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 again dear teacher Peter🖐
Have 3 questions regarding those forms:
1.In forms('Be said to+verb' and 'Be to+verb'),do we use only the infinitive verb after 'be said' & 'be to'?
2.Can you please give some sentence examples of "Be said to+verb" about past, present and future and examples of "Be to+verb"?
3.Can we use the verb 'be' in sentences with those form? (Like-" Our team is said to be no.1.)
Thanks
Hello jassa,
1 - An infinitive form is used, but it could be various kinds of infinitive. For example:
The books is said to be kept in the Vatican. [passive infinitive]
She is said to be working there. [continuous infinitive]
She is said to have worked there. [perfect infinitive]
2 - To refer to opinions at different times you can change the form of the verb 'said':
She was said to be a genius.
She is said to be a genius.
She will be said to be a genius.
To refer to claims about different times you can change the form of the infinitive:
She is said to have been a wonderful child.
She is believed to be a genius.
You could use a going to form for future intentions (said to be going to be) but this is rather clumsy stylistically so we generally just use a continuous infinitive with future meaning:
She is said to be moving into politics in the future.
3 - Yes, you can.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you very much dear teacher🙏
A little clarification. In response to my second question, you wrote-
"2 - To refer to opinions at different times you can change the form of the verb 'said':"
I think you had to write 'be' in place of 'said', right? Maybe you typed that by mistake.
Because we change the form of 'be' to refer to different times...
And one more question:
Can you describe infinitive and different types of infinitive? Or any article about this on your website?
Thanks
Hello again jassa,
A little clarification. In response to my second question, you wrote-
"2 - To refer to opinions at different times you can change the form of the verb 'said':"
I think you had to write 'be' in place of 'said', right? Maybe you typed that by mistake.
'Said' here is part of a passive construction. Obviously, to change the tense you change 'be' but the main verb remains 'said'.
You can see various forms of the infinitive here:
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinitive
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you dear teacher 🙏
I will learn about that👍
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