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Do you know which tense to use when talking about future plans in English?
Do you know how to use will be going to and present continuous or stick around and everything will become clear?
Plus, we'll have a quick practice test towards the end.
Welcome to the Copy Break English Show, I'm Nik And I am Annabelle.
How are you doing Nick?
I'm really good, how are you?
I'm glad to be back, I'm also very excited, because you brought us a very interesting and useful topic.
Yes, so today we're looking at the future forums when talking about plans in the future.
Yes, so you mentioned will, be going to, and also the present continuous.
Yeah, absolutely. I also learned that present tense is used for future?
Yes, we do use the present tense for the future.
Today, we're talking about future plans.
So, we won't look at the present simple, but we do use the present simple when we talk about timetabled events.
So, the train leaves at 5pm, because it leaves at 5pm every day.
Okay, I see. But today we're talking about our plans.
That makes sense, excellent.
Okay, so we start with will.
Yes, let's go. Great.
So will is for spontaneous decisions.
It's like that eureka moment, yes, where you suddenly have an idea.
Maybe you have a problem and you have an idea how to solve the problem.
It's like a light bulb above your head.
So my example today I broke my phone.
Oh, no. Yeah, so I've decided I will buy a new one and decided in this moment.
Okay, I see. So you...
like something happened and in that moment you make that decision of like oh I'll buy a new one.
Exactly so that decision is very young it's in the past 10 seconds I've decided that.
Okay so for example if I'm outside and today is actually very windy so I'm outside just like this and i'm like it's so cold i'll go inside no it's a decision a plan that i make right that moment?
Exactly absolutely in that moment.
Okay excellent. What about be going to?
So be going to is something we've decided in the past. Okay it's more like a form plan.
Yeah exactly or it's a semi -formed plan because it's in our head but maybe we haven't done the actions to truly create their plan.
Okay. So it's that idea that, oh, I fancy eating out, you know, but I'm not making that decision at that point.
Because then I'll say like, oh, I'll go and eat out.
No, it's more of like, oh, I want to go out, but I don't know with whom and I don't know where.
So it's I'm going to eat out?
Exactly. So I decided before, and now I have this idea and I'm starting to create the plans but I haven't fixed those plans yet yeah like I don't know what I'm going to eat or where exactly so with my phone and I made the decision to buy a new phone but now I'm creating those ideas I think I'm going to buy the new iPhone oh okay well good good yeah okay should we move on to the present continuous yes and by the look of this I think that the present continuous is more going to be as like that plan where you have like the form like fully formed plan no?
Yes exactly so present continuous is used for um fixed plans where we have the details resolved.
So we know where, we know when, maybe we know who we're going to do the activity with.
Okay make sense. So we use this form to say that now I have plans, they're fixed and I know exactly what I'm going to do.
Okay. Following the example of the iPhone.
So I have bought a new iPhone.
Okay. Tomorrow I'm going to the city center to pick up the new iPhone.
Okay, and I guess that you have like, well, you have the plan, you also have the time.
Yeah, I'm going at 9 .30 tomorrow.
Okay, I see. So, for example, if I want to go to Italy.
yeah lovely country and I can say that I bought the tickets I have all the reservations for that then I'm going to use and they continuous.
Yeah exactly so you're going to Italy?
Okay yes yes and or I'm flying now I'm flying to Italy?
Fantastic yeah. Awesome.
Where are you flying to?
Where? Yeah. To Italy.
Yeah which which city are you flying to?
Uh Rome. Okay great Okay, so it's all about having all these details planned!
I see. So, if I just want to go abroad, you know, to have like some holidays but I don't know, I can't answer all those questions then I'm not using the present continuous, no?
No, you might want to be going to show that it's just here.
Ah, okay, I see. So it's here but it's not fully planned.
Exactly. Okay, I love that!
Excellent. So, now we've gone through all three forms, shall we do a quick review?
Yes, please. So, do you remember when we used will, Amalah?
It's that moment, that spontaneous moment that, for example, someone knocks the door and is like, Oh, I'll go now, I'll answer.
Exactly, yeah. Or the phone rings?
Yes. I'll pick it up.
Yes. Absolutely. Be going to, when do we use be going to for plans?
that are here but not here that we have that intention but they are not planned yet?
Yeah, absolutely. So we have decided but we haven't made all of those details decided yet.
