Future — Will / Going To
Level B2–C2 · decisions, plans & predictions
◎What you'll master
- Use will for decisions made now, predictions, and promises/offers.
- Use going to for plans decided before now and predictions from evidence.
- Form both correctly: will + base; am/is/are going to + base.
- Use the present (not will) after when / as soon as / if for the future.
- Use the present for fixed timetables (The show starts at eight).
Two futures, two jobs
English has no single 'future tense'. Will and going to both point ahead, but they carry different meanings. Getting the choice right is what makes advanced English sound natural.
Will — decide now, predict, promise
Use will for a decision made at the moment of speaking (I'll get it), for a prediction or opinion (I think it'll work), and for promises, offers and refusals(I'll pay you back; she won't listen).
Going to — the plan & the evidence
Use going to for an intention decided before now (We're going to move house) and for a prediction based on evidence you can see right now (Watch out — you're going to spill it).
The trap: timetables & time clauses
Fixed schedules use the present, not will (The show starts at eight). And after when, as soon as, before, until, if, keep the present even for future meaning.
That bag looks heavy — I ______ you.
We've already decided — we ______ the flat.
Look at those clouds — it ______ .
Careful with that ladder — you ______ !
The train ______ at 6:15 tomorrow.
A: The phone's ringing. B: I ______ it.
She ______ study medicine — she's been planning it for years.
We're ______ paint the house next month; the color's chosen.
I promise I ______ be late again.
Given the sales figures, the company ______ a loss this year.
✎Fix the Error
Each sentence has one mistake in the underlined word. Type the correction and check.
1.I think it will to rain tomorrow.
2.We're going sell the flat next year.
3.Careful — you will fall !
4.I'll call you when I will arrive .
5.The show will start at eight — it's on the schedule.