The
going-to future is one of several constructions used in English to refer to future events (see ). The basic form of the
going-to construction is in fact in the
present tense; it is often used when the speaker wishes to draw a connection between present events, situations, or intentions and expected future events or situations, i.e. to express the present relevance of the future occurrence. It may therefore be described as expressing
prospective aspect, in the same way that the
present perfect (which refers to the present relevance of
past occurrences) is said to express
retrospective (or perfect) aspect. There is no clear delineation between contexts where
going to is used and those where other forms of future expression (such as the
will/shall future, or the ordinary present tense) are used. Different forms are often interchangeable. Some general points of usage are listed below. • The
going-to future is relatively informal; in more formal contexts it may be replaced by the
will/shall future, or by expressions such as
plan(s) to,
expect(s) to,
is/are expected to, etc. • The ordinary present tense can be used to refer to the future when the context (or time
adverbs) indicate futurity, and the reference is to some planned action: "We are painting the house tomorrow" (this could also be expressed with "... going to paint ..."). It is usually the
present progressive that is used, as in the preceding example, but the
simple present can also be used, particularly for precisely scheduled events: "My train leaves at 4.15." (See also the obligatory use of present tense with future meaning in some
dependent clauses.) • When the expression of futurity is combined with that of some
modality, such as obligation or possibility, a modal verb (not marked specifically for the future) may be used: "We must/can do it tomorrow." There is also the expression
am to etc., which implies obligation or expectation as in "He is to deliver it this afternoon" (see the following section), and the expression
to be about to (also
to be due to and similar), implying immediacy ("I am about to leave"). • The
going-to form sometimes indicates imminence, but sometimes does not; and it sometimes indicates intention, but sometimes does not (compare "It's going to rain", which expresses imminence but not intention, and "I'm going to visit Paris someday", which expresses intention but not imminence). • The
will future is often used for announcing a decision at the time when it is made, while
going to is more likely for a plan already in existence: compare "All right, I'll help her" and "Yes, I'm going to help her". • The
will future is used more often than
going to in conditional sentences of the "
first conditional" type: "If it rains, you
ll get wet" (although
going to is also sometimes found in such sentences). • In some contexts the
going-to form can express unconditionality while the
will form expresses conditionality ("Don't sit on that rock, it's going to fall" means it's going to fall regardless of what you do, while "Don't sit on that rock, it will fall" means that it will fall conditional on your sitting on it). But in some contexts (particularly with "future in the past" – see the following section) the reverse can be true ("After 1962 ended, I would be a star" unconditionally describes what subsequently did happen, while "After 1962 ended, I was going to be a star" describes only intention).
The be + to construction English has a construction formed by a form of the
copula be followed by
to and the bare
infinitive of the main verb (i.e. the copula followed by the
to-infinitive). This is similar in form to the
going-to future, with the omission of the word
going. In the
be + to construction only
finite,
indicative (or
past subjunctive) forms of the copula can appear – that is, the copula used cannot be "be" itself, but one of the forms
am,
is,
are,
was,
were (possibly
contracted in some cases). The meaning of this construction is to indicate that something is expected to happen at a future time (usually in the near future), as a result of either some duty (
deontic modality) or some set plan. For example: • I
m to report to the principal this afternoon. (duty) • The Prime Minister
is to visit the West Bank. (plan) • Troops
are to be sent to war-torn Darfur. (plan; note
passive voice) In
headline language the copula may be omitted, e.g. "Prime Minister to visit West Bank". Compared with the
will future, the
be + to construction may be less expressive of a prediction, and more of the existence of a plan or duty. Thus "John will go ..." implies a belief on the speaker's part that this will occur, while "John is to go ..." implies knowledge on the speaker's part that there exists a plan or obligation entailing such an occurrence (the latter statement will not be falsified if John ends up not going). The
be + to construction may therefore resemble a
renarrative mood in some ways. When
was or
were is used as the copula, the plan or duty is placed in past time (and quite often implies that it was not carried out). It may also be used simply as a way of expressing "future in the past" (see the following section). For example: ::I
was to visit my aunt, but I missed the train. (past plan, not in fact fulfilled) ::This was the battle at which they
were finally
to triumph. (future in the past, also:
they would finally triumph) The construction also appears in
condition clauses: ::If you
are to go on holiday, you need to work hard. (i.e. working hard is necessary for going on holiday) ::If he
was/were to speak, it would change things significantly. (also
if he spoke) When the verb in such a clause is
were, it can be inverted and the conjunction
if dropped: "Were he to speak, ..." For details of these constructions, see
English conditional sentences. ==Expressions using
going to as relative future form==