Chapter 16: Feeling Tense? Sorting Out Verb Tenses 245
Expressions typically combined with this tense include: for ages, for over (a
week, two days and so on) and when plus a verb in the present simple tense.Talking about ‘To be going to’..........................................................
‘To be going to’ is not a tense as such but is an expression that shows you
intend or plan to do something in the future. It sounds far less spontaneous
than the future simple. Compare these sentences:I’ll watch TV tonight.I’m going to watch TV tonight.The first sentence is used more often when it involves a new choice or decision:The party has been cancelled. I think I’ll watch TV tonight.The second sentence gives the impression that you’d thought about the
matter previously:I’m going to watch TV tonight. I always watch the soaps on Mondays.You can also use was or were going to to show that something was intended
or planned in the past.Getting the form right is easy! It’s the verb ‘to be’ in the present simple, then
going to and then a verb in its infinitive form without the to.I am going to do something.
You are going to do something.He/she/it is going to do something.
We are going to do something.They are going to do something.‘Gonna’ is a common informal way of saying ‘going to’. It’s good for students
to recognise well-known slang words but don’t encourage your learners to use
them.
In negative sentences you put not after ‘to be’:
They are not going to help.