going to I w ill I w o n 't

Future form s

Going to: Going to is used to talk about:

1 A decided plan o r intention

I am going to ask you some questions. The headmaster is going to retire at the end of term .

2 A prediction based on evidence

The shortage of m aths teachers is going to My grades have gone down this year. I think
get worse. I'm going to fail.

Will: Will is used to talk about:

1 Facts about the future

We w ill cover this topic in more detail late r in The university w ill adm it five hundred more
the book. students next year.

2 Decisions about the future that we make at the moment of speaking

I'll trv mv best to answer a ll the questions. 'I need to go to the library later.' - 'Good idea.
I’ll come w ith vou.’

3 Predictions that are indefinite

Online learning w ill become more popular in A ll large lib raries w ill w ant a copv of this
the future. book.

U Promises and offers

I'll deal w ith your question in just a moment.

Note: Shall is usually used in place of w ill in the question form .

Shall we start again from the beginning?

Won’t: Won't is the negative of will and it is also used to talk about:
Refusal

The teachers say they w on't attend m eetings out of school hours.

< ^S e e page 117 in the G ram m ar reference fo r more in f o r m a t io n .^

Grammar for IELTS

 Unit 4

Practice exercises

Decide on the correct grammatical form [will or going to) and complete the sentences 1-5.
Decide which rule matches the meaning of each sentence.
1 'I've made a revision tim etable fo r the next m onth. I study hard fo r this
exam !’ F o rm : R ule : _____________
2 ‘ In the future, I th in k more people study courses online.'
F o rm : R ule: _____________
3 'Alejandro has failed many of his exams, so I don’t th in k h e be able to go
to University this year.’ F o rm : R u le : _____________
U 'No I let you borrow my calculator. I need it fo r the next exercise.'
F o rm :
5 The next academic y e a r sta rt in September. F orm : _____________
R ule :

j Gram m ar tip: Going to and w/7/ are based on perspective when used fo r predictions, and
I can often be interchangeable. Som etim es, when a person uses w ill they are not so sure,
i When a person uses going to they are surer. However, as perspectives are subjective,
there is not usually one correct answer.
! I'll go to one of the best universities in the country, (this prediction is probably based on
; what the speaker w ants and hopes)
I I'm going to go to one of the best universities in the country, (this prediction is more
i likely to be based on the student's knowledge of th e ir own academic achievement, for
| example, if they always get the top grades in th e ir class]

2 Read the answers A-C to this Part 3 Speaking exercise and match them to the questions 1-3.
1 How do you th in k education w ill change in the future?
2 What are the main argum ents about education in your country at the moment?
3 Do you thin k education w ill be accessible to a ll in future?

A. Well, the governm ent is going to introduce com pulsory tuition fees next academic year,
and this has caused a lot of anger. Students have been protesting about the unfairness
of these fees. They think that poorer students won’t be able to afford the fees. The
governm ent won’t back down though.
B. In one way, yes. I th ink more people w ill be able to access basic education around the
w orld, like prim ary and secondary schools, and also courses online in practical subjects.
But I th in k university education w ill become more exclusive. I read an article recently
about how the Internet is going to make education available for the w orld, but I think that
w ill mean that good university degrees w ill be more im portant.
C. I think a lot of people w ill study online. The Internet is going to be easily accessible in
a ll countries soon and online courses are cheaper and more convenient than having to
travel to a college or campus. I also th in k more and more people w ill be able to study.

Education 19
 Look again at the questions in Exercise 2 and think about how you would answer them
using w ill and going to.

| Listening exam tip: In the Listening exam, people som etim es contradict each other to
; distract from the correct answer. For example:
John: I'm going to be at home later, so I can do some research on the Internet.
B ill: No, I'll do it. There are computers I can use at the library. (Instant decision)
I Here we can see that B ill offers to do the Internet research, although John firs t
I m entions it.

Look at these sentences 1-3 and write answers that contradict them. Use the verbs in the
brackets.
1 Alex: I’ll pick you up from school la te r if you would like.
Paula: No, that's okay. I _________________ [walk] home as I w ant to get some
sweets from the shop. (Plan)
2 Philip: I’m going to see Jane tonight, so I can te ll her about the homework.
Fiona: Don't w orry, I ________________ [call] her, as I want to speak to her anyway.
(Instant decision)
3 Mike: I m going to w alk over to the lib ra ry tonight and take my book back.
Penny: _________________ [do] it? It's easy fo r me to drive down. (Offer)
Mike: Thanks!

4 Look at the audio script below and correct any mistakes in the future forms. There are five
mistakes.
Librarian: Hello there. How can I help you?
John: I w ill do a presentation on Mary Shelley, and I’d like to get some books on her.
Librarian: Okay. The biographies are on the third floor. I'll to w rite the aisle num ber
down for you.
John: Thanks. I m ight use the Internet too and look for resources on there.
Librarian: That's a good idea. If you're going use the Internet, have a look on the Great
B ritish A uthors website.
John: Thanks, I’m going to. I haven't heard of that site before. Thanks very much fo r
the inform ation.
Librarian: That's quite a ll right. Feel free to come and ask me any questions and I w on't
do my best to help.

Listen to Track 05 on the CD and check your answers.

Grammar for IELTS