Be going to vs Present continuous - English In A Minute

Hi! This is Kee from BBC Learning English,

¡Hola! Soy Kee de BBC Learning English,

and today I'm going to tell you the differences

y hoy les voy a contar las diferencias

between 'be going to' and the present continuous

entre 'be going to' y el presente continuo

to talk about future plans.

para hablar de planes futuros.

We use 'be going to' to talk about future plans.

Usamos 'be going to' para hablar de planes futuros.

The plan will probably take place,

El plan probablemente se llevará a cabo,

but it's not a definite plan.

pero no es un plan definitivo.

If I say:

Si digo:

I'm going to meet my friends this weekend,

me voy a encontrar con mis amigos este fin de semana

it means I made plans with my friends,

, significa que hice planes con mis amigos,

but it could mean that we haven't decided where to

pero podría significar que no hemos decidido dónde

meet, nor have we decided what time to meet.

encontrarnos, ni hemos decidido a qué hora.

On the other hand, we use the present continuous

Por otro lado, usamos el presente continuo

to talk about future plans that are almost definite.

para hablar de planes futuros que son casi definitivos.

If I say:

Si digo:

I'm meeting my friends this weekend,

Me reuniré con mis amigos este fin de semana

it means I made plans with my friends,

, significa que hice planes con mis amigos

and we may have decided where to meet

y es posible que hayamos decidido dónde encontrarnos

and what time to meet.

y a qué hora.

So, this plan is almost definite and it's difficult to cancel.

Entonces, este plan es casi definitivo y es difícil de cancelar.

So remember,

Así que recuerda,

the present continuous describes a more definite plan

el presente continuo describe un plan más definido

than 'be going to'.

que 'be going to'.