{"id":1452,"date":"2020-04-09T16:14:10","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T20:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguix.com\/blog\/?p=1452"},"modified":"2026-04-02T03:13:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T03:13:31","slug":"going-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguix.com\/blog\/going-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Going to – meaning, uses, and examples"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

1) ‘I’m going to visit New York next year’<\/p>

2) ‘I think the Bears are going to win the game.’<\/p>

3) ‘I was going to go, but in the end I was too tired.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Going to is a future tense in English used to signify an intention (sentence (1) above), or a prediction (sentence (2) above), although it can also be used in the past tense to signify either of these ideas at a set moment in the past (sentence (3) above).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here we take at look at each use of ‘going to’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Going to’ for a future intention<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In terms of future tenses, going to is one of the most frequently used in English because it signifies a future intention, although stops short of representing an organized plan. For a plan, the present continuous would be used. Here is a comparison:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘I’m going to go to the cinema tomorrow if I can get a ticket.’ (intention)<\/p>

‘I’m going to the cinema tomorrow. I booked the tickets online.’ (organized plan)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In essence, the present continuous sentence is a little more definitive because it suggests the plan had already been made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grammatically speaking, ‘going to’ is a present continuous form, so it is formed in the same way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

+ I’m going to go to the cinema.<\/p>

– I’m not going to go to the cinema.<\/p>

? Am I going to go to the cinema?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In terms of asking question about the future, English speakers use ‘going to’ and present continuous for future almost interchangeably:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘What are you going to do this weekend?’ \/ ‘What are you doing this weekend?’<\/p><\/p>

‘Are you going to go on vacation this year?’ \/ ‘Are you going on vacation this year?’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n

‘Going to’ for predictions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

‘Going to’ is also used to make strong predictions about the future, usually based on some current evidence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘I think the Bears are going to win the game.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In this case, the speaker is making a judgement based on the relative ability of the team in comparison to the team’s opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grammatically speaking, ‘going to’ is still the present continuous, so everything is the same:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

+ The Bears are going to win the game.<\/p>

– The Bears aren’t going to win the game.<\/p>

? Are the Bears are going to win the game.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Note that present continuous is not used to make predictions, as it would be confused with what is happening at that moment:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘I think the Bears are winning the game.’ (is a report of the actual situation, rather than a prediction)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

However, ‘will’ is also used to make predictions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘I think the Bears will win the game.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Whereas ‘going to’ is used when there is evidence available, ‘will’ is more of a guess. Compare the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘It is going to rain tomorrow.’ (We have evidence in the form of a weather forecast)<\/p>

‘It will rain tomorrow.’ (A prediction based on no hard evidence)<\/p><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In reality, native speakers use the two above forms quite interchangeably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Was\/were going to’<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

‘Going to’ can be used in the past to signify an intention or prediction at a moment in time in the past. Usually, that intention or prediction doesn’t happen. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘I was going to go to the cinema, but in the end, I was too tired so I stayed at home.’<\/p>

‘I thought that the Bears were going to win the game, but I was wrong.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

‘Gonna’<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Note that many native English speakers replace ‘going to’ with a quasi-contraction – ‘gonna’. You won’t find this word in the dictionary, but you will hear it constantly. In partcualry, listen out for it in songs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Are You Gonna Go My Way’ – Lenny Kravitz<\/p>

‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ – Same Cook<\/p>

‘A Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall’ – Bob Dylan<\/p>

(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again’ – Elton John<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Usage tips and quick checks<\/h2>\n

Choose “going to” when you mean an intention or a prediction supported by present evidence; choose the present continuous when the arrangement is fixed and already organised. In speech, “gonna” often replaces “going to,” but keep it for informal contexts.<\/p>\n

Form negatives and questions with the appropriate form of be + going to (e.g., I’m not going to, Are they going to?). For predictions without clear evidence, native speakers frequently use “will” instead.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • If you have tickets or a confirmed time \u2192 use present continuous (e.g., “I’m meeting her tomorrow”).<\/li>\n
  • If you judge the outcome from current signs (cloudy sky, team form) \u2192 use going to (e.g., “It’s going to rain”).<\/li>\n
  • If you decide on the spot or make a promise \u2192 use will (e.g., “I’ll help you”).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    FAQ<\/h2>\n

    Can I use “gonna” in formal writing?<\/h3>\n

    No. “Gonna” is informal speech and song lyrics; use “going to” in formal writing and professional contexts.<\/p>\n

    When should I prefer “will” over “going to”?<\/h3>\n

    Use “will” for spontaneous decisions, offers, promises, or when there’s no present evidence. Use “going to” for planned intentions or predictions based on current information.<\/p>\n

    How does “was\/were going to” differ from “going to”?<\/h3>\n

    Use “was\/were going to” to describe past intentions or predictions at a specific past moment-often implying the action did not happen (e.g., “I was going to call, but I forgot”).<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    1) ‘I’m going to visit New York next year’ 2) ‘I think the Bears are going to win the game.’ 3) ‘I was going to go, but in the end I was too tired.’ Going to is a future tense in English used to signify an intention (sentence (1) above), or a prediction (sentence (2) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[605,568,571],"class_list":["post-1452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vocabulary","tag-going-to","tag-vocabulary","tag-vocabulary-enhancement"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGoing to - meaning, uses, and examples - Linguix Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/linguix.com\/blog\/going-to\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Going to - 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