Grammar practice for the Cambridge PET exam
There are several ways you can talk about the future in English. Two verbs often used are 'will' and 'going to'. Look at the following pairs of sentences. Can you work out when we use 'will' and when we use 'going to'?
A: I think I'll go to bed now. I'm feeling tired.
B: As my exams are on Friday I've decided I'm going to go
to bed earlier this week.
A: Let's see ... I'll have the chicken with pasta sauce
I think.
B: I've told my wife I'm going to cook a nice meal tonight
to celebrate our anniversary.
A: I'll go to the shop if you want.
B: I can't go out. Paul's going to call me later.
Now try the quiz below to check your ideas.
Decide if the missing verbs in the following sentences should be 'will' or 'going to':
For each question, complete the second sentence so that it means the
same as the first. Use 'will' or 'going to' in your answer.
Use no more than three words.
1. I plan to travel to China this year.
I ........................................ travel to China this year.
2. I might stay in tonight as there's a good film on TV.
I think I ........................................ in tonight as there's a good film on TV.
3. Let me wash up as you cooked dinner.
I ......................................... as you cooked dinner.
4. I've decided to paint the living room a relaxing pale-green
colour
I ........................................ paint the living room
a relaxing pale-green colour.
5. Tim plans on seeing the doctor later about his bad back.
Tim ........................................ see the doctor later
about his bad back.
6. I might call Sarah to see if she wants to go out.
I think I ........................................ Sarah to see if
she wants to go out.
To practise 'will' and 'going to' for future reference think
what you might be doing over the coming week. For things that
are planned, use 'going to'. For anything you decide to do during
the exercise use 'I'll'. For example:
I'm going to meet my friends on Saturday.
We're going to go shopping in the city centre.
I think I'll go to bed early tonight.
I think I'll have a break from studying for a while.