An Introduction of Going To
The going to is a construction of English grammar that mostly indicated future plans, activities and events. It is used as a reference for different types of future events. In English Grammar, it is a method of referring to the future because we usually use will or shall for the formation of the future construction. It is used to make a relation between the future depending upon the present situation, events, intentions or activities. This is an alternative method of expressing something that will occur in the future. Examples of sentences formed with going to are given below.
Rohan is going to buy a new mobile phone.
They are going to plan a party for your birthday.
She is not going to do any social service.
Are we going to Agra tomorrow?
The Structure of Going To
The structure of going to is given below.
subject +be + going + to -infinitive
The verb be is conjugated. We will understand the structure of going to with the help of the following examples.
The examples of going to in different types of sentences are given below.
Affirmative sentences
Mohan is going to become an IAS officer.
You are going to be a classmate.
He is going to play handball.
She is going to attend her annual meet.
Negative sentences
It is not going to be hot so soon.
We are not going to play handball.
You are not going to cancel our trip this week.
She is not going to perform her duties well.
Integrative sentences
Am I going to play tennis?
Are we going to watch a movie together?
Is Peter going to read a book?
Are you going to win this match?
When are going to college?
Use of Going To
The following are some of the use of going to in sentences.
For Intention: When we need to show intentions of doing something in sentences, we can use going to before we speak. It is used before speaking because the decision has already been made. We can understand this more accurately with the following examples.
Peter is earning well. He is going to buy a new bike this month.
We are not going to attend any class tomorrow.
When is she going to market?
In these examples, we can clearly notice that the speaker had an intention or plan before speaking. The decision was made before speaking.
For Prediction: Sometimes we need to make a prediction about the future. In those sentences, we can use going to. On the basis of present evidence predictions of the future are made. Our prediction is based on present evidence. Here are some examples of the use of going to for prediction.
The sky is looking very black. It is going to snow.
You are late. You going to miss your presentation.
My parents are not going to appreciate my failure.
In the above examples, the present situation i.e. black sky, late, failure are giving an idea for the prediction of the future.
For Certainty: We can also use going to for expressing some kind of certainty in sentences. Following are some examples of the use of going to for certainty.
Surely, they are going to attend the marriage party.
Every student is passed the examination hence all of them are going to promote to the next standard.
She is going to call the police certainly.
One more thing to remember is that going to can be used with being in other tenses; for example:
They have been going to tell me the truth.
I had been going to fix her problems.
Do you Know?
Some other languages such as Spanish and French have constructions analogous to the English going to the future.
Conclusion
Hence going to is not any kind of tense. It is a grammatical structure that is used when we need to talk about future activities or plans. The basic form of the construction going to is in the present tense. This construction is when we want to make a connection between present events, activities, intentions or situations and expected future events or situations, i.e. to show the present situation of the future occurrence.
FAQs on Going To
1. How do we use ‘going to’ in sentences?
When we need to talk about intentions, future plans and some kind of certainty, we use going to in sentences. We can also use be going to in order to predict something. For example; The clouds are dark in the sky. It is going to snow again. Here in this example speaker has seen the dark clouds so make predictions of rain so we can use going to for such kind of sentence formation.
2. What is the tense of going to?
The basic form of the construction going to is in the present tense but mostly it is considered in future tense because it is used for future tense activities. It is used to develop a connection between the future depending upon the present situation, events, intentions or activities. This is an alternative method of expressing something that will occur in the future. The structure of ging to follow this formula; (am/is/are) + going to + (root form verb). We can change that structure in negative and interrogative sentences by following English grammar rules.
3. What is the basic structure of going to?
We know that we use going to sentences when we need to show future plans. For example; (i) We are going to meet tomorrow in the park. (ii) it is too late. Shops are going to closed. It is also used for prediction on the basis of present events or actions. The basic structure of going to is Subject + be + going to+ infinitive. In negative sentences, we add negative words between verb be and going to. For example; (i) He is not going to buy this car. (ii) They are not going to call you.
