Future Tense with “Going to”
To express future actions, future ideas, or future activities we use “going to” as the most
common structure to describe the future.
- I am going to write a letter to my girlfriend.
- You are going to do the dishes tonight.
- She is going to visit her mother next week.
- He is going to travel all over the world.
- It is going to rain tonight.
- We are going to go to the soccer game next Friday.
- You are going to study for the next test.
- They are going to work on the project all day.
The structure is as follows:
|
Subject + To Be Forms |
+ Going to
|
+ Verb in Infinitive Form
|
+ Complementizer
|
+ Expression of Future Time |
I am |
going to |
read
|
the newspaper
|
tonight.
|
You are |
going to |
study
|
for
|
tomorrow’s exam.
|
She is |
going to |
call
|
me
|
tonight.
|
He is |
going to |
play
|
soccer
|
next week.
|
It is |
going to |
rain
|
hard
|
tonight.
|
We are |
going to |
travel
|
to Europe
|
next year.
|
You are |
going to |
learn
|
English
|
very soon.
|
They are |
going to |
travel
|
to the beach
|
next Saturday.
|
It is not always necessary to use an expression of future time because:
- The listener knows that by using “going to” the speaker is referring to time in the future that may already be known to the listener.
The exact future time is not necessary to be known by the listener.
- She is going to go to the dance.
(The time of the dance is already known by the listener.) - We are going to learn English.
(The exact time doesn’t matter, the listener knows the action will take places sometime in the future.) - They are going to paint their house.
(When? It doesn’t matter because the action will take place some time in the future.) - He is going to watch the movie.
(The time of the movie is already known by the listener because of the word “the”.)
All of the forms “to be” are usually contracted:
| I am | I’m | I’m going to eat. |
| You are | You’re | You’re going to eat. |
| She is | She’s | She’s going to swim. |
| He is | He’s | He’s going to play soccer. |
| It is | It’s | It’s going to win the race. |
| We are | We’re | We’re going to watch TV. |
| You are | You’re | You’re going to cook dinner. |
| They are | They’re | They’re going to the movies. |
The most common question to ask when we want to know what someone else is intending on doing in the future is:
What are you going to do + any future expression.
- What are you going to do tomorrow?
- What are you going to do next week?
- What are you going to do next month?
- What are you going to do next year?
- What are you going to do after class?
It is not always necessary to use future expression in the answer because the listener knows the context of the conversation.
It is also possible to use information questions with the words: (what-when-who-whose-where-which) when asking about the future.
In informal English “going to” becomes “gonna” especially when the speaker is speaking fast.
- What are you gonna do next weekend?
(What are you going to do next weekend?) - I’m gonna go to a party.
(I’m going to go to a party.) - What are you gonna do tomorrow?
(What are you going to do tomorrow?) - I’m gonna visit my girlfriend.
(I’m going to visit my girlfriend.)
It is also possible to express future ideas using the “ing” form of the verb, but in this situation it is NECESSARY to use an expression of future time otherwise the sentence will be in the present progressive form.
- She’s singing tonight. (Future)
- She’s singing. (Right now)
- They’re playing football tomorrow. (Future)
- They’re playing football. (Right now)
- I’m visiting my sister next week. (Future)
- I’m visiting my sister. (At this moment)
Notice that in statements one, three and five the future expression of time tells the listener when the event will take place; tonight, tomorrow and next week. In statements two, four and six the statements are all in the present progressive; “She’s singing” meaning right now. “They’re playing football” meaning now. “I’m visiting my sister” this moment.
Remember: If the expression of future time is stated in a question, it is NOT NECESSARY for the answer to include an expression of future time: