Will vs Be Going To vs Present Continuous: Talk About the Future in English (Jack Explains)

- What's up everybody?

This is Jack from tofluency.com and in this English lesson

we're going to look at the difference between

will, be going to, and the present continuous

when talking about the future.

(soft electronic music)

Let's start with three examples.

I will get my hair cut, I will get my hair cut.

I'm going to get my hair cut, I'm going to get my hair cut.

I am getting my hair cut, I am getting my hair cut.

Will, be going to, and the present continuous.

All three are used to talk about the future.

It's difficult to know in which situations

do you use will or be going to or the present continuous

but by the end of this lesson you will have

a clear understanding of when to use these three tenses.

So, let's get started with a story.

Imagine that we decide to throw a party.

That we decide to have a party for one of our friends.

And we all need to bring something to the party.

We all need to contribute something for this event.

Because I'm an expert when it comes to beer I say,

Okay, I'll bring some beer.

I'll bring some beer to the party.

You say, I'll bring, complete that sentence.

I'll bring, maybe you said some food,

or I'll bring some chips or I'll bring a cake.

But we both used will to talk about this.

And that is because we made the decision to bring beer

or a cake in the moment of speaking.

We didn't have the intention to do this before

the conversation and that's one of the ways we use will.

When we make the decision to do something

in the future while we are speaking.

Here are some more examples to make that clearer.

My wife and I are sitting on the sofa,

it's 7 PM, the kids are in bed, and my wife says,

let's watch Stranger Things, let's watch Stranger Things.

I'll say, great I'll make some tea, I'll make some tea.

I didn't have the intention to make tea before

we had that conversation, the decision to make tea

was made during that conversation.

It doesn't matter if that future action

is in the immediate future or the distant future.

For example, let's say that you are in a meeting

and your boss says okay, we need somebody to give

a presentation at the big conference next year.

And you say, I'll do it, I'll do it.

Again, you didn't have the intention

to give this presentation before the meeting.

You made that decision while speaking.

So far the examples are, I'll bring the drinks,

I'll bring a cake, I'll make some tea, I'll do it.

Going back to the example about the party.

Later that day you see a friend

and he asks you about this party.

And you say, yeah, it's going to be great.

Jack is going to bring some beer,

Jack is going to bring some beer.

The intention of bringing beer was

made before that conversation.

Therefore, we can't use will.

We need to either use be going to,

or the present continuous.

And at this stage it's important to know

that be going to and the present continuous can be flexible.

And in fact, in many situations you can use both

with more or less the same meaning.

So you can say, Jack is bringing some beer to the party.

Jack is bringing some beer to the party.

Before I said to my wife, I'll make some tea,

I'll make some tea but look at this example.

I'm going to make some coffee.

Do you want some?

I'm going to make some coffee.

Do you want some?

The intention to make coffee was

there before I asked that question.

I already had that intention,

therefore, I don't use will.

I didn't make the decision to do that in the moment.

I'm going to make some coffee.

Do you want some?

Going back to the example of the presentation.

In the meeting you said, I'll do it, I'll do it.

But imagine later that day you meet

one of your friends at the pub.

You say, I'm going to give a big presentation next month.

I'm going to give a big presentation next month.

Now, when we're talking about our plans

and arrangements and intentions for the future

we normally use be going to or the present continuous.

I've talked about a few examples of how we use will

but in most cases we use be going to and the

present continuous because we normally know our plans

and intentions before the conversation.

But what is the difference between

be going to and the present continuous?

Well, the present continuous is mainly

used for arrangements and in most cases

there is a specific time and date for this.

For example I have a football game at 3 PM on Sunday.

A friend asks me if I want to

go to his party on Sunday afternoon.

I say, I'm so sorry I can't go,

I'm playing football at 3 PM.

It's an arrangement, it's a plan with a

specific time and date.

I'm playing football at 3 PM.

Another example is I have an appointment

at 10 AM on Tuesday at the hairdressers.

Here, I would say, I'm getting my hair cut on Tuesday.

I'm getting my hair cut on Tuesday.

But if you don't have a set plan or an arrangement

then we tend to use be going to.

