Lesson 2.4 · Talking about the future

Predictions: ‘will’ or ‘going to’?

Both ‘will’ and ‘going to’ can make predictions about the future. The difference is what the prediction is based on: your opinion, or real evidence you can see now.

From How to Use English Verb Tenses in Business by David Cox · 200+ diagrams for professional English

Verb tenses with future predictions

The more your prediction is based on real evidence, the more likely you are to use ‘going to’.

More based just on opinionMore based on real evidence

will

“I think that AI technology will be everywhere in the future.”
“I think they will be happy with the changes we have made.”

going to

“It looks like it is going to rain.”
“We’re going to lose money if we don’t improve these sales figures.”

Talking about future plans and predictions

A prediction is often the reason for a plan.

The airport will probably be busy later,

‘will’ to make a future prediction

so we’re going to get there early.

‘going to’ to talk about a plan which is not yet fixed

Plans and predictions in a presentation

When you introduce a presentation, ‘going to’ sets out what you intend to cover, and ‘will’ predicts how it will go.

In today’s presentation, I am firstly going to talk about the company’s performance over the past quarter.

‘going to’ to talk about an intention which is not yet fixed

I am then going to talk about projected figures for next year.

‘going to’ to talk about an intention which is not yet fixed

Hopefully, there will be plenty of time for questions at the end.

‘will’ to make a future prediction

Talking about future predictions and offers

A prediction based on evidence can lead straight to an offer.

It looks like we are going to be very busy later,

‘going to’ to talk about a future prediction based on evidence(you have seen the workload)

so I will arrange some assistance for you.

‘will’ to make a spontaneous offer decided just now

Teachers: use these diagrams

You are welcome to use these diagrams in your lessons and materials. Please credit Fluency Space with a link to this page.

Diagram: Fluency Space – fluencyspace.com/grammar/verb-tenses/predictions/

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