In this lesson, you will learn the difference
between using "will" and "going to". Both of these are used to talk about the future,
but they have slightly different meanings. Now, this lesson is part of the series on
English verb tenses created by www.engvid.com to help you improve your English fluency. Now, I have created lessons, separate individual
lessons on "will", which is the future simple, and on "going to", and maybe you have watched
these, and if you have, that's great. This will be a wonderful review and a way
for you to understand the differences more clearly, and if you have not watched the individual
lessons, that's also absolutely fine, you have watch this lesson now and this will give
you a wonderful overview and then you can go and watch the individual lessons, alright? So, let's get started. So, when we're talking about the future, we're
talking about any time after now, right? Not the past, not the present, anytime after
now. And we can think about the future in many
different ways in English and we have many different tenses and expressions that we use
to talk about the future, but let's focus on these basic ways. So, how do you know which one to use? You can think about it in a few days. First, think, is the situation formal or informal? Because when you separate it like that, it
will help you to understand which one to use. So, if the situation is formal, it's a formal,
official, business situation or academic situation, or even a social situation, alright? Formal and official means that you don't know
the people at all, or you know the people very well that you're speaking to, or you
don't know them very well, the ones you're speaking to, or the ones you're writing to,
that would be more formal. If that's the case, then you should always
use "will", alright? It's easy. It doesn't matter about anything else, if
it's more formal, use "will" which is, in fact, our future simple, it's also called
the future simple tense. Now, if it's informal, you have a few choices. So, let's understand what that is. So, if it's an informal situation, more casual,
more friendly, with people that you know, alright? Then you have to think a little bit further. Is the situation that you're talking about
something that you planned in advance, or something that is not planned, that is unplanned? What does that mean? You know, for example, if I need to see the
doctor, I usually can't just walk in, I need to make an appointment, and something like
that, right? So, this is something that's planned. Or, if I'm going to travel somewhere, I need
to make the travel arrangements, make a reservation, buy the ticket, these are things that are
planned in advance, right? And unplanned just means that you didn't plan
it before, you just sort of decided at that moment to do something. Let's look at an example. So, if it's planned, first of all, you're
going to use "going to", and if it's unplanned, you will use "will", or you'll use a contraction
with "will". So, our example is this: let's say you're
at work and you see your colleague getting up and he's going somewhere and you say "Hey,
John, where are you going?" and he says "I'm going to get some coffee." Now, John has a plan. He got up for a reason. Why? To go and get some coffee. So, it was planned. So, he says "I'm going to get", right? Going to, this is our planned option, right? And then you say "Oh, you know what? I'll get some too.". So, you say "Okay, I'll get some too." Was your decision planned in advance? No, you just, you asked him, he was going
to get coffee and you say "Oh, okay, I'll get some too." So, this is an example of the unplanned one,
alright? Now, to understand a little more clearly the
formal one, okay, let's look at this example: it's an announcement, for example, at a conference. "Ladies and gentlemen, we will begin the conference
at 9:00." "We will". We will begin, right? It's very official and they're talking to
maybe hundreds of people or thousands of people, it's a little more formal. So, that's the formal one, but here, we used
either "going to" or we used "will" for planned or unplanned events. Now, let's take a quick look at the structure
of "will" and "going to". So, basically here, we're taking the subject,
I, you, we, they, etc., we're taking the word "will" and then the base form of the verb. That's it. For example: I will work, You will work, We
will work, They will work, He will work, She will work, and It will work. Okay? That's when it's formal and you're using the
full form, but most of the time, if it's informal, then we don't say all of that. We use a contraction. We say "I'll" instead of "I will". I'll work. You'll work. We'll work. They'll work. He'll work. She'll work, and It'll work, alright? Now, if we want to make it negative, like
any negative, we usually add the word "not". I will not work tomorrow. Or, if you want to shorten it, what would
it become? Won't. Not "will not", "I will not" is the full form,
okay? I will not, you will not work, etc., but when
you shorten it, you use this key word: won't. So, "will not" becomes "won't". For example, "He won't work", alright? She won't work. Make sure you're pronouncing it correctly
also. And a question in this, in this future simple
tense, right, with "will", we would say "Will he work?" Will they work? Will she work? Alright? We're changing the order. And, of course, this is just a quick overview. In the lesson that I have, which is all about
future simple, it's a full class on that, and you'll learn exactly in the positive sentence,
in the negative sentence, in the question, and all of the forms, you'll also have more
time to practice pronouncing each of these, okay? But this is the quick overview. Now, if we're using "going to", then what
do we do? We have the subject, I, you, we, they, we
have the verb "to be", I am, you are, then we have "going to", just as an expression,
just put in there, you don't have to change it, and then last, we have the verb in its
