Unit 23 - Will and ‘going to’

Question 1

Study this difference between will and (be) going to.
A: Let’s have a party.
B: That’s a great idea. We’ll invite lots of people.

When do we use « will » ?

Answer 1

We use will (‘ll): We use will to announce a new decision. The party is a new idea

Question 2

Study this difference between will and (be) going to.
A: Sarah and I have decided to have a party. We’re going to invite lots of people.

When do we use « (be) going to » ?

Answer 2

We use (be) going to when we have already decided to do something

• Helen had already decided to invite lots of people before she spoke to Dan

Question 3

When do we use both « will » and « going to »?

Answer 3

We use both will and going to to predict future happenings and situations. So you can say:

• I think the weather will be nice later. or
• I think the weather is going to be nice later.

Question 4

What do we already know when we say « something is going to happen » ?

Answer 4

• we know this from the situation now
• What is happening now shows that something is going to happen in the future

Example:
Look at those black clouds. It’s going to rain (not it will rain) ( we can see that it is going to rain from the clouds that are in the sky now.) ( will = prediction + not knowing so we do not use will)