Future

🎱more about the present progressive, going to and will

spoken and written English Be going to and the present progressive are particularly common in spoken English, as way of talking about the future. This is because conversation is often about future events that we can see coming, so present forms are natural. In written English, these forms are less often used. Will is extremely common in writing, because written language tends to deal with less immediate future events, when we do not see the future in the present. Willis also preferred when giving information about impersonal, fixed arrangements - for example official itineraries' Compare:

🖌We're meeting Sandra at 6.00.

The President will arrive at the airport at 14.00. He will meet ' "

🎙pronunciation n of going to

 In informal speech, going to is often pronounced as /gana/'

This is often shown in writing as gonna.

📎shall and will

 In modern English l/we will and l/we shall can generally be used with no difference of meaning. will is more common, and shall is dying out. (In any case, the commonest forms in speech are the contractions I'll and we'll.)

📎shall in questions

 In older English, shall was used to talk about obligation (rather like should).This meaning still survives in first-person questions, where shall is used to ask for instructions or suggestions, or offer services.

🖌What time shall we come round? Shall I take your coat?

Compare the use of will to ask for information:

What time will we get into London?

📎legal language

 Legal documents, such as contracts, often use shall to express obligation.

The hirer shall be responsible for maintenance of the vehicle. (from a car-hire contract)

🔍note

different forms possible

 The differences between the three main structures used to talk about the future are not always very clear-cut. WilI and present forms (especially going to) are often both possible in the same situation, when 'present'ideas like intention or fixed arrangement are a part of the meaning but not very important. The choice of structure will depend on which part of the meaning we want to emphasize. In the following examples all of the different forms would be correct,

with no important difference of meaning.

 What will you do next year?

What are you doing next year?

What are you going to do next year?

 All the family will be there.

All the family are going to be there.

 If your mother comes, you'll hate to help with the cooking.

If your mother comes, you're going to have to help with the cooking.

You won't believe this.

You're not going to believe this.