BE GOING TO FUTURE

BE GOING TO: USES

Be going to is commonly used in informal styles.

Intentions:We use be going to to talk about future plans and intentions.

Usually the decision about the future plans has already been made:

Ex:

She’s going to be a professional dancer when she grows up.

I’ m going to look for a new place to live next month.

Going to for intention
We use going to when we have the intention to do something before we speak. We have already
made a decision before speaking. Look at these examples:
•Jo has won the lottery. He says he's going to buy a Porsche.
•We're not going to paint our bedroom tomorrow.
•When are you going to go on holiday?

In these examples, we had an intention or plan before

speaking. The decision was made before speaking.
Going to for prediction

We often use going to to make a prediction about the future. Our prediction is based on present evidence. We are

saying what we think will happen.

Here are some examples:

•The sky is very black. It's going to snow.

•It's 8.30! You're going to miss your train!

•I crashed the company car. My boss isn't going to be very happy!

In these examples, the present situation (black sky, the time, damaged car) gives us a good idea of what is going

to happen.
BE GOING TO: FORM

We use be going to + the base form of the verb:

The structure of going to is:

subject + be + going + to-infinitive

I am going to take a few exams at the end of the year.

It is going to be difficult to get a job during the summer as the tourist industry is suffering from
the economic downturn.
 The verb be is conjugated. Look at these examples:

subject be going to-infinitive

I am (not) going to buy a new car.

you are going to go swimming.

He/ it /she is (not) going to take the exam.

We / you are going to travel.

/they

Are you going to paint the house?

Spoken English:

Gonna (informal contexts)

We use gonna /gənə/ instead of going to in informal contexts, especially in speaking and

in song lyrics.

We write gonna to show how to pronounce it:

Are you gonna try and get stuff sorted as soon as you can then?

(Are you going to try and get things organised as soon as you can?)

One day I’m

be a star.