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13B Grammar

Talk about your intentions

Unit 13

I CAN use going to for intentions
I CAN talk about future intentions

Grammar

11 cards

"Going to" + verb is the most common way in British English to talk about future plans and intentions. We use it when we have already decided to do something — for example, a plan for tomorrow, next week, or next year.

Look at the form. The structure is always the same: subject + am / is / are + going to + base verb. The verb after going to is always in the base form: travel (not travelling), cook (not cooking), study (not studying).

	Form	Example
Positive	subject + am/is/are + going to + verb	I am going to travel next month.
Negative	subject + am/is/are + not + going to + verb	She is not going to work on Sunday.
Question	Am/Is/Are + subject + going to + verb?	Are you going to cook tonight?
Short answer	Yes, I am. / No, I'm not.	—

The form of be matches the subject:

I am going to…
He / She / It is going to…
We / You / They are going to…

We use going to for plans we already made ("I'm going to visit my sister on Friday"), for intentions and things we want to do soon ("He's going to learn Spanish"), and for things we can see coming ("Look at those clouds — it's going to rain").

In negatives, we often use the short form: She's not going to work or She isn't going to work. In questions, we swap the subject and be: Are you going to cook tonight?

Generating translation…

I'm going to travel to Spain next summer.

A future plan. Notice the base verb travel after going to.

She is going to study medicine at university.

An intention. Again, the base verb study — no -ing.

Required

Look at the two sentences above. After 'going to', what form of the verb do we use?

the -ing form (travelling)
the base form (travel)
the past form (travelled)

Required

I ___ going to cook dinner tonight.

Required

They ___ (is / are) going to move to a new flat.

Required

She ___ (am / is / are) going to visit her parents on Friday.

Required

After 'going to' we use the verb + -ing form, e.g. 'going to travelling'.

Required

I am not going to work tomorrow is a correct negative sentence.

Required

Put the words in order to make a correct sentence about a future intention.

I
am
going
to
learn
French
.

Required

Drag the correct verb into each gap. All sentences use the going to structure with a base verb.

cook
move
travel
study

I am going to to Spain next summer.

She is going to law at university.

We are going to pasta tonight.

They are going to to a new house next month.

Listening

5 cards

You are going to hear two friends, Emma and Tom, talking about their plans for the weekend. They use going to with several different verbs. Listen for the structure: am / is / are + going to + base verb.

Before you listen, think: when you make plans with a friend, what do you usually talk about? Food? Family? Travel? Work? In this conversation, Emma and Tom each share two or three things they are going to do on Saturday and Sunday.

Listen in three stages:

Gist — what is the conversation mainly about? Just catch the main idea.
Specific information — what is Tom going to do? What is Emma going to do? Which day?
Details — places, names, and the exact verbs. For example, visit, study, meet, cook.

Remember: in natural fast English, going to often sounds like gonna. Don't worry if you hear it that way. Focus on the meaning and the verb that comes after.

Generating translation…

Two friends, Emma and Tom, are chatting about their plans for the weekend.

E
Emma Hi Tom! How are you?
T
Tom I'm fine, thanks. And you?
E
Emma I'm OK. So, what are you going to do this weekend?
T
Tom I'm going to visit my parents on Saturday. And on Sunday, I'm going to study for my exam.
E
Emma That sounds busy! Where do your parents live?
T
Tom They live in Brighton. I'm going to take the train.
E
Emma Nice! I'm going to meet my friend Sam on Saturday. We're going to cook dinner together.
T
Tom Oh, lovely! What are you going to cook?
E
Emma We're going to make pasta. It's easy and good.

Required

What is the conversation mainly about?

Tom's new job
Their plans for the weekend
A recipe for pasta
A train to Brighton

Required

Tom is going to visit his parents on Sunday.

Required

Listen again. Tom says: 'I'm going to ___ my parents on Saturday.'

Pronunciation

6 cards

The target sound for this lesson is the British English diphthong /əʊ/. It is the long vowel sound in go, going, home, show and know. It is a gliding sound that moves from one mouth position to another inside one vowel.

How to make /əʊ/:

Start with your tongue in the middle of your mouth. Your lips are relaxed and slightly open. Say a soft, short "uh" — the same as the a in about. This is the schwa /ə/.
Now, slowly glide your tongue back in your mouth. At the same time, round your lips into a small "o" shape, as if you are going to whistle.
The two sounds join smoothly into one long vowel: /əʊ/. It takes about the same time as the word "oh", but you start from a more open position.

Compare with short /ɒ/ in 'got', 'hot', 'shot': the /əʊ/ sound is long, and your lips clearly move from open to rounded. The /ɒ/ sound is short and your mouth stays more open.