Okay. Okay, yes, so present continuous?
It's when I have all the details and I know where, how, when, I know everything.
Exactly. We want to show that it's fixed.
Yes. So one thing that's important to note is be going to in present continuous have this overlap.
Well yes, of course, yeah.
Some people will use be going to and someone else might use present continuous in that situation, it's just to emphasise how fixed the plan is.
So they are quite similar.
And it might depend on the speaker and how they feel about that plan.
Exactly, yeah if someone is confident about their plan, they're more likely to use the present continuous.
OK, I see. I think I understand, but Nick, I think I will need some practice and I know that some people will appreciate that too.
So shall we do a little practice test?
Yes please. Right, let's go.
So I'm going to give you a scenario and give you three options and you tell me which of those options best fits that situation.
OK, that makes sense.
And if you're watching or listening at home, why don't you pause the video so you have a little more time to think about the answer.
Okay, are you ready for situation 1, Anita?
Yes, let's do it. Right, so you're at a café, and your friend says they forgot their wallet.
You decide to help, what do you say?
A. I will pay for you.
B. I'm going to pay for you.
or C i'm paying for you okay so in this in these situations those options one is using will the other one is using be going to yeah and the last one is using the present continuous yes and now i am manta cafe and my friend just realized that they forgot the wallet so i offered to help in that moment so i think it's like something spontaneous i would say that it's I will, I will pay.
Exactly, absolutely!
It's that light bulb moment.
Oh great! OK. So situation number two.
Mhm. You've been thinking about joining a gym.
OK. And now you've made the decision, but you haven't decided when you're going to go.
OK. What do you say?
A. I will join a gym next week.
I'm going to join a gym next week.
Or C, I'm joining the gym next week.
Okay so again those three different tenses and what you mentioned is something that I heard quite clearly, it was that I don't know where yet so it's not something completely fixed and for that reason I'll say that is the second option, I am going to join.
Yeah so I said I wasn't sure when I would join so I know it's next week but I don't know which day, I haven't fixed those ideas, so be going to.
Yeah and maybe I don't even know, well which gym, no?
Yeah, exactly. Okay, okay.
So situation three, I'm going to make it a little more difficult, okay?
Okay. I'm going to give you the scenario.
I want you to tell me what you think a good response could be.
So I don't have any options here?
You don't have options, you decide.
So you're at a pizza restaurant.
Okay. And you think you would like a Margherita pizza.
The waiter comes and he asks you what you want.
What do you say? So in this scenario I just looked at the menu and I made my decision right there.
So I think I'll say I'll have the Margherita.
Excellent. Yeah, absolutely.
What if I am at home, I know that I'm going to this restaurant and I'm a little bit indecisive and I need to check the menu in advance and I need to know what I'm ordering.
And I know that I'm going to have the margarita.
Is it okay for me to say in the restaurant I am going to have the margarita?
Yeah, absolutely because this just shows that you made the decision in the past, you're not making the decision now.
So that's that overlap where we can use be going to here if we want to show that a plan that was decided before, or will, to show that you've just decided now.
I always wait until the last minute to decide, so I will use will and I will have the margarita.
Okay, so it's correct?
Absolutely. Oh, excellent.
Thank you very much. No problem, so that's all we have time for today but shall we just quickly review those three future forms?
So the first one was will.
We use will for spontaneous decisions.
So that's that eureka moment where we've just decided in the moment what we will do.
That we have a problem and we are finding a solution for that problem?
Exactly. Awesome. Be going to is for those intentions.
So we have decided in the past, but we haven't put down on paper exactly.
We don't have the tickets.
It's all here. Then, present continuous.
That's the complete plan!
We have the tickets, we know where, we know when, everything is decided.
Excellent! Thank you very much for the explanation and also for the exercises.
I think these situations and choosing which option was the best helped me a lot to put in context how to use these grammar points.
Well, I'm glad it was helpful for you.
I hope you got something from this episode.
But if you do want more practice with will or be going to, check out this video here.
Or if you're listening, you will find it in the description.
Excellent. And also we have a written version of this episode in our blog article, where you are going to see the examples and maybe redo again the situations and the activities.
I know that I definitely am going to read it.
Excellent. Well done.
And you will find that in the description.
Yes, excellent. Well, thank you very much. And thank you, you all for being here as well.
Happy Coffee Breakin!
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