Be going to
Verb Phrase
Published in
2 min readApr 26, 2020
The verb phrase be going to is a a structure that refers to the future.
Be going to refers to strong intentions and future plans.
- Affirmative: Subject + to be + going to + verb + …
- Negative: Subject + to be + not + going to + verb + …
- Interrogative: To be + subject + going to + verb + …?
For example:
— Affirmative: “I am going to go to work.”
— Negative: “I am not going to go to work, I am going to the shop.”
— Interrogative: “Are you going to work?”
We can use be going to to express predictions, things that are about to happen and commands.
For example:
— “I am going to send him an email about my decision.” = We use be going to to show the speaker’s intention of sending an email, but it is not arranged yet.
♦ “I am sending him an email about my decision tonight.” = We use present continuous for future to show that it is already arranged that the speaker will send an email.
