English Grammar Lab

← A2

Plans and intentions with going to

You will be able to Talk about future plans and intentions.

Explanation

Use am, is or are plus going to and the base verb.

Examples

Detailed course

Understand the grammar point

Go to practice ↓

Detailed explanation

This lesson focuses on plans and intentions with going to. The structure helps learners describe events and plans, and it should always be interpreted as part of a complete message rather than as an isolated formula. Before selecting a form, identify the subject, time reference, clause relationship, and the information that receives emphasis.

Formation is central. Use am, is, or are plus going to plus the base verb. Put not after be for negatives and move be before the subject for questions. Build the sentence in stages: identify the grammatical subject, choose the auxiliary or main verb form, and complete the clause in normal English word order. In negatives and questions, check whether the structure supplies its own auxiliary or requires another one.

The pattern can help users compare situations, ask for practical information, and connect form with time and quantity. These purposes may overlap, so context decides which interpretation is natural. Time expressions, determiners, linking words, and punctuation often provide evidence for the correct choice.

A useful contrast prevents overgeneralisation. Going to usually presents an existing plan or visible evidence, while will often expresses a spontaneous decision or neutral prediction. Ask how the nearest alternative would change time, certainty, focus, politeness, or register. A grammatically possible sentence may still communicate the wrong relationship if that contrast is ignored.

The guided examples are complete messages. Notice how the target structure agrees with its subject and how the surrounding vocabulary makes the intended meaning clear. When producing a new example, preserve the relationship between form and meaning while changing the people, place, and lexical details.

A reliable self-check is to paraphrase the sentence in simpler language. If the paraphrase changes the time relationship, degree of certainty, or focus, review the original form. Compare the sentence with the common mistakes and explain why the corrected version is preferable.

How to form it

Use am, is, or are plus going to plus the base verb. Put not after be for negatives and move be before the subject for questions.

Use the structure to describe events and plans.

Use the structure to compare situations.

Use the structure to ask for practical information.

Use the structure to connect form with time and quantity.

Going to usually presents an existing plan or visible evidence, while will often expresses a spontaneous decision or neutral prediction.

Guided examples

I am going to join the photography club next term.

I takes am, followed by going to and the base verb join.

Sara is going to organise the first meeting.

Sara is singular, so it takes is going to plus the base verb organise.

We are going to create a small online exhibition.

We is plural, so it takes are going to plus the base verb create.

The club is not going to meet during the holiday.

This is the negative form: not follows is, before going to meet.

Are you going to bring your camera tomorrow?

This is a question: are moves before the subject you.

Those dark clouds mean it is going to rain soon.

Going to is used here for a prediction based on present evidence, the dark clouds.

Common mistakes

Not: I am going join the photography club next term.

Use: I am going to join the photography club next term.

Going to must be followed by to before the base verb: going to join, not going join.

Not: Sara are going to organise the first meeting.

Use: Sara is going to organise the first meeting.

Sara is singular, so it needs is, not are.

Not: We is going to create a small online exhibition.

Use: We are going to create a small online exhibition.

We is plural, so it needs are, not is.

Not: The club is not going to met during the holiday.

Use: The club is not going to meet during the holiday.

After going to, the main verb stays in its base form: meet, not met.

Before you practise

  • Identify the communicative purpose.
  • Check the subject and required verb or auxiliary.
  • Confirm the time reference and clause order.
  • Compare the sentence with the nearest alternative.
  • Read the complete sentence and verify the meaning.

Reading text

Starting a Photography Club

About 187 words

Maya, Sami, and the school adviser met at the media room because they needed to start a photography club. The group needs a regular room and a first project. We are going to meet every Thursday. At first, the group looked at cameras, posters, and a booking sheet and made a quick list. Maya is going to design the first poster. One person checked the door while another checked the table. The adviser is going to book the media room. The plan changed a little, but nobody lost time. Are you going to bring your camera? They wrote the important details in a notebook. Before leaving the media room, they checked the list again. The result was clear: the work is finished. Maya, Sami, and the school adviser look at cameras, posters, and a booking sheet again before they move on. One helper writes the next step on a small card. The group speaks quietly, and the plan becomes clear. No one hurries, because the small details matter. The place feels calmer when the task is almost finished. At the end, everyone knows what to do next.

Reading comprehension

  1. Who is involved in the reading?

    Show answer

    Maya, Sami, and the school adviser

  2. Where does the reading take place?

    Show answer

    the media room

  3. What task are the people trying to complete?

    Show answer

    start a photography club

  4. What problem makes the task less simple?

    Show answer

    the group needs a regular room and a first project

Grammar in the text

  1. We are going to meet every Thursday.

    We takes are going to plus the base verb meet.

  2. Maya is going to design the first poster.

    Maya is singular, so the sentence uses is going to.

  3. The adviser is going to book the media room.

    Adviser is singular, so the sentence uses is going to.

  4. Are you going to bring your camera?

    This is a question: are moves before the subject you.

Key point

Use this pattern when the meaning needs it in the reading: am/is/are + going to + base verb. In short, going to describes plans and intentions. Example: "We are going to meet every Thursday."

Practice

  1. Complete the sentence from the same situation: "We ____ meet every Thursday."

    Show answer

    We are going to meet every Thursday.

  2. Complete the sentence from the same situation: "Maya ____ design the first poster."

    Show answer

    Maya is going to design the first poster.

  3. Complete the sentence from the same situation: "The adviser ____ book the media room."

    Show answer

    The adviser is going to book the media room.

  4. Complete the sentence from the same situation: "____ you going to bring your camera?"

    Show answer

    Are you going to bring your camera?

Listening practice

Watch a TEDx talk

“10 ways to have a better conversation” — Celeste Headlee (TED). Listen for clear, natural English and pick up new vocabulary while you review this grammar point.

Check your understanding

Which of these is one of Celeste Headlee's rules for a better conversation?

Check your understanding

What does Headlee say is the single most important skill for having a good conversation?

Practice

Choose the correct answer. They ___ visit us tomorrow.

Practice

Choose the correct answer. She ___ going to buy it.

Practice

Choose the correct answer. What ___ you going to do?

Written practice

Produce the answer yourself. Capitalisation and final punctuation do not affect validation, but the grammar and word order must be correct.

Short answer

Written practice

Write the complete sentence using going to.

we / visit / the museum / tomorrow