When Can I Book an Aa International Ticket if My Baby Is Not Born Yet

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Will and be going to

will and be going to

A- We can use either will or be going to to talk about something that is planned, or something that we think is likely to happen in the future:

� We will study change in a later part of the course, (or We are going to study...)

� Where will you stay in Berlin ? (or Where are you going to stay...?)

� The south of the city won't be affected by the power cuts, (or ... isn't going to be affected...)

We often prefer be going to in informal contexts .

B- We use will rather than be going to make a prediction based on our opinion or experience:

� Why not come over at the week end? The children will enjoy seeing you again.

� Shall I ask Sandra? No, she won�t want to be disturbed.

We use be going to rather than will when we make a prediction based on some present evidence:

� The sky has gone really dark. There 's going to be a storm.

� What�s the matter with her?' 'It looks like she' s going to faint.'

C- To predict the future we often use will with I bet (informal), I expect, I hope, I imagine, I think, I wonder, and I'm sure , and in questions with think and reckon:

� I imagine the stadium will be full for the match on Saturday.
� That cheese smells awful. I bet nobody will eat it.
� Do you reckon he 'll say yes?

� When do you think you �ll finish work?
Be going to can also be used with these phrases, particularly in informal contexts.

D- We use will when we make a decision at the moment of speaking and be going to for decisions about the future that have already been made. Compare:

� I' ll pick him up at 8.00. (An offer; making an arrangement now)

� I'm going to collect the children at 8.00. (This was previously arranged)

� Pineapples are on special offer this week.' 'In that case, I 'll buy two.'

� When I�ve saved up enough money, I�m going to buy a digital camera.

However, in a formal style, we use will rather than be going to to talk about future events that have been previously arranged in some detail. Compare:

� Are you going to talk at the meeting tonight?

� The meeting will begin at 9.00 a.m. Refreshments will be available from 8.30 onwards.

E- We can use will or be going to with little difference in meaning in the main clause of an if- sentence when we say that something (often something negative) is conditional on something else:

� If we go on like this, we �ll /we are going to lose all our money.

� You �ll / You are going to knock that glass over if you are not more careful.

When the future event does not depend on the action described in the if-clause, we use be going to , not will. This kind of sentence is mainly found in spoken English. Compare:

� I'm going to open a bottle of lemonade, if you want some. (= I'm going to open a bottle of lemonade. Do you want some?)

� I� ll open a bottle of lemonade if you want some. (= If you say you want some, I'll open a bottle.)

However, we use will , not be going to , when the main clause refers to offers, requests, promises, etc. and ability:

� If Jack phones I 'll let you know. (= an offer; I�m going to let you know' suggests 'I intend to let you know when Jack phones')

� If you look to your left, you 'll see the lake. (= you'll be able to see; 'you're going to see...' suggests 'I know this is what you can see when you look to your left')

and when one thing is the logical consequence of another:

� If you don't switch on the monitor first, the computer won't come on.

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Complete the text using the verbs given. Choose will or (be) going to with each verb,

Don�t use contractions

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