base form, okay? So, in real - in reality, it will sound like
this: I'm going to. Now here, because "going to" is the informal
version, you don't really need to say "I am going to work tomorrow", you can just say
"I'm going to work", which is the contraction, which is what we use in informal conversation. Just like here, we use "I'll", here, we use
"I'm", alright? So, these would sound like this: I'm going
to work. You're going to work. We're going to work tomorrow. They're going to work. He's going to work, she's going to work, and
It's going to work. Alright? That's the basic structure. Now, if you want to make it negative, again,
we're going to add the word "not", but you put it - you could do in two ways, okay? With "I'm", it's just "I'm not going to work",
that's it, there's nothing else you can do. With these others, you can contract them in
different ways. So, one way is to say the "not", right? You could say "You're not going to work",
or you could say "You aren't going to work", alright? So, the easy way is to just put the "not"
there, okay, if you're not sure of how this works, just say: You're not going to work,
He's not going to work, They're not going to work, alright? "Not" will always create that negative for
you. But, be aware that people will be using another
form as well, and you can, once you're comfortable with it, and it's like that. You aren't. We aren't. They aren't. Or, if it's for these three, you could say
"He's not going to work", that original form, or you could say "He isn't going to work",
okay? So, those are some options that you have when
you're speaking. And then question would be, again, you're
reversing the order, so you say, "Is he going to work tomorrow?", okay? So, this is the basic structure that you have
to keep in mind. If you know it well, that's great. If you need review, then as I said, watch
the individual lessons afterwards so you really understand exactly how to use it, how to write
it, how to say it, without making any mistakes. Now, let's look at when to use "going to"
and "will" in a little more detail. You already know that if it's a formal situation,
then of course, we use which one? We use "will". But if it's informal, let's look at some of
the points to keep in mind. The most important point you've already learned:
is it something planned or something unplanned, right? That's the key, but let's look in a little
more detail. So, on this side is "going to", and on his
side is everything with "will". So, just look at the main points. With "going to", we talk about planned things. With "will" - unplanned. With "going to", something is certain. With "will", it's uncertain. With "going to", something is already decided. With "will", you just decided at that moment. With "going to", again, it's certain, but
with "will", it's possible, okay? So, let's understand these first in a little
more detail. So, an example of planned is "I'm going to
call Jim at 3:00." It's in my - it's on the agenda, it's in my
diary, I have to call him at 3:00, it's a planned activity, okay? But, an example of the unplanned one, let's
say somebody tells you "Oh, while you were out, Jim called you.", so you say "Okay, I'll
call him in a few minutes." You just decided that. You didn't have it as part of your plan for
the day. It just happened, it was an unplanned thing,
okay? Next, an example of something certain: "We're
going to visit Spain next month." If you're going to travel, you need to make
reservations, buy your tickets, pay the money, all that, right? So, this is certain. We're going to visit Spain next month. We've made the necessary arrangements. An example of uncertain: "We'll probably visit
Spain next month.", but we're not sure yet, okay? So, you see here, it's "we'll probably", right? And here, "I'll call him". Here: "I'm going to" do this. "We're going to visit Spain", okay? You see that "going to" and "will" appearing
in each case. Next, if something is already decided, which
is really another way of saying what? It's planned, right? They're just different ways, and in many of
the textbooks, you will see sometimes long lists which explain which one to use when. I don't think you need to think about it in
that much detail, if it helps you, great, but I've tried to bring it down to the few
basic points that you need to understand to make this choice, and really, it's up here
in the planned and unplanned, this is just a little more detail to help you really get
it, okay? So, if something is already decided, you could
say "I'm going to have lunch at noon." It's in the diary, you've scheduled it, because
after that you have a meeting, okay, so you have already decided. But here, just decided, in the sense that,
at this moment, so you say "You know what, I'm kind of hungry. I think I'll have lunch now." So, you just decided at that moment. It wasn't part of something you had already
decided. Next, when something is certain, for example:
"He's going to get the test results today.", because today is the 15th and they said that
all of the Math exam results are expected today. So, he's going to get the test results today,
alright? That's something certain. Or, on this side with "will", it's possible. "I believe he'll pass the test." I don't know, he's supposed to get the results,
he's a pretty good student, I believe he'll pass the test, but it's possible, okay, we
don't know for sure. Here, we know for sure. Okay? So, these are some of the points to keep in
mind when you have to choose this one or that one. But, there is one situation in particular
where you can use either one, alright? And that's when you're predicting something. You're making a prediction. You're saying what you think will happen or
what someone says will happen. For example: "The weather channel says it's
going to snow tomorrow." Right? "It's going to snow", you could say that,