For example, I'm going to get my hair cut soon.

I'm going to get my hair cut soon.

In this example, I don't have an appointment.

But it's my intention to get my hair cut.

I'm going to get my hair cut soon.

And here's a conversation where

we can use this example with will.

My wife says Jack, your hair is bloody awful,

you hair is bloody awful.

I say, what do you mean?

Kate says, there's just no style to it, it looks terrible.

I say, wow, okay, I'll get it cut soon.

Notice that the intention to get my hair cut

wasn't there before the conversation.

I made the decision to do this during the conversation.

That's why I use will.

So going back to the three examples

I gave at the start of the video.

I'll get my hair cut soon.

I'm going to get my hair cut soon.

I'm getting my hair cut on Tuesday.

The first one, the intention is there

but I made the decision during the conversation.

The second one, the intention is there

but I already decided to do this before the conversation.

And the last one is an arrangement.

I have the appointment, I'm getting my hair cut on Tuesday.

So that is the main difference between

will, be going to, and the present continuous.

(soft electronic music)

Let's look at a few more examples using be going to.

And some very specific cases when we use this.

The first one is I'm going to mow the lawn this weekend.

Now, when it comes to these types of activities

we tend to use be going to.

Because we don't make arrangements with people to do this.

I'm going to mow the lawn this weekend.

We're going to clean the house on Sunday.

I'm going to do my homework tonight.

These are types of activities

where we tend to use be going to.

(soft electronic music)

Let's talk about predictions now.

Because when we are predicting the future

we can use either will or be going to.

For example, when we're talking about our party,

I think Paul is going to come,I think Paul is going to come.

Or, I think Paul will come, I think Paul will come.

But if you are basing your prediction

on current evidence then use be going to.

The example that many of your have seen before is this,

Look at that black cloud!

It's going to rain!

The black cloud is the evidence

that we are using for our prediction.

Look at that black cloud!

It's going to rain!

Or Mike Tyson looks so focused.

He's going to knock out the other guy soon!

He's going to knock out the other guy soon!

(soft electronic music)

We can also use both be going to

and will in the first conditional.

For example, if it rains, we'll cancel the party.

If it rains, we'll cancel the party.

Or if it rains, we're going to cancel the party.

If it rains, we're going to cancel the party.

I want to end on three examples

that are used very specifically.

The first one is this.

What are you doing tomorrow?

What are you doing tomorrow?

This is what we ask when we're trying to find out

somebody's availability so we can suggest something.

Let's say we have a party tomorrow which we do, you can say.

What are you doing tomorrow?

Do you want to come to this great party?

You'll notice we use the present continuous to do this.

What are you doing Sunday morning?

The next one is this.

You might here your boss say,

okay everyone, I'll be in the office tomorrow.

Or okay everyone, I won't be in the office tomorrow.

The boss uses will here to talk about a future fact.

Here are two more examples.

I'll be in London this time next week.

I'll be in London this time next week.

They'll be on the plane this time tomorrow.

They'll be on the plane this time tomorrow.

And finally, Let's introduce another tense here.

The train gets in a 7 AM, the train gets in a 7 AM.

This is a present simple.

And we can use the present simple

to talk about the future too.

This is for things on a schedule or a time table.

The train gets in a 7 AM, it's on a schedule.

Another example is I leave tomorrow at 7 AM.

I leave tomorrow at 7 AM.

I'm taking a flight, which is why I'm using it in this way.

I leave tomorrow at 7 AM.

And finally, what time does the lesson start?

What time does the lesson start?

So, we have covered a lot in this lesson.

What I recommend you do is if anything is unclear,

watch it again and then leave any questions you have below.

Speaking of leaving things below,

also write a few examples using

be going to, will, an the present continuous.

If you want, create some type of dialogue

so that you give the example some context.

And finally, know that this is not easy.

It's going to take you a long time to truly

understand when to use will,

be going to, and the present continuous.

But to help you I've created a playlist over here.

So click over there, watch those videos,

and you'll have a much better understanding of this area.

If you've enjoyed it, please like and share.

Thank you so much for being here.

(soft electronic music)