Simple Future

Simple Future has two different forms in English: "will" and "be going to."
Although the two forms can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often
express two very different meanings. These different meanings might seem too
abstract at first, but with time and practice, the differences will become clear.
Both "will" and "be going to" refer to a specific time in the future.

FORM Will
[will + verb]
Examples:
You will help him later.
Will you help him later?
You will not help him later.
FORM Be Going To
[am/is/are + going to + verb]
Examples:
You are going to meet Jane tonight.
Are you going to meet Jane tonight?
You are not going to meet Jane tonight.
Complete List of Simple Future Forms
USE 1 "Will" to Express a Voluntary Action
"Will" often suggests that a speaker will do something voluntarily. A voluntary
action is one the speaker offers to do for someone else. Often, we use "will" to
respond to someone else's complaint or request for help. We also use "will"
when we request that someone help us or volunteer to do something for us.
Similarly, we use "will not" or "won't" when we refuse to voluntarily do
something.
Examples:
I will send you the information when I get it.
I will translate the email, so Mr. Smith can read it.
Will you help me move this heavy table?
Will you make dinner?
I will not do your homework for you.
I won't do all the housework myself!
A: I'm really hungry.
B: I'll make some sandwiches.
A: I'm so tired. I'm about to fall asleep.
B: I'll get you some coffee.
A: The phone is ringing.
B: I'll get it.
USE 2 "Will" to Express a Promise
"Will" is usually used in promises.
Examples:
I will call you when I arrive.
If I am elected President of the United States, I will make sure everyone
has access to inexpensive health insurance.
I promise I will not tell him about the surprise party.
Don't worry, I'll be careful.
I won't tell anyone your secret.
USE 3 "Be going to" to Express a Plan
"Be going to" expresses that something is a plan. It expresses the idea that a
person intends to do something in the future. It does not matter whether the
plan is realistic or not.
Examples:
He is going to spend his vacation in Hawaii.
She is not going to spend her vacation in Hawaii.
A: When are we going to meet each other tonight?
B: We are going to meet at 6 PM.
I'm going to be an actor when I grow up.
Michelle is going to begin medical school next year.
They are going to drive all the way to Alaska.
Who are you going to invite to the party?
A: Who is going to make John's birthday cake?
B: Sue is going to make John's birthday cake.
USE 4 "Will" or "Be Going to" to Express a Prediction
Both "will" and "be going to" can express the idea of a general prediction about
the future. Predictions are guesses about what might happen in the future. In
"prediction" sentences, the subject usually has little control over the future and
therefore USES 1-3 do not apply. In the following examples, there is no
difference in meaning.
Examples:
The year 2222 will be a very interesting year.
The year 2222 is going to be a very interesting year.
John Smith will be the next President.
John Smith is going to be the next President.
The movie "Zenith" will win several Academy Awards.
The movie "Zenith" is going to win several Academy Awards.
IMPORTANT
In the Simple Future, it is not always clear which USE the speaker has in mind.
Often, there is more than one way to interpret a sentence's meaning.
No Future in Time Clauses
Like all future forms, the Simple Future cannot be used in clauses beginning
with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon
as, if, unless, etc. Instead of Simple Future, Simple Present is used.
Examples:
When you will arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Not Correct
When you arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Correct
ADVERB PLACEMENT
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as:
always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.
Examples:
You will never help him.
Will you ever help him?
You are never going to meet Jane.
Are you ever going to meet Jane?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
John will finish the work by 5:00 PM. ACTIVE
The work will be finished by 5:00 PM. PASSIVE
Sally is going to make a beautiful dinner tonight. ACTIVE
A beautiful dinner is going to be made by Sally tonight. PASSIVE
Talking about the future - English Future Tenses
Expressing the future time in English is particularly fraught with problems not
only because there are so many different forms to choose from, but also
because the distinction between them is not always clear.
Will
Form
There should be no problem in making this particular form of the future tense
since will does not change with the subject and the main verb is the form
that you would find in a dictionary and so does not change either.
will
I
you
he
she
it
we
they
will ('ll)
will not (won't)
look
Meanings
This is the form that most people immediately associate with the future
tense, but it is in fact restricted in its use. It has two main functions.
the first is to talk about unplanned or
spontaneous future events;
the second is for predictions that are not
based on current evidence.
Some examples should help to clarify the different meanings:
(The telephone rings) I'll get it.
I'll make us a cup of coffee.
In these two cases the speaker is deciding what to do on the spur of the
moment without prior consideration. You may have noticed that they act as
offers. This is also true of promises or threats like:
I'll give you the money back next week.
I'll kill you!
For predictions, we may hear or read
sentences like:
I think it'll rain tomorrow.
There's no way that we will lose the game.
You will meet a tall, dark, handsome
stranger.
Going to
Form
This is an unusual compound form since it is made up of the Present
Continuous tense of the verb go with to + the main verb, so it is easy to
confuse this with a normal Present Continuous.
am/is/are going to
I
am ('m) going to
am not ('m not) going to
look
you
we
they
are ('re) going to
are not (aren't) going to
he
she
it
is ('s) going to
is not (isn't) going to
MeaningsForm
There are two main functions of this tense; the first is to refer to
premeditated intentions. Examples of this are:
I'm going to take a few days off.
We're going to visit my parents at the
weekend.
The meaning that the speakers want to get across here is that I/we hope that
these events will take place, but they are always subject to change if needs
be or if some unforeseen obstacle arises. There is a sense of an
arrangement, but it has a rather indefinite feel to it.
The second use of this form is for talking about predictions based on present
or past evidence. You may remember we said that will is used for referring to
predictions that are not reliant on current evidence - going to, on the other
hand, is used for those predictions where we can rely on present evidence
or past experience. For example:
Look at those clouds - it's going to rain.
Have you heard that Jenny's going to have a
baby?
Getting up at 4:00 in the morning is going to
be a problem.
In the first sentence there is clear, visible evidence that my prediction is likely
to come true. It would be, at best, unusual to use any other of the future
forms in this situation and, at worst, incorrect. The prediction in the second
example is based on information that I have heard directly from Jenny
herself or from someone who already had the information. The final sense
seems to be based on my past experience of getting up early in the morning.