In our lesson we have
Be going to
- future plans (personal)
- prediction based on something we can see or hear
Present continuous
- future arrangement
- fixed plan
Is this right? Can someone explain this to me with examples?
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2 Answers
You use "be going to" for your future plans - the things you intend/have decided to do in the future. For example:
I am going to have a meal with my friends tonight.
you can also use "be going to" for a prediction as you see or hear. For example:
There are clouds in the sky. It's going to rain.
You use the present continuous for future arrangements and fixed plans. For example:
I am going to an ice hockey match in the evening. I bought a ticket for it yesterday.
Nevertheless, you often use either be going to or the present continuous to have similar meanings.
We are going to have a party next week (we intend/have decided to do so).
We are having a party next week (we have made arrangements).
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1(1) The question is about “be going to” vs. present continuous, and your example of present continuous uses the verb to go. This is confusing. I suggest that you change your ice hockey example to something like “I am watching a movie …”, “I am attending a lecture …”, or “I am visiting a friend …”. (2) IMHO, your answer would be easier to read if you visually distinguished the sentences that are talking about the language from the examples. Blockquotes (
>blah blah blah …) work well (see LawrenceC’s answer); bullets (-blah blah blah …) work well, too. Commented Jul 4, 2016 at 6:57
I am walking in the park.
This means you are walking in the park right now as you say this.
I am going to walk in the park
This can mean the same as I will walk in the park.
Both of these can mean to intend soon - as in I intend soon to walk in the park.
