Gareth King - Colloquial English - A Complete English Language Course

JAMES:

We’re going to hire a car and go down to Cornwall.

HENRY:

That’ll be fun. What are you going to do there?

JAMES:

I’m going to try and do some surfing – if the weather’s OK. And Fiona’s going to visit her sister.

HENRY:

Will you be back by Tuesday?

JAMES:

Fiona will, but I’m taking an extra day off work, so I’m not driving back till Tuesday.

HENRY:

How’s Fiona getting home, then?

JAMES:

Good question – I’ll ask her.

1 Bank Holiday– a public holiday in the UK when banks, schools and public offices are closed. See Life and living – holidaysat the end of Unit 11 for more information about this and other holidays.

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Language point 41 – present for future

James asks Henry:

What are you doing over the Bank Holiday?

He uses the PRESENT CONTINUOUS (Language point 21) to talk about something that will happen in the future . In the same way, Henry says about the house:

We’re selling it next year

and later in the Dialogue, James says:

I’m not driving back till Tuesday

In Unit 3 we saw that the present continuous is used for actions and events happening now :

I’m reading a book

Jane’s sitting in the garden

The children are playing football

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but the same tense is used in colloquial English to talk about future plans and arrangements :

I’m going to Spain (on Friday)

Jane’s selling her car (next week)

The children are going to the cinema (this afternoon)So – PRESENT form but FUTURE meaning !

Then Henry uses another type of future when he says: I’m going to do up the house

He uses be going to+ BASE-FORM to talk about intention (what he has decided to do). Here are some more examples: Abigail’s going to learn Ancient Greek

We’re going to meet Dave and Jane in the pub later Are you going to help me?

Pronunciation

going tois often pronounced /`ənə/ in normal colloquial speech: I’m going to learn Greek/ɑim `ənə ln rik/. And sometimes you even see going tospelt gonna.

We’ll meet another future in Language point 43. For now, remember:

• future plans or arrangements – PRESENT CONTINUOUS

• future intention – be going to+ BASE-FORM

Exercise 1

Complete these sentences using going to– the first one has been done for you.

1 Terry’s playing football today, and he’s going to playfootball again tomorrow.

2 It’s raining today, and _______________ again tomorrow.

3 I’m doing the shopping this week, and ________________

again next week.

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4 My sister’s eating a biscuit, and ________________ another biscuit in a minute.

5 Diane’s going to the opera this month, and _____________ to the opera again next month.

6 Miranda’s riding her horse today, and ____________ her horse again tomorrow.

7 Otto’s phoning Austria this evening, and _____________ again tomorrow evening.

8 Terry and June are washing the car today, and _________ it again on Sunday.

9 I’m planting potatoes today, and _________ carrots tomorrow.

10 Andy’s swimming in the river today, and ___________ there tomorrow as well.

Exercise 2

Complete these questions and answers. The first one has been done for you.

1

IsJustine going tovisit Leasa?

No, she isn’t.

2

___ you ________ go for a swim?

Yes, I ____ .

3

___ Gerry ________ book the tickets?

Yes, he ____ .

4

___ they ________ to help us?

No, ________ .

5

___ your brother _______ get the food?

No, ________ .

6

___ Morgan and Eddie _______ come?

Yes, _______ .

7

___ Henry _______ do up the house?

Yes, _______ .

8

___ we ________ miss the bus?

No, we ______ .

Dialogue 2

Mike and Bob are having a coffee in a café after work.

MIKE:

What date is it today?

BOB:

It’s the fourteenth, I think.

MIKE:

The fourteenth? Isn’t it the twelfth?

BOB:

[ looks in his diary ] No, it’s definitely the fourteenth.

MIKE:

Oh no! It’s my mum’s birthday! What time is it?

BOB:

It’s too late to go and buy her a card or a present, if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s five o’clock!

MIKE:

But what am I going to do? She’ll think I don’t care!

. . . [ thinks for a moment ] . . . I know, I’ll phone her!

Can I use your mobile?

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BOB:

[ hands him the mobile ] Go for it! It’s important to keep your mum happy!

Idiom

We use Go for it!to encourage someone to do something they’re thinking of doing.

Shall I apply for this job?

– Go for it!

I wonder if I should ask her out

– Go for it!

I feel like giving up my job.

– Go for it!

Language point 42 – empty ‘it’

When we are talking about the time and date we use itas an empty subject (because in English complete sentences usually need a subject expressed) – the EMPTY IT. So, when Mike wants to know the date, he asks Bob:

What date is it today?

not

‘What date is today?’

and Bob replies:

It’s the fourteenth

not

‘Is the fourteenth’

Then Mike asks:

What time is it?

and Bob replies:

It’s five o’clock

We also use an empty itwhen we talk about the weather: It’s raining

Is it sunny today?

It isn’t cold this morning

and we use it with ADJECTIVES + TO-FORM of the verb:

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It’s important to keep your mum happy

It’s too late to go now

Is it easy to speak English?

It’s illegal to park on double yellow lines

Look at the difference in meaning between a ‘real’ itand an empty it:

(a) I can’t drink this coffee – it’s too hot

(b) I can’t work outside today – it’s too hot

The itin sentence (a) is a ‘real’ it– it refers to a real object (the coffee). The itin sentence (b) is an empty it– we cannot find any word in the sentence that it specifically refers to.

Exercise 3

Turn these sentences into ‘empty it’ sentences – the first one has been done for you.

1 Parking on double yellow lines is illegal.

It’s illegal to park on double yellow lines.

2 Learning Chinese is difficult.

_______________________ .

3 Being friendly to your neighbours is important.