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  • - What's up everybody?

  • This is Jack from tofluency.com and in this English lesson

  • we're going to look at the difference between

  • will, be going to, and the present continuous

  • when talking about the future.

  • (soft electronic music)

  • Let's start with three examples.

  • I will get my hair cut, I will get my hair cut.

  • I'm going to get my hair cut, I'm going to get my hair cut.

  • I am getting my hair cut, I am getting my hair cut.

  • Will, be going to, and the present continuous.

  • All three are used to talk about the future.

  • It's difficult to know in which situations

  • do you use will or be going to or the present continuous

  • but by the end of this lesson you will have

  • a clear understanding of when to use these three tenses.

  • So, let's get started with a story.

  • Imagine that we decide to throw a party.

  • That we decide to have a party for one of our friends.

  • And we all need to bring something to the party.

  • We all need to contribute something for this event.

  • Because I'm an expert when it comes to beer I say,

  • Okay, I'll bring some beer.

  • I'll bring some beer to the party.

  • You say, I'll bring, complete that sentence.

  • I'll bring, maybe you said some food,

  • or I'll bring some chips or I'll bring a cake.

  • But we both used will to talk about this.

  • And that is because we made the decision to bring beer

  • or a cake in the moment of speaking.

  • We didn't have the intention to do this before

  • the conversation and that's one of the ways we use will.

  • When we make the decision to do something

  • in the future while we are speaking.

  • Here are some more examples to make that clearer.

  • My wife and I are sitting on the sofa,

  • it's 7 PM, the kids are in bed, and my wife says,

  • let's watch Stranger Things, let's watch Stranger Things.

  • I'll say, great I'll make some tea, I'll make some tea.

  • I didn't have the intention to make tea before

  • we had that conversation, the decision to make tea

  • was made during that conversation.

  • It doesn't matter if that future action

  • is in the immediate future or the distant future.

  • For example, let's say that you are in a meeting

  • and your boss says okay, we need somebody to give

  • a presentation at the big conference next year.

  • And you say, I'll do it, I'll do it.

  • Again, you didn't have the intention

  • to give this presentation before the meeting.

  • You made that decision while speaking.

  • So far the examples are, I'll bring the drinks,

  • I'll bring a cake, I'll make some tea, I'll do it.

  • Going back to the example about the party.

  • Later that day you see a friend

  • and he asks you about this party.

  • And you say, yeah, it's going to be great.

  • Jack is going to bring some beer,

  • Jack is going to bring some beer.

  • The intention of bringing beer was

  • made before that conversation.

  • Therefore, we can't use will.

  • We need to either use be going to,

  • or the present continuous.

  • And at this stage it's important to know

  • that be going to and the present continuous can be flexible.

  • And in fact, in many situations you can use both

  • with more or less the same meaning.

  • So you can say, Jack is bringing some beer to the party.

  • Jack is bringing some beer to the party.

  • Before I said to my wife, I'll make some tea,

  • I'll make some tea but look at this example.

  • I'm going to make some coffee.

  • Do you want some?

  • I'm going to make some coffee.

  • Do you want some?

  • The intention to make coffee was

  • there before I asked that question.

  • I already had that intention,

  • therefore, I don't use will.

  • I didn't make the decision to do that in the moment.

  • I'm going to make some coffee.

  • Do you want some?

  • Going back to the example of the presentation.

  • In the meeting you said, I'll do it, I'll do it.

  • But imagine later that day you meet

  • one of your friends at the pub.

  • You say, I'm going to give a big presentation next month.

  • I'm going to give a big presentation next month.

  • Now, when we're talking about our plans

  • and arrangements and intentions for the future

  • we normally use be going to or the present continuous.

  • I've talked about a few examples of how we use will

  • but in most cases we use be going to and the

  • present continuous because we normally know our plans

  • and intentions before the conversation.

  • But what is the difference between

  • be going to and the present continuous?

  • Well, the present continuous is mainly

  • used for arrangements and in most cases

  • there is a specific time and date for this.

  • For example I have a football game at 3 PM on Sunday.

  • A friend asks me if I want to

  • go to his party on Sunday afternoon.

  • I say, I'm so sorry I can't go,

  • I'm playing football at 3 PM.

  • It's an arrangement, it's a plan with a

  • specific time and date.

  • I'm playing football at 3 PM.

  • Another example is I have an appointment

  • at 10 AM on Tuesday at the hairdressers.

  • Here, I would say, I'm getting my hair cut on Tuesday.

  • I'm getting my hair cut on Tuesday.

  • But if you don't have a set plan or an arrangement

  • then we tend to use be going to.

  • For example, I'm going to get my hair cut soon.

