Having taught German speakers English for many, many years I know that one area of language that causes lots of problems and confusion is speaking in the future.
When do we use ‘will’? When do we use ‘going to’ and when do we use ‘the verb +_ing’?
Take a look at the examples below. Hopefully they will make things easier for you.
We use ‘will’ to talk about things decided at the moment of speaking:
I forgot to call the London office. I’ll call after my next meeting is finished. (This is a spontaneous decision. There was no plan in advance.)
We use ‘going to’ to talk about things that were already decided or planned before speaking:
I’m going to call the London office this afternoon. I promised I would call them after lunch.
(There was already a plan to call London before speaking. It was already decided. It was not spontaneous.)
We use verb + _ing (present continuous tense) to talk about future plans when what we are talking about is an arrangement. We usually know the time and place. More than one person is involved:
I’m meeting my new boss for lunch this afternoon at 1 p.m.
We are having a party at the company on Friday night. Would you like to come?
We also use verb + _ing (present continuous tense) to ask about plans:
Are you doing anything at the weekend?
What are you doing at work tomorrow?
Are you having a holiday in the summer?
Have fun learning English!
Louise