Words with /əʊ/:

go /gəʊ/
going /ˈgəʊɪŋ/
home /həʊm/
show /ʃəʊ/
know /nəʊ/
so /səʊ/
photo /ˈfəʊtəʊ/
tomorrow /təˈmɒrəʊ/

In the phrase going to, the /əʊ/ is the vowel in go — and the whole phrase is often reduced in fast natural speech to gonna /ˈgənə/. For now, focus on the long gliding vowel in go and going every time you talk about future plans.

Generating translation…

To make /əʊ/: tongue starts in the middle of the mouth, lips relaxed. Then glide the tongue back and round the lips into a small 'o'. The two sounds join into one long vowel. Try it slowly: 'uh…oh' → /əʊ/.

Required

Listen carefully. Which word do you hear?

Required

Read the word aloud. Make the long /əʊ/ sound — start with the tongue in the middle, then glide back and round your lips.

Required

Read the word aloud. The first vowel is the long /əʊ/. Add -ing at the end: /ˈgəʊɪŋ/.

going

Required

Read the sentence aloud. Make the /əʊ/ in 'going' long and clear. Don't reduce it to 'gonna' yet — use the full 'going to'.

I'm going to travel.

Speaking

7 cards

Now it is your turn to talk about your own plans. You will use the same going to structure, but for your real life.

Here are useful phrases:

English	Use
I'm going to + verb	To say your own plan
I'm not going to + verb	To say what you are NOT going to do
What are you going to + verb?	To ask about a friend's plan
Are you going to + verb?	A shorter question
I'm going to + verb + time	Add when: tomorrow, on Friday, next week

Tips for speaking:

Speak slowly and clearly. For now, use the full form going to — don't try to use gonna yet.
Put the time word at the end: I'm going to study tonight or on Saturday**.
Listen to your friend's question and try to use the same verb in your answer.

First you will hear a short model conversation. Then you will repeat two key sentences out loud. Finally, you will have a real conversation with a friend (the AI) and tell them two or three things you are going to do this weekend.

Generating translation…

A short model conversation. Notice the going to questions and answers.

E
Emma What are you going to do this weekend?
T
Tom I'm going to travel to London on Saturday.
E
Emma Oh, nice! Who are you going to meet?
T
Tom I'm going to meet my cousin. We're going to see a film together.
E
Emma Sounds great! Are you going to cook at home on Sunday?
T
Tom Yes, I am. I'm going to cook something simple — pasta, probably.

I'm going to meet my friend on Saturday and I'm going to study on Sunday.

Notice the structure: subject + am/is/are + going to + base verb. The same pattern is used for both clauses.

Required

Read aloud. Use the full 'going to' — not 'gonna'. The verb after 'going to' is the base form: study, not studies or studying.

I'm going to study this weekend.

Required

Read aloud. This is the most common question to ask about a friend's plan. Stress: 'going' and 'do'.

What are you going to do on Saturday?

Required

You are chatting with a friend. Use 'I'm going to + verb' to talk about 2 or 3 real plans for Saturday and Sunday. You can use the verbs from the lesson: travel, study, learn, work, move, meet, cook, buy.

Required

I CAN use going to for future intentions
I CAN talk about plans for the weekend
I CAN ask a friend what they are going to do

Vocabulary

6 cards

Here are eight common verbs for talking about future plans and intentions. All of them follow the going to structure: I'm going to [verb]…. They cover school, work, home and free time.

Word	Type	Example
travel	verb	I am going to travel to Spain next summer.
study	verb	She is going to study law at university.
learn	verb	We are going to learn French this year.
work	verb	He is going to work in a hospital.
move	verb	They are going to move to London in June.
meet	verb	I am going to meet my friend at 6 pm.
cook	verb	She is going to cook pasta for dinner.
buy	verb	He is going to buy a new phone tomorrow.

Notice that every verb is in the base form after going to — no -s, no -ing, no -ed.

Study and learn look similar but we use them differently. We study a school subject or something serious and long: study medicine, study for an exam. We learn a skill, a language, or a new thing in a more general way: learn how to swim, learn French. Both can follow going to in exactly the same way.

Meet here means see a person (not meet = be introduced for the first time): I'm going to meet my friend after work.

Generating translation…

Eight verbs for talking about your future plans. You will use them all with 'I'm going to…'.

buy baɪ
To obtain something by paying money for it; to purchase.
cook kʊk
To prepare food by heating it, such as by boiling, frying, or baking.
learn lɜːn
to get knowledge or a new skill by studying, practicing, or being taught
meet miːt
to see and talk to someone for the first time : to come together with someone intentionally : to come together
move muːv
To change position or place; to go from one location to another.
study ˈstʌdi
To spend time learning about a subject by reading, going to classes, or examining information.
travel ˈtrævəl
To go from one place to another, especially over a long distance or to different countries.
work wɜːk
an activity , such as a job , that a person uses physical or mental effort to do, usually for money : the mate