Grammar · Lesson 8

Future intentions with be going to

Connect a future idea to something that exists now: The team decided yesterday. They’re going to run a repair workshop. That loose sign is going to fall.

50–60 min coreprior intention · present evidenceam / is / are going to15–20 min listening and retrieval

NoticeCompare an earlier decision with present evidence.

DiscoverConnect meaning to be + going to + base verb.

BuildControl form and separate intentions from nearby future choices.

UsePresent a fictional community-workshop plan.

Can-do: By the end, you can report a prior intention, predict a result from present evidence, form statements and questions, and explain why a nearby future form fits a different context.

Two-minute retrieval

Three checks from earlier lessons

Use the stated time and the complete verb system.

1The calendar shows a fixed appointment tomorrow at 9:00: The technician the manager tomorrow at 9:00.

2The planning notes record one completed decision yesterday: The team on the workshop plan yesterday.

3The live photo shows several boxes in the room now: The boxes beside the door now.

Notice what exists before the future event

Harbor Center workshop

Yesterday, Rina and Lee decided to offer a free repair workshop. They’re going to invite twelve neighbors. They aren’t going to charge a fee.

Now Lee points to a tall stack of boxes. “That top box is going to fall.”

Which future actions come from intentions that existed before this conversation?
Which sentence is not anyone’s intention? What present evidence supports it?
Find the form of be, going to, and the base verb in each sentence.

Discovery check: connect form and meaning

1The team made the decision yesterday, so They’re going to invite twelve neighbors reports a .

2The top box is leaning now, so It’s going to fall is a prediction from .

3The plural subject team members needs the form: They going to invite twelve neighbors.

4After going to, use the base verb: They’re going to twelve neighbors.

5The decision excludes a fee: They going to charge a fee.

6To ask the group about its intention, move be first: they going to invite twelve neighbors?

Get to the root: a present basis for a future idea

Be going to presents a future event from a basis that exists now. That basis can be a person’s prior intention or present evidence that points toward a result. The form does not make the future certain.

present basis	example	speaker’s message
prior intention	We’re going to run a repair workshop.	we decided before speaking
present evidence	That loose sign is going to fall.	what I can see now supports the prediction
no stated basis	Maybe the workshop will become popular.	a neutral prediction, not a visible result

A future-time expression does not choose the form. Tomorrow can appear with going to, the present continuous, will, or another future expression. The context and the speaker’s meaning choose the form.

Build the form: be + going to + base verb

purpose	I	he / she / it	you / we / they
positive	I’m going to call.	She’s going to call.	They’re going to call.
negative	I’m not going to call.	She isn’t going to call.	They aren’t going to call.
question	Am I going to call?	Is she going to call?	Are they going to call?
short answer	Yes, I am.	No, she isn’t.	Yes, they are.

Am, is, or are carries agreement, moves before the subject in a question, and combines with not. Do not add do or does. The next verb stays in its base form.

Drill 1: complete the workshop plan

1Rina reports her intention: I going to call the volunteers.

2Lee’s prior plan uses singular agreement: He going to check the tools.

3Several volunteers share an intention: They going to move the tables.

4The plan excludes a fee: Rina going to charge a fee.

5The plan excludes food sales: The volunteers going to sell food.

6Ask yes or no about Lee’s prior intention: Lee going to check the tools?

7Ask about several volunteers: the volunteers going to move the tables?

8The approved plan lists the base verb: They’re going to extra chairs.

Choose meaning, not just a future time

context	natural choice	why
decision made yesterday	We’re going to invite neighbors.	prior intention
appointment fixed for 9:00	The technician is coming at 9:00.	organized arrangement with a concrete detail
phone rings; decision made now	I’ll answer it.	decision at the moment of speaking
box is leaning	It’s going to fall.	prediction from present evidence

An intention and an arrangement can both be true. The speaker chooses a viewpoint. We’re going to meet the technician highlights the plan; We’re meeting the technician at 9:00 presents the organized appointment. A time expression alone does not prove either meaning.

