Simple Future Tense has two different forms in English: “will” and “be going to”

Will you  not

arrive

on time?

Will they   want dinner?

Subject

Will

Verb

 

I will   open

the door.

You will   finish

before me.

He will not be at school tomorrow.

She will help you.

It will be there tomorrow.

They will not do their homework.

Form: Will

Note: When using the word not, always put it between the will and the verb.

The will always comes first when asking a question.

Subject

am/is/are

Going to

Verb

 

I am not going to

open the door.

You are going to

meet Jane tonight.

He is going to

be at school tomorrow.

She is not going to

clean the floor.

It is going to

be there tomorrow.

They are not going to

make dinner.

Form: Be going to

Are You going to meet Jane tonight?

Is he not going to do his homework?

When to use the ‘Will’ form We use ‘will’ to express an instant decision to do something in the future.

Examples: I will buy a car. We will play a game of tennis this afternoon.

We use ‘will’ for making a prediction about the future.

This year will be an interesting year.

When to use the “will” formWe use “will” to express a voluntary action.

I will give you the phone number.Will you help me with my homework?The phone rings. “I will get it.”

We use “will” when there is no plan.We will see what happens.I think I will go to gym tomorrow.

We use “will” when making promises.I will call you when I arrive.I promise I will not tell anyone about the

secret.Do not worry. I will be careful.

Other Tenses that refer to Future Actions

A public Time-table: Present IndefiniteEx: Mohanagar Provati leaves Kamalapur at

6:00 am.An arrangement : Present Continuous Ex: I am buying a camera next week. Very near future: be about to Example: The plane is at the end of the runway.

It is about to take off. A future event that is officially arranged (VIP):

be to / Present Continuous Ex: The King is to visit / is visiting Bhutan next

week.

When to use the “be going to” form

We use “be going to” to express a plan or an intention to do something in the future.I am going to spend my vacation in Las Vegas.

She is going to sleep at 9 p.m.Jenna is going to be a singer when she grows up.

He is going to make the cake.

When to use the “be going to” form

We use ‘be going to’ for making a prediction based on the present situation.

Examples: The sky is very cloudy. It is going to rain.The result of the presidency election

shows that Barack Obama is clearly ahead of his opponents. So, we can say that he is going to be the next president of the US.