The Difference Between Shall, Will and be going to in the Future Tense

1) Will and shall

• Form

Will and shall are modal verbs. They are used with the base form of the main verb (They
will go; I shall ask her).
Shall is only used for future time reference with I and we, and is more formal than will.

singular and plural

(full form)
I, we
will or shall
she, he, it, you, they
will
+ work
’ll
I, she, he, it, you, we, they Short forms
of shall and will

(full form)
I, we
will not or shall not
she, he, it, you, they
will not
− work
(short form)
I, we
won’t or shan’t
she, he, it, you, they
won’t

?+
I, we
Will or Shall
she, he, it, you, they
Will
work?
?−
I, we
Won’t or Shan’t
she, he, it, you, they
Won’t

Spoken English:
In speaking, shall and will are usually contracted to ’ll, especially after subject pronouns
(I, we, you, they, she, he, it):
We’ll meet you outside the coffee shop. (more common in speaking than We will meet you
outside the coffee shop)
 • Uses

- Predictions
We use will and shall to make predictions and to state facts about the future:
There will be strong winds tomorrow in the south of the country.
The year 2025 will be the four-hundredth anniversary of the founding of the
university.
We shall need an extra bedroom when the new baby arrives.

- Future facts
We use the future simple with 'will' to predict the future. It is the basic way we talk about
the future in English, and we often use it if there is no reason to use another future tense.
We can use it for future facts and for things that are less certain.
The sun will rise at 7am.
I think the Conservatives will win the next election.

- Decisions and offers

Will and shall (usually in the short form ’ll) are used to announce decisions and to make
offers:
A: Which size do you want? Medium or large? B: I’ll have large. (decision)
Wait. I’ll open the door for you. (offer)
I shall contact you again when I have further information. FORMAL

- Promises / requests / refusals / offers.

It's about wanting to do something or not wanting to do something in the future.
• I'll help you with your homework.
• Will you give me a hand?
• I won't go!

In a similar way, we often use 'will' when we're talking about a decision at the moment of
speaking. We are usually making an offer or promise or talking about something that we
want to do.
• A: I'm cold. B: I'll close the window.

Shall with I and we

We can use shall instead of will with I and we in statements. Its use is more formal:
We shall never forget the holiday we had in Vietnam.

When we use shall I and shall we in questions it is usually to make suggestions rather
than to refer to future time:
It’s getting late. Shall we go home?
Shall I invite Louisa and Jill to the party?
Be going to

Sujeto + to be (conjugado) + going + infinitivo

We often use 'be going to' to talk about our future intentions and plans.
We have usually made our plans before the moment of speaking.

• A: We've run out of milk. B: I know, I'm going to buy some.

We can also use 'be going to' to make a prediction about the future.
Often it's possible to use both 'be going to' and 'will' but it's more common to use 'be
going to' if we can see evidence in the present. cuando estás segura de que algo pasará

• Look at those boys playing football! They're going to break the window.
• The sky is getting darker and darker. It's going to rain.

Future in the past

When BE GOING TO is used in the past tense, it refers to something that was going to
happen but in the end it did not happen.

• I was going to call you but I lost your phone number.

• It was going to rain but suddenly the sun appeared.
• We were going to buy a new TV but then we changed our minds.
• You were going to be my bridesmaid but then you slept with my fiancée.