Maahir,
We use 'will' to speak about decisions that we make in the moment. In most contexts, we'd assume that this question is about plans that someone already has, so the present continuous form is better here.
Hope that helps.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Andi,
For 1, I'd recommend just 'to start' over any of those options; but if I had to choose one, I suppose I'd choose the first one. For 2, the 'going to' form. For 3, I'd just say 'to achieve', but if I had to choose one, I'd choose the 'going to' form again.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Andi,
The beginning of the sentences you asked about establishes a different context. 'Tomorrow is the day I've decided' makes it sound as if you're making a plan now for a future time. 'going to' is the most typical form we use to speak about plans.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Andi,
In all three cases, the speaker seems to be speaking about a decision they've made just now. We use the present continuous to speak about plans that have already been arranged, which is incompatible with plans that we've decided just now.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Andi,
I'm afraid it's difficult to say for sure without knowing the context for this sentence. I don't understand what 'that' refers to here.
By the way, the best page for this question is our '-ing' forms page. If you want to ask us about it again, could you please repost it there with more context?
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi FirasAkkad,
Using the present continuous is possible too: What are you doing when you finish university? This means that the plans are more arranged and confirmed.
But often, we can't assume that a person's plans are arranged and confirmed, so it might be better to ask a more general question using going to. Going to asks about what the person intends to do or has decided to do (not only about arranged and confirmed plans).
Does that make sense?
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Zuzanna,
I imagine that the person who wrote that sentence is using 'will' to express certainty about the result of making noise. You could also think of the situation as an implied first conditional ('If you make noise, you will wake them up'), which would also help explain the use of 'will' here.
I would probably say 'will' here too (for the reasons I explained above), but I don't think it would be wrong to use 'be going to'.
As you can see, the speaker's perspective on the situation is really important!
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Htoo Sandi Soe Moe,
First of all, we would say 'this weekend' (without the 's').
As far as the verb form goes, both are possible. Going to describes an intention (in your head) while the present continuous (are doing) suggests an arrangement which is more fixed.
I think if you are only talking about your plan then going to is the best choice. If you have already taken steps arranging somethign then the present continuous is more likely:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Htoo Sandi Soe Moe,
Both sentences are grammatically correct.
We use will usually when we think the person does not have any idea and we are asking them to decide or guess right now, rather than about what plans they have.
You might say this if, for example, something has happened and you need to make a decision:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Anisha00329,
Yes, there are a lot of ways to refer to the future :) Let me try to explain.
As you can see, some meanings are similar. In real language use, there are usually several possible ways to say something, and not just a single correct answer. The option we choose depends on how we want to represent the action (e.g. as a fact, a scheduled event, an organised event that people know about, etc.). So, it usually depends a lot on the context in which we are speaking or writing.
For more about the meanings in 1 and 5, have a look at the examples above on this page. For more about sentence 2, see the section titled Present simple and future time here. For more about the future continuous (sentence 6), see this page.
I hope that helps to make sense of the second set of examples too.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Claudia,
You're right that What are you doing after you finish university? is about future plans. But the present continuous is for plans that are already arranged and confirmed (see the Present continuous section above for some examples). So, What are you doing ...? is fine, if you want to ask someone specifically about their confirmed future plans.
But often, we want to ask someone more generally about their ideas or intentions for the future (i.e. not necessarily confirmed arrangements). What are you going to do? is the best question in this case.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Saamongo,
Yes, the materials on LearnEnglish are available for use to all, even if someone is not a British Council student.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Saamongo,
It's perfectly fine to use going to in the result clause like this. It expresses an intention rather than a prediction.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Saamongo,
We use will to express a decision made at the time of speaking, so as a response to this question it is perfectly fine.
We use going to to express an intention or a plan we have in mind. You might say this if you are discussing your drinks before you enter the cafe, for example.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Nebaneche,
I wanted to point out that we have another page called Talking about the future that explains this same grammar in a little more detail. Perhaps that could help you understand this a little better.
Please let us know if you have any specific questions.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Hamdy Ali,
If person A is asking about the possibility of meeting then it is clear that there were no plans before. Thus the answer represents a decision taken at the time of speaking. So now that we have explained that, can you can tell us which form is appropriate?
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team