Grammar
Going to: plans and evidence-based predictions
Your friend has bought train tickets for Saturday. You can say, She is going to visit her sister. The plan already exists before you speak.
Use be going to with a base verb to describe a future plan or a prediction based on present evidence.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
Are you going to call her? /ɑː juː ˈɡəʊɪŋ tə kɔːl hɜː/
The short answer
Use be going to plus a base verb for a future plan or for a prediction supported by what you see or know now.
I am going to call the dentist after lunch.
Why it works: Am goes with I, and call stays in the base form after going to.
4 more examples
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Leah is going to start a new course in October.
Is agrees with the singular name Leah before going to.
Not this:Leah
startsa new course every October. What changes: This simple-present sentence describes a repeated routine. -
Look at those dark clouds. It is going to rain.
The dark clouds are present evidence for the prediction.
Not this:It
rainsa lot here in winter. What changes: This sentence gives a general fact about the usual weather. -
Are you going to meet Tariq at the station?
For a question, put are before the subject you.
Not this:You
are going to meetTariq at the station. What changes: This statement gives information instead of asking for it. -
We are not going to stay late tonight.
Put not after are to make a negative sentence.
Not this:We
are going to staylate tonight. What changes: Without not, the sentence states a positive plan.
Read the full guide
First choose am, is, or are for the subject. Then add going to and the base verb. Next ask whether the sentence describes a plan already made or a likely result of present evidence.
Build the form with be and a base verb
Choose am, is, or are first. Then add going to and the base verb. The base verb has no s, ed, or ing ending in this pattern.
My cousins are going to arrive at noon.
Use going to for a plan already made
Use going to when the person has decided before this conversation. The plan may be simple, such as cooking dinner, or larger, such as moving to a new apartment.
Nora is going to study after work.
Use going to when present evidence points forward
A prediction with going to has a reason you can see, hear, or know now. The reason can appear in the sentence or be clear from the situation.
The glass is near the edge. It is going to fall.
Make negatives and questions
For a negative, put not after am, is, or are. For a yes or no question, move am, is, or are before the subject. Going to stays together with the base verb.
Is Carlos going to bring his laptop?
Use contractions in ordinary speech
In conversation, speakers often say I'm, you're, he's, she's, we're, or they're before going to. They also use isn't and aren't in negatives. Write the full form when it helps you see the grammar, then notice the shorter forms when you listen.
They're going to leave after the concert.
Choose will for a decision made now
Going to usually presents an earlier plan. Will often fits a decision made as you speak. If the phone rings and you decide at that moment, say, I'll answer it. If you planned to answer calls during your shift, going to can describe that plan.
Use going to for a plan that already exists. Use will for many decisions made at the moment of speaking.
Before you go
Remember this
Build the form with am, is, or are, going to, and a base verb. Use it for plans that already exist and predictions with a present reason. Move am, is, or are before the subject in a question, and add not after that verb in a negative.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Going to: plans and evidence-based predictions"
What is the form of be going to?
Use a subject, am, is, or are, going to, and a base verb. Say, I am going to call the dentist after lunch. After going to, use call, start, or stay, not calls, started, or staying.
I am going to call the dentist after lunch.
When do I use going to for a future plan?
Use going to when the plan exists before you speak. Leah is going to start a new course in October tells us that Leah already has that intention. The exact date can be known or unknown.
I called the dentist after lunch.
When can going to express a prediction?
Use going to for a prediction when something in the present supports it. Look at those dark clouds. It is going to rain. The clouds give the speaker a reason to expect rain.
Leah is going to start a new course in October.
How do I make a question with going to?
Put am, is, or are before the subject, then add going to and the base verb. Are you going to meet Tariq at the station? follows this order. Do not put do before going to in this type of question.
Leah starts a new course every October.
How do I make a negative with going to?
Put not after am, is, or are. We are not going to stay late tonight is a negative plan. In ordinary speech, are not can become aren't, but the rest of the pattern stays the same.
Look at those dark clouds. It is going to rain.