Going to go is grammatical

We’re going to go to the center after lunch reports an intention and is correct. We’re going to the center after lunch uses present continuous for a planned movement or arrangement. Speakers often prefer the shorter sentence when the context is clear, but the repeated words are not an error.

Drill 2: choose the future viewpoint

1The notes say the group decided yesterday: They twelve neighbors.

2The calendar confirms the appointment at exactly 9:00 Saturday: The technician at 9:00 Saturday.

3The phone rings unexpectedly, and Rina decides at that moment: “ it.”

4The top box is leaning farther over the edge right now: It .

5The group decided yesterday to travel together after lunch: They to the center after lunch.

6No preposition comes before this time phrase: The workshop is .

Sound natural: contractions, stress, and gonna

In relaxed U.S. English, speakers usually contract be: I’m, she’s, we’re. They reduce going to and stress the important verb or result: We’re gonna CALL the volunteers. That box is gonna FALL.

Gonna is a useful listening form before a verb, but standard writing uses going to. It cannot replace movement followed only by a place. Say I’m going to the center, not I’m gonna the center. In a yes-or-no question, let the voice rise and keep the form of be clear: ARE-you-gonna CALL?

Listen: what is the speaker’s basis?

Your teacher reads each fictional line once naturally and once more slowly. Listen for the speaker’s basis and the reduced spoken form. Check your answer before discussing the line with your tutor.

Tutor-read listening check

1. What is the basis for Clip 1?

2. What does Clip 2 present?

3. What happens in Clip 3?

4. Which evidence supports Clip 4?

5. What does Clip 5 mean?

6. What does going express in Clip 6?

Read the planning update

Message to the Harbor Center team

We agreed yesterday to run the repair workshop next Saturday. Rina is going to call twelve neighbors, and Lee is going to check the tools. We aren’t going to charge a fee. The technician is coming at 9:00, so that appointment is already on the calendar. One warning: the outdoor sign is loose and moving in the wind. It’s going to fall if we do not secure it. I just heard the delivery bell, so I’ll open the door.

Read, then choose the exact evidence

1. What proves that the workshop is a prior intention?

2. Which sentence presents the fixed arrangement?

3. What present evidence supports the prediction?

Build the intention and the question

Drill 3: build the intention

The plan was decided yesterday.

Drill 4: build the question

Ask yes or no about the team’s fee plan.

Notice and repair three high-value errors

Drill 5: use the base verb

The plan says, “They are going to inviting twelve neighbors.” Tap the word to repair.

Drill 6: keep one question system

The coordinator asks, “Does Lee is going to check the tools?” Tap the word to remove.

Drill 7: movement or reduced future form?

The message says, “I’m gonna the center after lunch.” Tap the opening to repair.

Oral transform: keep the intended future viewpoint

Say every response before revealing it.

1 I decided yesterday to call the volunteers. Report the prior intention.

I’m going to call the volunteers.

2 Rina is going to charge a fee. Make the plan negative.

Rina isn’t going to charge a fee.

3 They’re going to move the tables. Ask yes or no.

Are they going to move the tables?

4 The sign is loose and moving. Predict the result with fall.

The sign is going to fall.

5 The calendar confirms Saturday at 9:00. Present the technician’s visit as an arrangement.

The technician is coming at 9:00 Saturday.

6 The phone rings unexpectedly. Decide now to answer it.

I’ll answer it.

Play and practice

Games and a short reading that recycle this lesson. Use them as a warm-up, a fast finisher, or homework. Each one checks itself.

Read

Saturday at Pine Street Park

Read once for meaning. Then read again and do the tasks below.

Message to volunteers127 wordsAbout 1 min

Hi team, we met last night and made some decisions about the park cleanup on Saturday. Karim is going to bring gloves and trash bags from the community center. Ellen and Joe are going to paint the old benches near the playground. We aren’t going to start before nine because the hardware store next door opens late.

