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As you may
know, there are many ways of showing that something will happen
in the future. The reason we say that the Future Simple is the most
important one is because it is always OK to use it. However,
if your English is getting better and you would like to become more
specific with your grammar, take a look at the differences between
these three future possibilities:
- I
will have lunch with my husband tomorrow.
- I
am going to write my parents an E-mail.
- I
am meeting Michael next Thursday at 3:00 p.m.
We call these
the Simple Future, the "going to" Future and the Present
Progressive used as a Future.
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Simple Future
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The "going to" Future
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Present Progressive used as a Future
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Use:
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Can be used for anything that will happen
in the future.
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Used for an intention.
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Used for a fixed future plan.
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Forms:
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helping verb "will" & the first
form of the verb
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"going to" & the first form
of the verb.
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helping verb "to be" and the -ing
form of the verb.
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Examples:
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statement:
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I will have lunch with my husband
tomorrow.
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I am going to write my parents
an E-mail..
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I am meeting Michael next Thursday
at 3:00 p.m.
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question:
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Will you have lunch with your partner tomorrow?
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Are you going to write your parents an E-mail.?
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Are you meeting Michael next Thursday at
3:00 p.m.?
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negative:
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I will not (won’t) have lunch with my
husband tomorrow.
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I am not (I’m not) going to write my
parents an E-mail..
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I am not (I’m not) meeting Michael next
Thursday at 3:00 p.m.
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Short answers:
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Yes, I will.
No, I won’t
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Yes, I am.
No, I’m not.
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Yes, I am.
No, I’m not.
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The easiest way to understand
these differences is to think of a time-planner.
Most time-planners
are divided into an area for appointments and a "to do"
area.
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- I would not write
"lunch
with my husband" in my time-planner because we have
lunch together everyday
- I
would put "write parents an E-mail." in my "to
do" list because it is something I intend to do, but
have not set a specific time for.
- I
would write "3:00 p.m. - meet Michael" in the
appointment area of my time-planner because it is not something
I usually do and therefore I have made an appointment or
set aside a specific time for it.
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