| Examples | Explanation |
| a) He will finish his work tomorrow. b) He is going to finish his work tomorrow. |
Will or be going to is used to express future time.* The verb is left in the infinitive form. Be going to is also considered a Present Progressive tense. |
* The use of shall with I or we to express future time is possible but uncommon in North American English. Shall is used much more frequently in British than North American English.
Will does not change to agree with the subject
| Statement | Negative | Question | ||||
| I You We They She He It |
will ('ll) leave. |
I You We They She He It |
will not (won’t*) leave. | Will | I you we they she he it |
leave? |
* Won’t is often used in the place of will not in informal speech
Be going to changes to agree with the subject
| Statement | Negative | Question | ||||||
| I | am 'm |
going to leave. | I | am not 'm not |
going to leave. | Am | I | going to leave? |
| She He It |
is 's |
She He It |
is not isn’t 's not |
Is | she he it |
|||
| You We They |
are 're |
You We They |
are not aren’t 're not |
Are | you we they |
|||
Be going to: Using the Present Progressive to express Future time
| Examples | Explanation |
| a) Gabriella is going to come to the party tomorrow night. b) Gabriella is coming to the party tomorrow night. c)
We’re going to go to the theatre tonight. e) I’m
going to stay home tonight. |
Sometimes the present progressive is used to express future time. (a) and (b) have the same meaning. The present progressive is used to express future time when the sentence concerns a definite plan, a definite intention, a definite future activity.* |
| g) Drew is going to fly to Quebec City next week. h) Drew is flying to Quebec City next week. i) Thao is going to take a taxi to the airport tomorrow. |
Verbs such as come, go, stay, arrive, leave are frequently used
in the present progressive to express future time. Such verbs express
definite plans. Verbs expressing planned means of transportation in the future are also frequently used in the present progressive; for example, fly, walk, ride, drive, take (a bus, a taxi, etc.). |
| k)
A: You shouldn’t buy that used camera. It’s in terrible
condition. It costs too much. You don’t have enough money.
Buying that camera is a crazy idea. B: I am buying that camera tomorrow morning! My mind is made up. Nobody – not you, not my parents – can stop me. I’m buying that camera, and that’s it! I don’t want to talk about it anymore. A: Oh well, it’s your money. |
Sometimes a speaker will use the present progressive when he or she wants to make a very strong statement about a future activity, as in (k). |
* A future meaning for the present progressive is indicated either by future time words in the sentence or by the context.