Teacher Discussion Forums

Hello people.

Given

(1) I'm going to Brazil.
(2) I'm going to go to Brazil.

I always took it for granted that the former was just a reduction of the latter. However, after reading a passage of Lewis's The English verb I am aware that they are different, but how? Can you explain me?

Thanks

José

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I am interested to know, hasn't the book told you what you want to know here?

From The Grammar Book, by Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman (American grammar for ESL/EFL teachers):

Oral narratives that express possible future scenarios tend to be framed by be going to, which makes a bridge from the present moment of speaking to the future. These narratives are then elaborated with will ('ll), which expresses more remote future contingencies.

"... I think what is going to happen on the civil case is that the judge is going to dismiss the complaint that is down there right now. They will then file a new complaint which will come back to Ritchie again. That will probably happen the 20th, 21st, 22nd..."

In contrast to these longer future scenarios, we would also like to point out shorter texts where be going to expresses a future planned action; the subsequent clause often begins with so and is elaborated with can or will to express the justification, purpose, or expected outcome of the planned action:

a. Patrick O'Brienn is going to marry his American girlfriend so he can get a green card.
b. I'm going to study in Spain for a year next year so I'll be fluent in Spanish.

Hello Richard


Thanks for you reply, but I my doubts are now on the going to <somewhere> and going to go <somewhere> matter, can you give me your account on this? Are they the same or not?

Thanks again

José

I see a friend at the airport, and I ask her where she is going. She replies, "I'm going to Brazil."

When she returns the following month, I ask her about her plans for her next holiday. She replies, "I'm going to go to Argentina."

I always teach the difference between the two possibiliies by saying that
I'm going to Brazil this summer
means you've already booked the ticket, and probably the hotel, whilst
I'm going to go to Brazil this summer.
is only a firm intention.

In practise there is often no difference between using the present continous for the future and using 'going to'.

I find the explanation given in the book Richard quotes as at best confused, and at worse a load of old cobblers. I think Richard might do well to consider its possible use as toilet paper.

The difference between 'going to' and 'will' as far as predictions goes, is that 'going to' is often the result of some evidence in the present, whilst 'will' idoes not imply that. But again there are plenty of cases where the two are interchangeable.

Richard indeed has contemplated using the book in the W.C. But he finds that its explanations sometimes contain a hint of truth hidden in the dense and turgid prose. Many of the examples are from reported speech or other realia. I think the examples in the excerpt I quoted were quite good actually, for what they were intended to illustrate

The book was the only thing handy at the time I responded to Jose.