Going to
Going to is not a tense. It is a special expression to talk about the future.
Structure of Going to
The structure is:
subject + be + going + infinitive
The verb be is conjugated (past, present or future). subject be (not) going infinitive
+ I am going to buy a new car.
+ I'm going to go swimming.
- He is not going to take the exam.
- It isn't going to rain.
? Are you going to paint the house?
Use of Going to
Going to - 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:
Going to is not a tense. It is a special expression to talk about the future.
Structure of Going to
The structure is:
subject + be + going + infinitive
The verb be is conjugated (past, present or future). subject be (not) going infinitive
+ I am going to buy a new car.
+ I'm going to go swimming.
- He is not going to take the exam.
- It isn't going to rain.
? Are you going to paint the house?
Use of Going to
Going to - 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.
In these examples, we had an intention or plan before speaking. The decision was made before speaking.
Going to - 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 the 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.
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