  • I'm going to get my hair cut soon.

  • In this example, I don't have an appointment.

  • But it's my intention to get my hair cut.

  • I'm going to get my hair cut soon.

  • And here's a conversation where

  • we can use this example with will.

  • My wife says Jack, your hair is bloody awful,

  • you hair is bloody awful.

  • I say, what do you mean?

  • Kate says, there's just no style to it, it looks terrible.

  • I say, wow, okay, I'll get it cut soon.

  • Notice that the intention to get my hair cut

  • wasn't there before the conversation.

  • I made the decision to do this during the conversation.

  • That's why I use will.

  • So going back to the three examples

  • I gave at the start of the video.

  • I'll get my hair cut soon.

  • I'm going to get my hair cut soon.

  • I'm getting my hair cut on Tuesday.

  • The first one, the intention is there

  • but I made the decision during the conversation.

  • The second one, the intention is there

  • but I already decided to do this before the conversation.

  • And the last one is an arrangement.

  • I have the appointment, I'm getting my hair cut on Tuesday.

  • So that is the main difference between

  • will, be going to, and the present continuous.

  • (soft electronic music)

  • Let's look at a few more examples using be going to.

  • And some very specific cases when we use this.

  • The first one is I'm going to mow the lawn this weekend.

  • Now, when it comes to these types of activities

  • we tend to use be going to.

  • Because we don't make arrangements with people to do this.

  • I'm going to mow the lawn this weekend.

  • We're going to clean the house on Sunday.

  • I'm going to do my homework tonight.

  • These are types of activities

  • where we tend to use be going to.

  • (soft electronic music)

  • Let's talk about predictions now.

  • Because when we are predicting the future

  • we can use either will or be going to.

  • For example, when we're talking about our party,

  • I think Paul is going to come,I think Paul is going to come.

  • Or, I think Paul will come, I think Paul will come.

  • But if you are basing your prediction

  • on current evidence then use be going to.

  • The example that many of your have seen before is this,

  • Look at that black cloud!

  • It's going to rain!

  • The black cloud is the evidence

  • that we are using for our prediction.

  • Look at that black cloud!

  • It's going to rain!

  • Or Mike Tyson looks so focused.

  • He's going to knock out the other guy soon!

  • He's going to knock out the other guy soon!

  • (soft electronic music)

  • We can also use both be going to

  • and will in the first conditional.

  • For example, if it rains, we'll cancel the party.

  • If it rains, we'll cancel the party.

  • Or if it rains, we're going to cancel the party.

  • If it rains, we're going to cancel the party.

  • I want to end on three examples

  • that are used very specifically.

  • The first one is this.

  • What are you doing tomorrow?

  • What are you doing tomorrow?

  • This is what we ask when we're trying to find out

  • somebody's availability so we can suggest something.

  • Let's say we have a party tomorrow which we do, you can say.

  • What are you doing tomorrow?

  • Do you want to come to this great party?

  • You'll notice we use the present continuous to do this.

  • What are you doing Sunday morning?

  • The next one is this.

  • You might here your boss say,

  • okay everyone, I'll be in the office tomorrow.

  • Or okay everyone, I won't be in the office tomorrow.

  • The boss uses will here to talk about a future fact.

  • Here are two more examples.

  • I'll be in London this time next week.

  • I'll be in London this time next week.

  • They'll be on the plane this time tomorrow.

  • They'll be on the plane this time tomorrow.

  • And finally, Let's introduce another tense here.

  • The train gets in a 7 AM, the train gets in a 7 AM.

  • This is a present simple.

  • And we can use the present simple

  • to talk about the future too.

  • This is for things on a schedule or a time table.

  • The train gets in a 7 AM, it's on a schedule.

  • Another example is I leave tomorrow at 7 AM.

  • I leave tomorrow at 7 AM.

  • I'm taking a flight, which is why I'm using it in this way.

  • I leave tomorrow at 7 AM.

  • And finally, what time does the lesson start?

  • What time does the lesson start?

  • So, we have covered a lot in this lesson.

  • What I recommend you do is if anything is unclear,

  • watch it again and then leave any questions you have below.

  • Speaking of leaving things below,

  • also write a few examples using

  • be going to, will, an the present continuous.

  • If you want, create some type of dialogue

  • so that you give the example some context.

  • And finally, know that this is not easy.

  • It's going to take you a long time to truly

  • understand when to use will,

  • be going to, and the present continuous.

  • But to help you I've created a playlist over here.

  • So click over there, watch those videos,

  • and you'll have a much better understanding of this area.

  • If you've enjoyed it, please like and share.

  • Thank you so much for being here.

  • (soft electronic music)

- What's up everybody?

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