‘Will’ vs ‘be going to’: Future forms

Will vs Be going to: Grammar chart

Download full-size image from Pinterest

Predictions

Use will to talk about something that you think will happen.

• I think he’ll win the election.
• He will be a good doctor.

Use be going to to talk about something that you see is going to happen (there is present evidence).

• Don’t drive like a crazy man. We’re going to have an accident!
• The doctor said I’m going to have a girl.

Sometimes, there’s little difference between will and be going to for predictions. Compare:

• The conference starts in 10 minutes. We are going to be late. (=I can see that we cannot be at the conference in 10 minutes)
• We need to hurry up. We’ll be late for the conference. (=I think we will be late)

Decisions

Use will for decisions that you take at the moment of speaking (instant decisions).

• ‘Oh, we don’t have sugar.’ ‘Don’t worry, I’ll buy some.’

Use be going to for decisions that you have already taken at the moment of speaking (intentions or plans).

• ‘Why are you undressing?’ ‘Because I’m going to go for a swim.’

Compare these two sentences:

• ‘Sarah said she needs to talk to you.’ ‘Oh, I didn’t know. I’ll call her in a minute.’ (=I took the decision while having this conversation.)
• ‘Sarah said she needs to talk to you.’ ‘Yes, I know. I’m going to call her in a minute.‘ (=I took the decision before having this conversation.)