Going to..." is not a tense. It is a
special structure to talk about the future.
|
How
do we make a sentence with "Going
to..."?
|
The structure is: BE + GOING TO + MAIN VERB. The
verb BE is conjugated. The main verb is the infinitive
without 'to'.
|
subject
|
to
be
|
(not)
|
going
to
|
main
verb
(infinitive without 'to')
|
object
etc
|
|
I
|
am
|
|
going
to
|
buy
|
a
new car.
|
|
I'm
|
|
going
to
|
go
|
swimming.
|
|
He
|
is
|
not
|
going
to
|
take
|
the
exam.
|
|
It
|
isn't
|
going
to
|
rain.
|
|
|
Are
|
you
|
|
going
to
|
paint
|
the
house?
|
|
How
do we use "Going to..."?
|
"Going to..." (intention)
We use going to when we have the intention to
do something before we speak. We have already made a
decision before speaking. Look at these examples:
- Jo has won the lottery. He
says he's going to buy a Porsche.
- We're not going to
paint our bedroom tomorrow.
- When are you going
to go on holiday?
In these examples, we had an intention or plan
before speaking. The decision was made before
speaking.
"Going to..." (prediction)
We often use going to to make a prediction
about the future. Our prediction is based on present
evidence. We are saying what we think will happen.
Here are some examples:
- The sky is very black. It's
going to snow.
- It's 8.30! You're going
to miss the train!
- I crashed the company car.
My boss isn't going to be very happy!
In these examples, the present situation
(black sky/the time/damaged car) gives us a good idea of
what is going to happen.
