Going to is a structure for talking about the future. It connects a present decision or a present situation to something that has not happened yet. Unlike will, which often appears at the moment of speaking, going to signals that the speaker already has a reason — a plan or visible evidence — before they open their mouth.
Form
The structure uses the verb be in the present tense, followed by going to and the base form of any verb.
- I am going to call
- he / she / it is going to leave
- we / you / they are going to stay
In everyday English, contractions are standard.
The main verb never changes form — no -s, no -ing, no past endings. All the grammar sits inside am / is / are.
Negatives
Place not between be and going to.
Both isn't and is not are correct. Contractions are more natural in speech and informal writing.
Questions
Move am / is / are to the front of the sentence.
For wh- questions, the question word comes first, then the usual be + subject + going to order.
Plans and intentions
This is the most common use. The speaker has already decided something before the moment of speaking — they are reporting a decision, not making one right now.
The decision can be recent or long-standing. The key point is that it existed before the sentence was spoken. Compare this with will, which often signals a spontaneous reaction — that distinction is covered separately.
Predictions based on evidence
The second major use. The speaker can see, hear, or feel something right now that points clearly toward a future event.
The evidence is always present and observable. This is different from a general opinion about the future (I think it will rain tomorrow), where no immediate evidence exists.
Time markers
Certain time expressions appear often with going to because they point to a specific or near future moment.
- tonight — I'm going to cook dinner tonight.
- tomorrow — She's going to fly to Tokyo tomorrow.
- next week / next month / next year — They're going to move next month.
- this summer / this weekend — We're going to visit my parents this weekend.
- soon — He's going to finish the project soon.
These markers are not exclusive to going to — they work with other future forms as well. But they combine naturally with plans and intentions.
Gonna
In spoken English, going to often reduces to gonna: I'm gonna go, She's gonna love it. This is extremely common in informal speech across all English-speaking countries.
Gonna is not standard in writing — avoid it in essays, emails, and formal messages. In this course, all examples use the full form.
Common mistakes
Missing or wrong form of be
Wrong verb form after going to
Negative form errors
Question word order
Confusing going to (future) with going to (movement)