Will and Be Going To

Will for Future

POSITIVE

(I / You / We / They) will eat.

(He / She / It) will eat.

NEGATIVE

(I / You / We / They) will not / won’t eat.

(He / She / It) will not / won’t eat.

QUESTION

Will (I / you / we / they) eat?

Will (he / she / it) eat?

Be Going To Future

POSITIVE

I am going to go to the park.

(He / She / It) is going to go to the park.

(You / We / They) are going to go to the park.

NEGATIVE

I am not going to go to the park.

(He / She / It) is not going to go to the park.

(You / We / They) are not going to go to the park.

QUESTION

Am I going to go to the park?

Is (he / she / it) going to go to the park?

Are (I / you / we /they) going to go to the park?

Both will and be going to are used to make predictions.
be going to is for actions or events that will occur very soon, future plans and intentions.
- We are going to eat. (very soon)
- We will leave later this afternoon.
Will refers to plans that have already been made.
- We will take the train at 8:00.
Will shows willingness to do something immediately happen or to make a promise.
- I think the phone is ringing. I will pick it up.
- I will pick you up from the front of the store.
Will is more formal versus be going to. So the choice depends on the speaker’s relationship.
- Parent to child -> Your teacher is going to be angry about this.
- Teacher to student -> Your parents will be angry about this.