Future forms in English - Talking about future plans | The Coffee Break English Show 2.03

Do you know which tends to use when talking about future plans in English? Do you know how to use will be going to am present continuous or stick around and everything will become clear? Plus we'll have a quick practice test towards the end. Welcome to the Copy Break English show. I'm Nick. And I am Anavil. How are you doing Nick?

I'm really good. How are you? I'm glad to be back and also very excited because you brought us a very interesting and useful topic. Yes, so today we're looking at the future forms when talking about plans in the future. Yes. So you mentioned Will, be going to, and also the present continues.

Yes, absolutely. I also learned that present tense is used for a future. Yes, we do use the present tense for the future. Today we're talking about future plans. Okay. So we won't look at the present simple. But we do use the present simple when we talk about time-table events.

So the train leaves at 5 p.m. Okay. Because it leaves at 5 p.m. every day. Okay, I see. But today we're talking about our plans. That makes sense, excellent.

Okay, so we start with Will. Yes, let's go. Great. So Will is for spontaneous decisions.

It's like that, your recom moment. Yes. Where you suddenly have an idea. Maybe you have a problem and you have an idea

how to solve the problem. Okay. It's like a light bulb above your head. Yes.

Okay. So my example, today I broke my phone. Oh no. Yeah. So I've decided I will buy a new one and decided in this moment.

Okay, I see. So you like something happened and in that moment you make that decision of like oh, Albert, anyone. Exactly. So that decision is very young. It's in the past 10 seconds I've decided that. Okay. So for example, if I'm outside and today is actually very windy. Yeah. So I'm outside just like this and I'm like, oh, it's so cold. I'll go inside.

No, it's that decision. I plan that I make right that moment. Exactly. Absolutely. In that moment. Okay. Excellent. What about going to? So going to is something we've decided in the past?

Okay, it's more like a forum plan. Yeah, exactly. Or it's a semi-formed plan because it's in our head. but maybe we haven't done the actions to fully create that plan. Okay, so it's that idea that I fancy eating out.

Yeah. But I'm not making that decision at that point because then I'll say like, oh, I'll go and eat out. No. Yeah.

It's more like, oh, I want to go out. But I don't know with whom and I don't know where. So it's an arm going to eat out. Exactly.

Oh, so I decided before and now I have this idea. And I'm starting to create the plans, but I haven't fixed those plans yet. Yeah, like I don't know what I'm going to eat or where. Exactly. So with my phone, I made the decision to buy a new phone.

But now I'm creating those ideas. I think I'm going to buy the new iPhone. Okay. Well, good. Good. Yeah. Okay. So we move on to the present continues. Yes, and by the look of this, I think that the pressing continues is more going to be as like that plan where you have like the form like fully formed plan, no?

Yes, exactly. Okay. So, present continues is used for fixed plans where we have the details resolved. We know where we know when, maybe we know who we are going to do the activity with.

Okay, make sense. So we use this form to say, there are now I have plans, the fixed and I know exactly what I'm going to do. Okay. Following the example of the iPhone.

So I have bought a new iPhone. Tomorrow I'm going to the city centre to pick up the new iPhone. Okay. And I guess that you have like, have like, well you have the plan, you have also the time, yeah, going at 930 tomorrow. Okay, I see. So for example, if I want to go to Italy, not lovely country and I can say that I bought tickets, I have all the reservations for that, then I'm going to use and they continue. Yeah, exactly. See, you're going to Italy. Okay, yes, yes or I'm flying, no, I'm flying to Italy. Fantastic. Yeah. Oh, so I'm going to go to Italy. I'm going to go to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to Italy. I'm going to

Where are you flying to? Where? Yeah. Which city are you flying to?

Ah, Rome. Okay, great. Where are you flying? Okay, so it's all about having all these details planned.

I see. So if I just want to go abroad, No, to have like some holidays. But I don't know.

I can't answer all those questions. Then I'm not using the present continues, no? No, you might want to be going to to show that it's just here. Okay, I see so it's here but it's not fully planned. Okay, I love that. Excellent. So now we've gone through all three forms. So we do a quick review.

Oh yes, please. So do you remember when we use will? It's for that moment that is spontaneous moment that for example someone knocked the door and it's like, oh, I'll go. Yes, exactly. Yeah, or the phone rings. Yes. I'll pick it up. Yes. Absolutely. Be going to when do we use be going to for plants that are here but not here that they are we have that

intention but they are not planned yet. Yeah, absolutely. So we have decided but we haven't made all of those details. This is decided. Okay. Okay. Yes. So present continuous is when I have all the details and I know where how, when I know everything. Exactly. We want to show that it's fixed.

Yes. So, one thing that's important to note is be going to in pleasant continuous have this overlap. Well, yes, of course, yeah.

Some people will use be going to, and someone else might use pleasant continuous in that situation, it's just to emphasize how fixed the plan is. So, they are quite similar. And it might depend on this speaker and how they feel about that plan.

Exactly. Yeah. if someone is confident about the plant, they're more likely to use the present continues. Okay, I see.

I think I understand, but Nick, I think