will; going to; present continuous; present simple
CONTEXT LISTENING
Elliot is talking to his friend Kelly about the weekend. Look at the pictures. What are Elliot’s plans? What are Kelly’s plans?
Listen and check if you were right.
Why is Kelly annoyed with Elliot?
Listen again and complete the sentences below.
Look at your answers
Look at your answers and find the sentences which contain:
present simple
going to
present continuous
will future?
a timetable
what someone believes about the future
plans someone has already made
what someone decides at that moment?
GRAMMAR
To talk about the future, we use
will
going to
the present simple
and the present continuous.
Will
We use will...
to say what we know or believe about the future (often with maybe, I think, I expect and I hope):
I’ll be 17 next week. (= he knows this)
Everybody will do shopping by computer in a few years’ time.(= he believes this)
I expect I’ll be asleep all day.
when the speaker decides something at the moment he/she speaks.
I’ll have a coffee with you. (= she decides now)
Going to
We use going to...
when we can see that something is certain to happen:
The plane is going to land.
NOT The plane will land.
to talk about plans:
We’re going to see the new James Bond film. (= we decided earlier)
NOT (We will see the new James Bond film)
Will vs going to
We can often use going to or will to talk about the future:
I’m going to be 17 next week. = I’ll be 17 next week.
We use will more often when we write, but going to when we speak.
“Hey! Did you hear the news? This year’s party is going to take place on the 19th.”
Present continuous
We use Present continuous...
for plans already made when we know or guess the time:
What are you doing tonight? (= what plans have you got?)
I’m meeting a designer at 2.30. (= he has an appointment)
We can often use the present continuous or going to to talk about plans:
We’re spending the weekend at the seaside.
= We’re going to spend the weekend at the seaside.
NOT: We will spend the weekend at the seaside
Present simple
We use Present simple
for timetables (trains, planes etc.) and for programmes
(films, classes etc.):
My flight leaves Rome at 11 pm on Saturday and it arrives in London at 1 am.
The film starts at nine o’clock.
GRAMMAR PRACTICE
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