FUTURE
There are two types of verbs in the future frequently used in English: Will and Be going to. Although similar, they are used in different situations.
WILL
The structure for using the verb in the future is very simple. Check the following table an example with the verb “work”:
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative |
| I will work | I will not work | Will I work? |
| You will work | You will not work | Will you work? |
| He will work | He will not work | Will he work? |
| She will work | She will not work | Will she work? |
| It wiill work | It will not work | Will it work? |
| We will work | We will not work | Will we work? |
| You will work | You will not work | Will we work? |
| They will work | They will not work | Will they work? |
In the affirmative form, use the auxiliary “will” before the verb in the infinitive without “to”. In the affirmative form it’s still possible to use the contracted form. Instead of “I will”, you can choose “I’ll”, “You will” by “You’ll” and so on.
In the negative form it is no different. Just add “not” after the auxiliary “will”. If you prefer, you can also use the contracted form in which “will not” becomes “won’t”.
For the interrogative form, the auxiliary “will” comes before the subject. Do not forget the question mark at the end of the sentence.
Notice that the rule is the same for all subjects, both singular and plural. In this case, there is no exception. Check some examples:
The future “will” is used for actions in the future in a general way:
Will you help me with my homework?
He will travel to London next winter.
My brother won’t take the test.
It’s also used for future actions that weren’t planned.
My cellphone broke. I will buy a new one.
Jenny called. She won’t go to the party.
You can answer questions in the future using short answers.
| (Short Answers) Affirmative | Short Answers) Negative |
| Yes, I will | No, I won’t |
| Yes, he will | No, he won’t |
| Yes, she will | No, she won’t |
| Yes, it will | No, it won’t |
| Yes, we will | No, we won’t |
| Yes, you will | No, you won’t |
| Yes, they will | No, they won’t |
GOING TO
The structure of the future “going to” uses the verb to be. To compare with the structure of the future “will”, we will also use the verb “work” as an example:
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative |
| I am going to work | I am not going to work | Am I going to work? |
| He is going to work | He is not going to work | Is he going to work? |
| She is going to work | She is not going to work | Is she going to work? |
| It is going to work | It is not going to work | Is it going to work? |
| We are going to work | We are not going to work | Are we going to work? |
| You are going to work | You are not going to work | Are you going to work? |
| They are going to work | They are not going to work | Are they going to work? |
When we use the future “will” the structure is the same for all subjects, both singular and plural. In the case of the future “going to” it is necessary to use the right form of the verb to be (am, is, are).
In the affirmative form we have subject + verb to be + going to + verb in the infinitive without to. There is also the possibility of using the contracted form as I’m going to, She’s going to, They’re going to, and so on.
Changing the sentences into negative is also easy. Just add “not” after the verb to be. Here we can also use the contracted form of the verb to be (isn’t or aren’t).
Finally, in the interrogative structure, the verb to be comes before the subject. Now we’ll look at some examples of using the future “going to”:
The future “going to” is used to indicate actions planned in the future:
He is going to get married tomorrow.
Are you going to leave your job?
She isn’t going to move to Orlando.
WILL OR GOING TO?
Predictions:
Going to: you can see the future in the present: you see things coming or starting.
Stop it! You are going to brake the window.
Will: you thing or believe things about the future.
Don’t buy this for him. He won’t like it.
Plans:
Going to: if you are planning or talking about plans, use Going to.
I’m going to study this weekend.
Decisions:
Will: You are making decisions.
“He is late”. “I will call him.”
Going to: Decisions have been made.
“You don’t look good”. “I know. I’m going to the doctor next week”.
Also learn from Captain English about Prepositions here.