In English, there are many ways of talking about events in the future. Many students find it difficult to decide which form to use in a particular situation. This page explains the differences between four main forms which we use when talking about future time.
Basic meanings of the four forms
Most students know that "will" and "going to" are used to talk about future time in English. However, we also use the present progressive ("be" + ING) and the present simple tense. Here are the basic rules:
| Form
|
Meaning / Usage
|
Example
|
| "Will"
|
volunteering to do something
deciding at the time of speaking to do something
|
Angelo: I need a pencil.
Sarah: I'll lend you mine.
|
| "Going to"
|
talking about something that is already decided
|
Angelo: Have you registered for the class yet?
Sarah: Not yet. I'm going to register tomorrow.
|
| Present Continuous
|
talking about something that is already arranged
|
Angelo: Do you want to go to the movies tonight?
Sarah: Sorry, I can't. I'm playing soccer.
|
| Present simple
|
talking about a schedule, timetable or program
|
Angelo: What time does the next bus leave?
Sarah: It leaves at six.
|
Predicting the future
When you are predicting what you think will happen in the future, you should choose the form based on how certain you are. If you're not too sure, it's fine to use "will", but if you're nearly certain about something, it's best to use "going to":
| I think it will rain.
|
| (I'm not sure, but it looks like it might.)
|
| It's going to rain.
|
| (I'm sure it's going to rain -- I can see black clouds in the sky.)
|
|
