Be going to: form
We use be
going to + the base form of the verb:
I’m going
to take a few exams at the end of the year.
It’s going
to be difficult to get a job during the summer as the tourist industry is
suffering from the economic downturn.
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:
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.
Predictions
We use be
going to to predict something that we think is certain to happen or which
we have evidence for now:
It’s going
to snow again soon. (The speaker can probably see dark snow clouds.)
Look out! He’s
going to break that glass.
Commands
We use be
going to when we give commands or state that something is obligatory:
[parent to a
child]
You’re going
to pick up all of those toys right now. This room is a mess!
Gonna (informal
contexts)
Spoken English:
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 gonna be a star.
Be going to or will?
Will is
often used in a similar way to be going to. Will is used when we
are talking about something with absolute certainty. Be going to is
used when we want to emphasise our decision or the evidence in the present:
[An ‘A’ road is
a main road. A ‘B’ road is a smaller road.]
We are now very
late so we’re going to take the ‘B’ road. (the speaker refers to the
present and emphasises the decision)
I know the ‘B’
road will be quicker at this time of day. (the speaker states a
fact)
Will: form
Affirmative form
Will comes
first in the verb phrase in a statement (after the subject and before another
verb). It is often contracted to ’ll in informal situations:
The next
Olympic Games will be in London.
I’ll give you a
call at about 6 o’clock.
Will cannot be
used with another modal verb:
You will be
obliged to sign a contract before starting employment.
Not: You
will must sign a contract… or You must will sign a contract…
Will can be
followed by have to or be able to:
You’ll have to
let me know when it arrives.
She will be
able to live nearer her parents if she gets the job.
Negative form
The negative
form of will is won’t. We don’t use don’t, doesn’t, didn’t with will:
They won’t tell
us very much until January.
Not: They
don’t will tell us very much until January.
We use the full
form will not in formal contexts or when we want to emphasise something:
I’ll carry her
but I will not push a pram.
Question form
The subject and
will change position to form questions. We don’t use do, does, did:
Will you be
home earlier tomorrow?
Will I be able
to take this brochure home with me?
Will the number
be in the phone book?
Not: Does
the number will be in the phone book?
We can use will
and won’t in question tags:
You won’t forget
to take the cake out of the oven, will you?
It’ll take
quite a long time to get there, won’t it?
Will or ’ll?
We commonly use
’ll as the short form of will and shall. In speaking, willand shall are usually
contracted to ’ll, especially after subject pronouns (I,we, you, they, he, she,
it):
We’ll meet you
outside the coffee shop. (more common in speaking thanWe will meet you …)
However, in
some contexts ’ll is normally the only choice. In such cases, ’ll is best not
seen as a contraction of either will or shall, but as an independent form.
As an
independent form, ’ll is often used to indicate a personal decision:
There’s the
cinema. We’ll get out here and you can park the car over there.
Not: We
shall/will get out …
A:
Anyone want a
drink?
B:
I’ll have a
tomato juice, please.
’ll is also
used for indicating decisions or arrangements where will or shall would sound
too direct and too formal:
OK. My diary
says I’m free on Wednesday. So we’ll meet next Wednesday.
Warning:
A noun phrase +
’ll is not normally acceptable in writing:
Jan’s father
will fetch you from the station.
Not: Jan’s
father’ll fetch you …
’ll is not used
in a tag or a short answer:
[talking about
the offer of a cheap hotel room]
A:
But you’ll have
to be quick. Everyone will be after it, won’t they?
B:
Yeah, they will.
Not: Yeah,
they’ll.
Will: uses
Certainty in
the future
One of the main
uses of will is to refer to things in the future that we think are certain:
The rooms will
be redecorated but all the facilities will be the same.
A:
He’s still
there at the moment.
B:
He’ll be there
until the new guy starts.
[talking to a
child]
Will you be 5
in September?
Making
predictions
Will is used to
make predictions about the future:
A:
Have you
decided what you are going to do with the car?
B:
No. Father
thinks it’ll cost a lot of money to fix.
I think they’ll
be off in January again. (they’ll be away, possibly on holiday)
Some
predictions are about facts – things that we know always happen:
It’s all wool.
It’ll shrink if you wash it in hot water.