I’m going to make a short list of jobs for new volunteers. Are you going to join us? Please tell me by Thursday. The city truck is coming at 2:00 to take the bags away.

One more thing: the weather map already shows heavy dark clouds near the coast, so it’s going to rain on Sunday. Saturday looks dry, so we’re going to finish everything in one day. Thanks! Priya

Find it

Tap the 7 base verbs that come right after going to.

Check your understanding

1. Who is going to bring gloves and trash bags?

2. Why aren’t they going to start before nine?

3. What does Priya predict from the weather map?

Match up

Situation and future viewpoint

Tap an item on the left, then its partner on the right.

Situation

Best future sentence

Unscramble

Build going-to plans and questions

Tap the words in order to build the sentence. Tap a placed word to send it back.

1. Ask yes or no about their plan.
2. A negative plan.
3. Predict from what you can see now.
4. Ask about the place for your plan.

Word search

Back to the base verb

Find the word for each clue. Words run across, down, or diagonally. Tap the first letter, then the last.

inviting → going to ___ → ?
brought → going to ___ → ?
chose → going to ___ → ?
left → going to ___ → ?
wrote → going to ___ → ?
checks → going to ___ → ?
moving → going to ___ → ?
spent → going to ___ → ?

Use it: present a fictional community plan

You never need to disclose your real work, study, home, location, schedule, travel, family, relationships, finances, devices, health, or future plans. Use the fictional workshop, invent a public event, or share personal information only when you freely choose.

Establish the prior decisions: Choose a fictional event and say when the organizers decided. Report three intentions with going to, including one negative.

Add one arrangement: Put one appointment on a fictional calendar with a concrete time or place. Present it with the present continuous and explain the difference in viewpoint.

Respond to new evidence: Describe one safe, fictional situation visible now and make a going to prediction. Then create one unexpected event and make a decision with will.

Final production: give a 45–60 second planning update. Include three prior intentions, one negative, one going-to question, one fixed arrangement, one evidence-based prediction, and one decision made now. End by asking the listener which future choice had a prior basis.

Final check

Eight decisions from a new library event

1. The organizers decided last Monday: They ___ a book exchange.

2. Maya’s plan excludes sales: She ___ any books.

3. Which question asks about the volunteers’ prior plan?

4. A full cup is tipping over the table’s edge right now: It ___.

5. The calendar confirms Maya’s appointment with the librarian at 8:30 Saturday: She ___ the librarian then.

6. Someone knocks unexpectedly, and you decide at that moment to open the door: “___.”

7. Which sentence is grammatical for a travel intention decided yesterday?

8. Which sentence correctly describes movement to a place and also fits standard writing?

Reflect and plan the next use

Can you explain the choice?

Explain the present basis in We’re going to run a workshop and That sign is going to fall. Then explain why The technician is coming at 9:00 and I’ll answer the phone use different future viewpoints.

Choose your next use: repeat the planning update with fewer notes, ask four intention questions, or complete the retrieval below tomorrow.

Return tomorrow before rereading. Complete the five-minute next-day retrieval, then revisit only the meaning, form, boundary, or spoken pattern that still feels slow.

Next-day retrieval

Choose from memory before looking back

1The notes say the organizers decided yesterday: They twelve neighbors.

2The appointment is confirmed for exactly 9:00 Saturday: The technician at 9:00.

3The loose sign is moving farther away from the wall right now: It .

Repair one high-risk question

The visitor asks, “Does they are going to charge a fee?” Tap the word to remove.

Thirty-second retrieval

Without looking back, give one prior intention, one negative, one going-to question, one evidence-based prediction, one fixed arrangement, and one decision made now.

We’re going to run a workshop. We aren’t going to charge. Are you going to invite neighbors? That sign is going to fall. The technician is coming at nine. I’ll answer the phone.