The 'Going To' Future Tense

The 'Going To' Future Tense is a fundamental aspect of English grammar used to express future plans, intentions, and predictions. This page provides a comprehensive overview of its structure and usage in various sentence types.

Definition: The 'going to' future tense is formed using the verb 'be' (am/is/are) + 'going to' + the base form of the main verb.

Affirmative Statements

Affirmative statements in the 'going to' future tense follow a straightforward structure. The subject is followed by the appropriate form of 'be' (am/is/are), then 'going to', and finally the base form of the main verb.

Example: "I am going to call her tomorrow."

This structure is consistent across all subjects:

• You are going to...
• He/She/It is going to...
• We/They are going to...

Highlight: The 'going to' future tense is particularly useful for expressing predetermined plans or intentions.

Negative Statements

To form negative statements, simply insert 'not' after the form of 'be':

• I am not going to...
• You are not going to...
• He/She/It is not going to...
• We/They are not going to...

Example: "They are not going to call her tomorrow."

Yes/No Questions

For yes/no questions, invert the subject and the form of 'be':

• Am I going to...?
• Are you going to...?
• Is he/she/it going to...?
• Are we/they going to...?

Example: "Is she going to call her tomorrow?"

WH- Questions

WH- questions in the 'going to' future tense follow this structure: WH-word + be + subject + going to + base form of verb

Example: "Who is going to play football?"

Vocabulary: WH-words include who, what, when, where, why, and how.

These questions can be about the subject or other parts of the sentence, allowing for a wide range of inquiries about future plans or events.

Highlight: The 'going to' future tense is versatile and can be used for talking about future plans, making predictions based on present evidence, and discussing predetermined future actions.