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  1. Have you decided what you are going to do this weekend?
  2. Have you decided what you will do this weekend?

As you can see, I'm asking using the present perfect tense, but I'm a bit confused about these sentences above. I think that the first form is correct. In spite of this, I want to know if the second sentence is correct or not and why.

Note: I'm asking about using "Will & be going to" in a special case which is using them in a question with the present perfect. I'm not asking about them generally.

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  • The problem with English is that there isn't a proper future tense. We get around this by using simple present "I leave at 8pm", the modal "will", and "going to". There is no real difference between the last two.
    – JavaLatte
    Sep 20, 2016 at 17:29
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    Possible duplicate of Will or Be Going To
    – JavaLatte
    Sep 20, 2016 at 17:41
  • I have been taught that we use "be going to" when we talk about planned activities or when we talk about something is about to happen. In my question, I think that "Have you decided" is a question about planned activities cause of the meaning of the verb "decided". That's why I prefer to use "be going to" in my example. @JavaLatte
    – Ahmed Amir
    Sep 20, 2016 at 19:19

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There is no difference in meaning between to be going to X and will X.

It will rain tomorrow.

It's going to rain tomorrow.

I'll go to the store at 3pm.

I'm going to I'm going to go to the store at 3pm.

What do you think she'll do?

What do you think she's going to do?

The book will be on the shelf, just look for it.

The book is going to be on the shelf, just look for it.

Will is probably more preferred in formal situations or where you want to sound smart or authoritative.

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    Shouldn't the fourth sentence read "I'm going to go..."?
    – teukkam
    Sep 20, 2016 at 15:52
  • Thanks for your answer. But I have been taught that we use "be going to" when we talk about planned activities or when we talk about something is about to happen. In my question, I think that "Have you decided" is a question about planned activities cause of the meaning of the verb "decided". That's why I prefer to use "be going to" in my example.
    – Ahmed Amir
    Sep 20, 2016 at 19:09
  • I'm looking for more clarifications. And thank you again for taking time answering this.
    – Ahmed Amir
    Sep 20, 2016 at 19:11

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