Be going to
Going to is one of the ways to talk about the future. It means the intention to do something in the future.
to be going to + infinitive
We normally but "going to" into the present or the past.
In the present tense the verb be becomes am, is, are depending on the pronoun. We form negative and question sentences according to the rules of the present continuous
| Sentence type |
I
| he, she, it | you, we, they |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | I am going to have lunch. | Peter is going to have lunch. Anne is going to have lunch. The fox is going to have lunch. |
You are going to have lunch. We are going to have lunch. The Watsons are going to have lunch. |
| Negative | I'm not going to have lunch. | Peter isn't going to have lunch. Anne isn't going to have lunch. The fox isn't going to have lunch. |
You aren't going to have lunch. We aren't going to have lunch. The Watsons aren't going to have lunch. |
| Question | Am I going to have lunch? | Is Peter going to have lunch? Is Anne going to have lunch? Is the fox going to have lunch? |
Are you going to have lunch? Are we going to have lunch? Are the Watsons going to have lunch? |
Similarly, we follow the rules of the past continuous to speak about the past.
| Sentence type |
I, he, she, it
| you, we, they |
|---|---|---|
| Positive | I was going to climb the hill. Peter was going to climb the hill. Anne was going to climb the hill. The fox was going to climb the hill. |
You were going to climb the hill. We were going to climb the hill. The Watsons were going to climb the hill. |
| Negative | I wasn't going to climb the hill. Peter wasn't going to climb the hill. Anne wasn't going to climb the hill. The fox wasn't going to climb the hill. |
You weren't going to climb the hill. We weren't going to climb the hill. The Watsons weren't going to climb the hill. |
| Question | Was I going to climb the hill? Was Peter going to climb the hill? Was Anne going to climb the hill? Was the fox going to climb the hill? |
Were you going to climb the hill? Were we going to climb the hill? Were the Watsons going to climb the hill? |
Use of going to
1) Speaking about intentions
You have made a decision to do something in the future and you intend to do so.
Examples
I'm going to take driving lessons. → I haven't started the lessons yet but I have decided to start taking them.
Bill and Rose are going to get married. → They haven't got married yet but they have decided to do so.
Alex is going to buy a new car. → He hasn't bought a car yet but he has already made up his mind to buy it.
We can speak about our intentions in the past, too.
Examples
I was going to give you a call. = I had an intention to call you.
Were you going to invite Tim? = Were you planning to invite Tim?
They weren't going to offer me a job. = It wasn't their intention to offer me a job.
2) Something is about to happen
We use "to be going to" when we are sure that something is about to happen, we can see the signs of it.
Examples
Do you see those dark clouds? It's going to rain. → It isn't raining now but I can see the signs of the coming rain. It will be raining very soon.
Mark is on the ladder and he has lost balance. He is going to fall down. → He hasn't fallen down yet but there are signs that he's just about to fall.
I haven't studied for the test. I'm going to fail. → I haven't failed yet but that is very probable that I will.
Pay attention
Don’t confuse "to be going to + infinitive" with the verb "to go" in the present or past continuous tense:
I am going to the cinema tomorrow. → Present Continuous
I am going to move to Prague. → to be going to
He was going home. → Past Continuous
He was going to talk to her. → to be going to