1. Intentions and plans.

Examples:

"I hear you won the lottery. What are you going to do with the money?" - "I'm going to buy a new car." They are going to develop a new product next month. We're going to discuss the distribution costs at the next meeting. He's going to work in the Marketing Department for six months. What is he going to do when he leaves college? I’m not going to write to her, she's coming here next week. "When are you going to interview the new candidates?" - "I'm going to see all of them on Tuesday."

"What is the company going to do next year?” - "They're going to open a new factory in Turkey but they're not going to close the Manchester one.

2. Predicting future events from the present situation.

Examples:

Look at those black clouds. It’s going to rain soon.

We've tested the prototype and we're going to make some changes.

Look at the way that man is driving! He's going to have an accident.

They’re going to lose business, because they are so late with deliveries.

I feel terrible. I think I’m going to be sick.

Have you seen these sales figures! Our end-of-year results are going to

be fantastic.

Exercises

Use the following words to make full sentences about the future. Use going to.

I. I/ work / on the production report.

2. He / play / tennis on Saturday.

3. What / you / do / tomorrow evening?

4. What / he / say / to the customers about the delay?

5. When / you / read / the report?

6. What kind / computer / they / buy?

Choose the following verbs to complete the sentences. Put the verbs into the correct form. Use GOING TO.

resign, clean, tell, lie, have.

1. I've got a headache. I ___ down.

2. He's hungry. He ___ a sandwich.

3. My car's dirty. I ___it.

4. She doesn’t like her job. She ___.

5. He doesn't know about the new project. I ___ him.

Match the sentences on the left with the ones on the right

1. I don’t feel well. a. I think it's going to rain.

2. They've already scored 3 goals. b. I'm going to see a doctor.

3. Sheila's working very hard. c. I think he's going to bring the meeting to the end.

4. The sky's very dark. d. I think they're going to win.

5. John's looking at the watch. e. I think she's going to finish the report on time.

Work in pairs. Use the words below to make questions with GOING TO. Answer your partner's questions.

Example: what / marketing department / next year?

What is the marketing department going to do next year? - It's going to

change the design of the shampoo bottles and improve the packaging.

1. who / design / bottles?

2. why / marketing department / change / design?

3. what / Mr Marcus / bring / next meeting?

4. what / marketing department / cut / next year?

5. what / Nina / do / before / next meeting?

Work in pairs. Answer the questions below.

What is the Government going to do next year?

What is your company going to do in the next few years?

What is your department going to do in the next few weeks?

Now think of three more questions with GOING TO to ask your partner.

Work in pairs. Look at the WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? Worksheet.

What are you going to do? Worksheet.

Some companies have a suggestion box. Here are some of the suggestions people made in one company last year.

Set up a creche for working mothers.

Provide fully-subsidized meals for all staff.

Have a staff party every summer for employees and families.

Build a gym and sauna for the use of all staff.

Ban all smoking in the building.

Provide free English lessons for all staff in company time.

With your partner, list at least seven of your own ideas for improvements to your own company.

You can make only FOUR of the improvements next year. Decide which ones. Tell the rest of the class what improvements you are going to make and why.

Make complete sentences.

1. we / open / new factory / Turkey.

2. they / advertise / new workers.

3. she / not / change /job.

4. he / buy / new computer?

5. when / you / discuss / report?

6. how many / people / move / new offices? 7. I / write / report / tomorrow evening.

8. you / meet / new staff / next week?

9. what / new government / do / about taxes?

What are you going to do in the next few months? Write five sentences about yon and your family. Use GOING TO.

Work in pairs. Look at the situations below. What can you say in each situation.

1. You are flying an airplane. Both engines are in fire.

2. You are watching an athlete running a marathon. He is at least five minutes ahead of all the other competitors and very close to the finishing line.

3. You see a large stack of books on someone's desk. They are starting to wobble.

4. You are sitting in a very long traffic jam. You are supposed to be at a meeting in ten minutes.

Look at the predictions below. What evidence do you think the speakers have for saying these things?

I think she's going to get better soon. We're going to be rich. I think my computer's going to crash. Watch out! It's going to explode!

Predictions with WILL and GOING TO.

Both WILL and GOING TO can be used to make predictions about the future.

By using going to, we indicate a personal involvement when we predict the future. Going to is usually used when we have immediate evidence of something.

By using will, we indicate a neutral viewpoint when we predict the future, e.g. will is often used in scientific reports.

However, there are many situations when either will and going to can be used. The choice indicates the feeling of the speaker about the situation he/she is predicting, not the situation itself.

Work in pairs. Use WILL or GOING TO to make predictions about the things below. Remember that in some cases either can be used, depending on the viewpoint of the speaker.

You see a small child riding a toy car in the middle of a busy street.

You see some people driving towards the mountains. They have skis on top of their car.

Someone asks you to predict the winner of a sports event.

You are giving a presentation about your company. You are predicting figures for next year.

You are writing a report and you mention the finishing date of a project.

Work in pairs. Make three predictions about each of the things below.

1. The economy of your country,

2. Your company.

3. Your personal life.

Look at the information about the annual general meeting (AGM) and the memo, and answer the questions below.

Kingdom plc AGM 3rd May 10.00 am Falcon Crest Hotel

10.00 a.m. Opening address Dr Rees Powell CEO

10.30 am. Financial report Paul Greer Director

11.00a.m. Appointment of Directors Dr Rees Powell CEO

11.15 a.m. Open forum Dennis Mitchell Director