Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[klafterreith]

Look at these black clouds! It is going to rain /will be raining.


Which one is correct ? Are both ok? please comment.

[Tex]

Both of these statements are acceptable. Both declare the certainty of a future event. "Going to" and "will" tell us that this is the future tense, but "will be raining" suggests a future continuous tense. I am not an expert in grammar, so I am just using my own words to help distinguish the subtle difference between the two statements. In the context of looking at the dark clouds, perhaps rain is probable but not certain. In that case you could say, "Look at these black clouds! It will probably rain."