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Ask for help > Be going to + verbs of movement
Be going to + verbs of movement
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chenchen_castrourdiales
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Be going to + verbs of movement
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Hi colleagues,
I �ve always told my students to avoid the use of be going to + a verb of movement such as go, come, pop, ... to make reference to the future. I tell them to use the present continuous intead. My university teachers have always taught me that British native speakers tend to avoid this structure with these verbs and the books I have read also said so. The point is that this year an American native speaker is working with us and one day during the lunch time I asked him if he utters this structure and he told me he does. He told me he uses both [ I �m going to go to the cinema / I �m going to the cinema]. He wasn �t sure about the contexts in which he uses be going to + verb of movement but just that he uses this structure when he wants to emphasize the action. Could any British native speaker or any teacher familiar with British English tell me his opinion?Is it true that that structure is avoided by British native speakers? Thanks in advance. |
6 Jun 2010
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magneto
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Hello!
I �m not a native English speaker, but I think we should only avoid the use of "be going to" with "go", not with all verbs of movement. And I think that �s only true because it would sound a bit confusing or redundant to say "I �m going to go"...But, like I said, I �m not a British native speaker, so maybe you �ll get some better explanations by natives. I �d love to hear (or, rather, read) them myself!
Hope I �ve helped a bit!
Goodnight!
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6 Jun 2010
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lshorton99
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I �m a British native speaker and I can tell you that I avoid that structure... sometimes! To be honest, if you �re a native Spanish speaker, it works more or less the same - you can say �voy a ir � but it �s normally more natural to say �voy a � instead. English is similar - if I said �i �m going to go to the cinema � it would maybe be to emphasise it or because, in that moment, I felt like saying it.
I wish I could be more exact, but English isn �t really an exact language!!!!
Lindsey
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6 Jun 2010
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redcamarocruiser
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I �m not British.
I would be interested to hear how a British person would say:
1. I �m going to go to bed after I finish my term paper. (planned intension)
2. I �m going to go check up on the children. (planned intension)
3. The soldiers are going to go home after their tour of duty (planned intension).
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7 Jun 2010
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PMaryAnn
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I�m a British native speaker and I agree with Lindsey. We use this structure in conversation but because it�s a bit messy, you�ll hear the form �gonna� /g@ �n@/ being used. It is very common in both British and American English and spoken very naturally, e.g.
I�m gonna go to bed after I�ve finished my homework.
I�m gonna go check up on the children (kids).
He�s gonna come over for dinner on Friday night.
I know - this goes against the idea of �gonna� only being used before a bare infinitive. We would only use �going to� in the above examples if we were stressing them for some reason.
It�s probably best for you to stick with what you�re happiest with, but to make your students aware of the other possibilities, as always. |
7 Jun 2010
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sp.watson
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As a British native speaker I would rarely if ever use "going to" followed by "go" for the reasons already mentioned. I advise students against using this combination too and to simply use the present continuous future function:" I am going to the cinema later"
With other verbs of movement it is ok to use "going to", but many people would choose the present continuous here also, either sounds ok:
"Is he going to come to the party?" vs "Is he coming to the party?"
Personally, I think the use of "going to" emphasizes the intention rather than the action more and I would be more likely to use it if there was pre-existing doubt about the intention.
I think combining "gonna" with "go" is an American usage. |
7 Jun 2010
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fifey
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redcamarocruiser
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I �m not British.
I would be interested to hear how a British person would say:
1. I �m going to go to bed after I finish my term paper. (planned intension)
2. I �m going to go check up on the children. (planned intension)
3. The soldiers are going to go home after their tour of duty (planned intension).
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I would say it exactly as you have written it.
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7 Jun 2010
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fifey
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Going to go is one of those expressions we use automatically. For example: "I �m going to go to the shops" It �s in common usage, therefore is applicable. I have said, however, that we are always looking for the better solution. This could be a more simplified one. A paper on how to simplify English terminology is something i have used often. It can help through the mindfiled of silly language that sometimes exists. I wouldn �t penalise a learner for using going to go to, but i would try to encourage them to look for a �better fit �.
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7 Jun 2010
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