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In our lesson we have

Be going to

  • future plans (personal)
  • prediction based on something we can see or hear

Present continuous

  • future arrangement
  • fixed plan

Is this right? Can someone explain this to me with examples?

Community
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user233658
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2 Answers2

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You use "be going to" for your future plans - the things you intend/have decided to do in the future. For example:

I am going to have a meal with my friends tonight.

you can also use "be going to" for a prediction as you see or hear. For example:

There are clouds in the sky. It's going to rain.

You use the present continuous for future arrangements and fixed plans. For example:

I am going to an ice hockey match in the evening. I bought a ticket for it yesterday.

Nevertheless, you often use either be going to or the present continuous to have similar meanings.

We are going to have a party next week (we intend/have decided to do so).

We are having a party next week (we have made arrangements).

Khan
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    (1) The question is about “be going to” vs. present continuous, and your example of present continuous uses the verb **to go**. This is confusing. I suggest that you change your ice hockey example to something like “I am watching a movie …”, “I am attending a lecture …”, or “I am visiting a friend …”.  (2) IMHO, your answer would be easier to read if you visually distinguished the sentences that are *talking about* the language from the examples. Blockquotes (`> ` *`blah blah blah …`*) work well (see [LawrenceC’s answer](/q/56094/357#56096)); bullets (`- ` *`blah blah blah …`*) work well, too. – Scott - Слава Україні Jul 04 '16 at 06:57
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I am walking in the park.

This means you are walking in the park right now as you say this.

I am going to walk in the park

This can mean the same as I will walk in the park.

Both of these can mean to intend soon - as in I intend soon to walk in the park.

LawrenceC
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