Predictions and Future Continuous

Predictions about the future

"Going to" and "Will"

English uses both “going to” and “will” to talk about the future. They can sometimes have a very similar meaning, but there are certain situations where they mean different things.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence is correct?

• "I think runner Number 2 will win"

• "Look, runner Number 2 is going to win"

• Both are correct

"Going to" and "Will"

• “Will” is used to make predictions that aren’t based on present evidence.

• “Going to” is used when there is evidence in the present moment to support a prediction.

Future continuous

It describes an event or situation that will be in progress at some point in the future.

"In 20 years, over 300,000 pieces of space junk will be orbiting our planet"

Open Ended

Find 1 example in the text (Space Junk) of a sentence using:

1. "be going to"

Be going to

• "According to scientists' observations, about 100 tons of debris is going to fall from the sky..." (lines 34-35)

Open Ended

Find 1 example in the text (Space Junk) of a sentence using:

1. "will"

WILL

• Space junk will eventually fall into Earth's atmosphere" (line 38)

• "...it's pretty hard to predict where it will impact on the surface." (line 41)

Open Ended

Find 1 example in the text (Space Junk) of a sentence using:

1. "future continuous"

Future continuous

• "...by 2050, over 300.000 pieces of debris will be orbiting the planet..."

• "They will be developing a laser capable of shooting debris out of the sky."