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Grammar Basics: Unit 29 – will, Part II

Many ESL students are confused about “will” and “going to.” Both are used to indicate future events. But their connotations are slightly different.

going to:”going to” is used when a person has already decided to do something. After you have made your plans to do this or that, you use “I’m going to …” when you tell somebody about your future.

will:”will” is used at the moment you have made your decision. For example, someone might say, “The phone is ringing.” You could respond, “Don’t worry, I’ll get it.” You would not say, “I’m going to get it,” because you did not make your decision until the phone started to ring.

Another example: Someone asks, “Who wants to go with me to the store after lunch?” Up until now you had not considered doing that. But after someone asks you, you think that it would be something you are interested in doing. So you decide to go along, and you respond, “I will.”

If some other person asks you (even only 5 minutes later), “What are you doing after lunch?” you would then respond: “I am going to the store.” You would not say, “I will go to the store.” Why? Because your decision was already made before the other person asked.

Here are some more situations where “will” is used instead of “going to”:

Person A: It’s cold in here.
Person B:
I’ll turn up the heat.

Person A: We need some more milk and eggs.
Person B:
I’ll go to the store later today and pick some up.

Person A: I’m bored. I think I’ll go for a walk.


i will make you a sandwich

 Person A: You look hungry. I’ll fix you a sandwich.

Person A: The roads are so snowy and icy today, I don’t think we’ll go to the museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercise: In the following sentences, choose either “will” or “going to” to make an appropriate sentence.

Example:

I’m tired, so I think I (will / am going to) go to bed. ==> I’m tired, so I think I will go to bed.
A: What are you doing tomorrow night?
B: We (will / are going to) go out for dinner and watch a movie. ==> We are going to out for a dinner and watch a movie.

1. It snowed a lot overnight. I (will / am going to) shovel the driveway before I go to work.

2.  A: I have a ton of work to do.
B: That’s all right. We (will / are going to) help you.

3. I’m confused. I think I (will / am going to) ask Sam to explain these instructions to me.

4. A: Have you done your homework yet?
B: No, I (will / am going to) do it later, I think.

5. I’m tired. I think I (will / am going to) skip exercising today.

6. A: (Will you do / Are you going to do) anything this weekend?
B: No, I (will / am going to) stay home and get caught up on my reading.

7. Someone’s at the door. (Will you / Are you going to) answer it?

8. A: What are you doing after lunch?
B: I (will / am going to) go ice skating. Want to come?

9. Mother likes flowers, so I think we (will / are going to) get her a colorful bouquet for her birthday.

10. A: This room’s a mess.
B: Don’t worry – I (will / am going to) clean it up.

11. Do you know how expensive that wine is? If we buy that for the party, it (will / is going to) cost a fortune!

12. A: We’re having a potluck this Saturday.
B: Okay. I (will / am going to) bring a salad.

13. I’ve finished reading my library books. I think I (will / am going to) return then and get some more.

14. A: Why are you baking so many cookies?
B: I (will / am going to) gift wrap plates of cookie and give them away as presents.

15. We didn’t get a Christmas tree this year. We (will / are going to) get one next year, okay?

16. A: The car’s low on gas.
B: I (will / am going to) fill it up on my way to the store.

17. I’m hot. I think I (will / am going to) go swimming to cool off.

18. A: The plants need watering.
B: I (will / am going to) do it as soon as I’m done washing these dishes.

19. I (will / am going to) give you a call tomorrow, okay?

20. A: I have a taste for pretzels.
B: I (will / am going to) bake some.

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Grammar Basics: Unit 28 – will, Part I (Solutions)

Exercise: Change the following sentences from simple present to future tense using “will”:

They go swimming at the pool. ==> They will go swimming at the pool.
He doesn’t sing in the shower. ==> He won’t sing in the shower.

1. Bob will eat an apple every day.
2. The tailor will fix the broken zipper.
3. The band will march in the parade.
4. She will bake twelve different kinds of cookies for Christmas.
5. He won’t clean the basement in the spring.
6. We will paint the house on the weekend.
7. Tom will write for the newspaper.
8. The children won’t watch TV after school.
9. Jack will graduate from college next month.
10. Mary will take pictures at the party.
11. John will bring hot dogs and hamburgers.
12. They will buy drinks for everyone.
13. He won’t read 10 books a month.
14. You will wash the car next week.
15. The bank will open at 9 o’clock.
16. Susan will fill up the coffee pot.
17. The mailman will drop off a package.
18. We won’t buy stamps at the post office.
19. They will have a birthday party on Friday.
20. I will study history as often as I can.

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Grammar Basics: Unit 28 – will, Part I

will” is used to indicate future tense:

Yesterday he sang.
Today he sings.
Tomorrow he will sing.

will” is easy to use. It must have a verb (in the infinitive form) that goes along with it. Also, “will” doesn’t change for either person or number:

will + (inf. verb)

I will _____
You will _____
He / She / It will _____
We will _____
You will _____
They will _____

To form a negative, put “not” immediately after “will,” but before the infinitive verb:

I will not _____
You will not _____
He / She / It will not _____
We will not _____
You will not _____
They will not _____

will” may also be contracted: will ==> ’ll

I will _____ ==> I’ll
You will _____ ==> You’ll
He / She / It will _____ ==> He’ll / She’ll / It’ll
We will _____ ==> We’ll
You will _____ ==> You’ll
They will _____ ==> They’ll

will not” is contracted a little differently, though: will not ==> won’t

I will not _____ ==> I won’t
You will not _____ ==> You won’t
He / She / It will not _____ ==> He / She / It won’t
We will not _____ ==> We won’t
You will not _____ ==> You won’t
They will not _____ ==> They won’t

We can also use “think will” to indicate something we are fairly ( about 75%, for example) certain is going to happen.

(Noun – often, a pronoun) + think + (noun, pronoun) + will + (inf. verb)what do you want to be when you grow up

I think it will snow.
She thinks the children will like that movie.
They think he will be a fireman when he grows up.

We use “don’t think….will” to express that something is unlikely:

I don’t think it will rain on our parade.
He doesn’t think the library will be open on Sundays.

Sometimes, we use “will not” / “won’t” to indicate something that is unlikely to happen. It means the same thing as “don’t think…will”.

Tom thinks the economy won’t improve until next year.
They think the store won’t have any apples.

Exercise: Change the following sentences from simple present to future tense using “will”:

They go swimming at the pool. ==> They will go swimming at the pool.
He doesn’t sing in the shower. ==> He won’t sing in the shower.

1. Bob eats an apple every day.
2. The tailor fixes the broken zipper.
3. The band marches in the parade.
4. She bakes twelve different kinds of cookies for Christmas.
5. He doesn’t clean the basement in the spring.
6. We paint the house on the weekend.
7. Tom writes for the newspaper.
8. The children don’t watch TV after school.
9. Jack graduates from college next month.
10. Mary takes pictures at the party.
11. John brings hot dogs and hamburgers.
12. They buy drinks for everyone.
13. He doesn’t read 10 books a month.
14. You wash the car next week.
15. The bank opens at 9 o’clock.
16. Susan fills up the coffee pot.
17. The mailman drops off a package.
18. We don’t buy stamps at the post office.
19. They have a birthday party on Friday.
20. I study history as often as I can.

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