Some
predictions are about the present:
That’ll be
Katie shouting. (The speaker is certain. He or she makes a deduction because of what
they know about the situation.)
Conditional
sentences
We often use
will (or the contracted form ’ll) in the main clause of a conditional sentence
when we talk about possible situations in the future:
If she gets the
job, she will have to move to Germany.
I’ll take a day
off if the weather’s fine next week.
Intentions and
decisions
We use will for
immediate intentions and decisions. We usually use ’ll, not will, after I think:
When I go and
see Marie, I think I’ll take her some flowers.
What will you
do with that soup? Will you just put it in the fridge or will you freeze it?
I think I’ll
have some orange juice, actually.
We use will and
be going to for decisions, intentions and plans. We use will when the decision
is immediate and be going to when we have already made a plan:
A:
It’s too
expensive to fly on the Friday. Look it’s nearly £200. It’s only £25 to fly on
Thursday.
B:
We’ll fly on
Thursday then.
A:
Great. That
will save us lots of money.
We’re going to
drive to Birmingham on Friday, and Saturday morning we’re going to drive to
Edinburgh.
Willingness and
offers
Will is often
used to express someone’s willingness to do something or to make offers. It is
often used with I in this context:
I’ll show you
where to go.
A:
It’s just a
leaflet that I’ve got.
B:
Just the
leaflet. Right, I’ll go and get you a brochure too.
I’ll give you a
lift to the hotel.
Promises
We use will to
make promises:
I’ll be there
for you. Don’t worry.
We’ll always
love you.
Requests and
invitations
We often make
requests or invitations with will:
Will you pass
me the salt?
This tastes
good. Will you give me the recipe?
Will you come
for dinner on Saturday?
Commands
We sometimes
give commands or orders using will:
Will you be
quiet, please!
Will you stop
picking your nails!
It is also used
to insist that someone does something:
But you will
have to do it. You’ll have no choice.
[parent to
child]
You will wear
it whether you like it or not.
General truths
Will is used to
describe something the speaker thinks is generally true:
[talking about making complaints at hospitals]
A:
Do you think they should try and make it easier for people
to complain?
B:
No, cos some people will always complain. (cos = because in
informal speech)
Habitual events
We use will to refer to events that happen often:
[talking about a younger sister, Celia, who doesn’t eat
properly; she refers to Celia]
Celia will start to get upset if she has to eat cabbage or
meat like chicken breast. My mum will say, ‘Just try it’. And she’ll start
shaking her head and going, ‘No. I don’t want to’. Mum will put it near her
mouth and she’ll start to cough.
Disapproval
Will is also used to talk about repeated behaviour which the
speaker does not like or approve of. Will is normally stressed here:
He will leave his clothes all over the floor. It drives me
mad. (stronger than He leaves his clothes
all over the floor.)
Inanimate objects (things)
Will may be used to refer to inanimate objects and how they
respond to humans, most typically in the negative form won’t:
The car won’t start.
The door won’t open. It’s stuck.
Will
and shall
We use will for all persons, but we often use shall with I
and we. Will (’ll) is generally less formal than shall when used with I and we:
Simply complete the form and return it to me, and I shall
personally reserve your hotel room for you.
We shall look at a full report from the centre.
We’ll see you in the morning.
Shall also has a special legal use for talking about rules
and laws. In these cases, we often use it with third-person subjects:
According to the basic principle of human rights, people
shall not be discriminated against because of their nationality, race, age,
sex, religion, occupation and social status.
Shall and will are both used to talk about intentions and
decisions. Shall is more formal than will.
Compare
I’ll see you later. I won’t be late. informal
I shall see you later. I shan’t be late. formal
Spoken English:
In speaking ’ll is much more common than will and shall.
Will is much more common than shall in both speaking and
writing.
Will and shall:
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.
Decisions and offers
Will and shall (usually
in the short form ’ll) are used to announce decisions and to make
offers:
[a salesperson in a clothes shop is talking to a customer]
A:
Which size do you want? Medium or large?
B:
I’ll have
large. (decision)
Wait. I’ll open
the door for you. (offer)
Not: Wait. I open the door for you.
I shall contact you again when I have
further information.
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?
ADAPTADO DESDE: www.dictionary.cambridge.org
