‘Will’ vs ‘be going to’ – Future forms

Will vs be going to – Future forms

Exercise 3

Fill in the gaps with the forms of will and be going to of the verbs in brackets.

1 A: Have you decided what to do with the washing machine?      B: Yes, I (buy) a new one.

2 A: That glass is dirty.     B: No problem. I (clean) it.

3 A: Why are you taking the camera?     B: I (take) a picture of the sunset.

4 Please, slow down. Are you crazy? We (have) an accident!

5 You look tired. Sit down, and I (make) you a cup of tea.

6 Do you think he (ask) her out?

7 Do you think you (arrive) before she arrives?

8 He  (not run) the marathon. He says he needs more training.

9 It looks delicious! We (enjoy) this meal so much!

10 A: I want coffee, but I don't have coins for the vending machine.     B: No problem. I (buy) you a coffee.

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Will vs be going to – Grammar chart

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Predictions

Use will to talk about something that you think will happen.

• I think he’ll win the election.
• He will be a good doctor.

Use be going to to talk about something that you see is going to happen (there is present evidence).

• Don’t drive like a crazy man. We’re going to have an accident!
• The doctor said I’m going to have a girl.

Sometimes there’s little difference between will  and be going to for predictions. Compare:

• The conference starts in 10 minutes. We are going to be late. (=I can see that we cannot be at the conference in 10 minutes)
• We need to hurry up. We’ll be late for the conference. (=I think we will be late)

Decisions

Use will for decisions that you take at the moment of speaking (instant decisions).

• ‘Oh, we don’t have sugar.’ ‘Don’t worry, I’ll buy some.’

Use be going to for decisions that you have already taken at the moment of speaking (intentions or plans).

• ‘Why are you undressing?’ ‘Because I’m going to go for a swim.’

Compare these two sentences:

• ‘Sarah said she needs to talk to you.’ ‘Oh, I didn’t know. I’ll call her in a minute.’ (=I took the decision while having this conversation.)
• ‘Sarah said she needs to talk to you.’ ‘Yes, I know. I’m going to call her in a minute.‘ (=I took the decision before having this conversation.)

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