or you could just as well say "The weather channel says it'll snow tomorrow." "It'll snow" - It will snow tomorrow, okay? So, for predictions, you could actually use
either one, and another thing to keep in mind, it's wonderful that you're learning these
differences because they can make a big difference, alright, to exactly communicating the message
that you want to communicate about whether something is planned or not, but don't panic
over it, okay? Take it easy, because whether you say "going
to" or whether you say "will", both of them refer to the future. So, definitely nobody's going to think that
you're talking about the past, so they will understand that you're talking about the future,
but of course, if you want to communicate more fluently and at a more advanced level,
for an exam or when you're writing a report or making a presentation, then you want to
be more precise, and that's why we're going into this in a little more detail. Now, let's look at a special situation where
you could actually use both "going to" and "will" in the same sentence. Let's see how it works. So, let's suppose that your friend asks you
"What are you doing tonight?" and there are some things that you're going to do tonight
when you're sure of. You have plan, you're certain, you've decided,
and there are some other thing which you're unsure about. You haven't decided yet, you aren't certain,
you don't have the plan yet. It's possible. These are certain, right? So, you could say something like this: "I'm
going to study for my exam", you know that, you have a plan, "and then maybe", uncertain,
"and then maybe I'll watch a show.", okay? Let's read that again: I'm going to study
for my exam and then maybe I'll watch a show. So, this person has something which is sure
- studying for the exam, and something which is unsure - and that uncertain part is indicated
in two ways, with the word "maybe", right? We don't know for sure, and with "I'll", okay? But we see here: I'll watch, and we see here:
going to study. I'm going to study. Okay? So, it's possible that in one sentence that
you have both because you have something that's planned and something unplanned. It's still comes down to that basic planned/unplanned
difference, okay? Let's look at one more example. So, let's say you're planning a trip and your
friend asks you "So, what are you doing tonight?" and you have some plans and some things you're
not sure about. So, you say "I'm going to pack my suitcases"
- this is a plan - "and then maybe I'll meet some friends for dinner.", okay? So again, we have here "I'll meet", "maybe
I'll meet", so we have this combination of sure and unsure. Let's read it one last time: I'm going to
pack my suitcases and then maybe I'll meet some friends for dinner. Okay? So, again, you could see this combination
and maybe right now you can ask yourself or if I ask you "What are you doing tonight?" Tell me something you know for sure, and tell
me something you're not sure about, okay? And one last point: Did you notice that, in
this question, I said "What are you doing tonight?", so that is the other way that we
have using the present continuous for the future, alright, which is, again, something
that I've covered in the individual lesson on "going to" and present continuous. Now, let's practice what you've learned. So, remember you're either going to use "going
to" or "will". So, the first one is something certain: I
__________ work on Friday. What would you say? I'm going to work on Friday, because it's
certain. The second one is uncertain: Maybe I ________
work on Friday. What should it be? Maybe I'll work on Friday. Okay? Alright. Good. Number two - number three. Here, something is decided already, so: He
________ study medicine. What should it be? He's going to study medicine. And number four, it's not decided yet. It's undecided: He __________ study law or
medicine. What will that be? He'll - as in, he will, He will study law
or medicine, because it's still undecided. Okay? Alright, number five, something unplanned:
They _________ probably get married. It's unplanned, not planned yet, so what would
we say? They'll. They'll probably get married. But now, in number six, it's planned, so what
do we say now? They _________ get married. What would it be? They're going to get married. Okay? Very nice. Number seven, this is formal: The Prime Minister
________ arrive at 8:00pm. Which one will it be? The Prime Minister will arrive at 8:00pm,
because this is formal. Number eight is informal. So, what would we say here? My friend _________ come over at 8:00pm. My friend is - or you could say: My friend's
going to come over at 8:00pm, okay? So, it would be like this, it's one friend,
so that would be "friend's". Now, number nine and number ten are both predictions,
so what happens there? Do you remember? So, with predictions, we could say either
one. So, number nine: She __________ win the election. So, we could say: She's going to win the election,
or here also: She _________ the election. We could say: She'll win the election, as
in, she will win the election. So, whether it's - if it's a prediction, you
can use either "going to" or "will". Alright? So, I hope this review helped you to reinforce
what you've been learning and where can you go from here? If you'd like to do a little more review on
each of these, on the "going to", on the "will", then you can go and watch the individual lessons,
okay, the individual classes because this is all part of a series of English tenses,
alright? So, watch the individual class on each of
these if you feel you want to know it clearly and more in detail, and if you feel comfortable
with that, then you can go on whenever you're ready to the next tense in this series, which
is which one? The future continuous tense, because here
we started with future simple, now we're moving to future continuous. And, if you'd like to do a little more practice
on this, you can go to www.engvid.com to do a quiz. So, thanks for watching and all the best with
your English.
