What on earth is going to in English?!
Going to (be + going to + infinitive) is a semi-modal auxiliary verb that we use to express future intentions / plans (where the decision is made before speaking), predictions (based on present evidence), and commands that you have no choice but to follow:
- future intentions / plans: He is going to buy a new book tomorrow.
- predictions: The cat is going to break that dish!
- commands: You are going to tidy your bedroom, young man!
We generally use going to in informal speech. It is not a tense, but we often learn it with Future Simple as an essential elementary future form.
Going to + infinitive can get confused with going to + place (GO in present continuous), and also the verb + adverb phrase going too, e.g. ‘I’m going to the café.’ ‘Yes, I’m going too.’
Going to is often pronounced gonna (g n) – with two schwa sounds. The phrase is contracted because it consists of function words. The preceding auxiliary verbs should be contracted too, e.g. ‘He’s gonna buy…’ Important: if you stress going to (as a future form) the listener may believe that you are starting a sentence with main verb GO.
We can discuss going to with the following four forms:
A. going to + place (GO = main verb in pr/con) I’m going to the museum tomorrow.
B. going to + infinitive (going to = future form) I’m going to visit the museum tomorrow.
C. gonna + infinitive (going to = future form) I’m gonna visit the museum tomorrow.
D. going too GO + adverb (end of clause) ‘I’m going to the museum.’ ‘I’m going too.’
Download the free printable worksheets below. Read each sentence and decide if it is correct or incorrect. If it is incorrect, write it correctly on the line. Then write the use: intention (I), prediction (P), or command (C), and the form A-D (above):
How to Use ‘Going to’ in English 1
Direct download: https://purlandtraining.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/how-to-use-going-to-in-english-1.pdf
How to Use ‘Going to’ in English 2
Direct download: https://purlandtraining.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/how-to-use-going-to-in-english-2.pdf
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