‘Going to’ future tense
| Structure of 'going to' future | ||
| positive | negative | question |
| I'm (I am) going to take my holidays in August. | I'm (I am) not going to take a holiday this year. | Are you going to take a holiday? |
| He's (he is) going to watch TV this evening. | He isn't (is not) going to watch TV this evening. | Is he going to watch TV this evening? |
| 'Going to' for the future – common mistakes | ||
| Common mistakes | Correct version | Why? |
| You know that I'll buy a new car, don't you? | You know that I'm going to buy a new car, don't you? | We use going to for a future action that has been decided before the time of speaking. |
| Look! You'll drop your books. | Look! You're going to drop your books. | We use going to if we see (and are sure) that the action will happen. |
Practise this grammar
Intermediate exercise: future simple (will) or ‘going to’ future
Intermediate exercise: will vs. ‘going to’ future (exercise 2)