{"id":6842,"date":"2020-10-12T10:43:14","date_gmt":"2020-10-12T10:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltweekly.com\/?p=6842"},"modified":"2020-10-12T10:43:14","modified_gmt":"2020-10-12T10:43:14","slug":"two-futures-intention-and-prediction-by-nick-shepherd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/?p=6842","title":{"rendered":"Two futures: Intention and Prediction by Nick Shepherd"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In my piece on Present simple and Progressive (ELTWeekly 8 Sep 2020), in Notes on the \u201cmore complicated\u201d Stuff, I mentioned four ways of talking about the future. Here are the first two (I\u2019ll look at the other two next week):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Intention: \u201cI\u2019m gonna wash that man right out of my hair.\u201d (song)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <em>going to<\/em><\/li><li>Prediction: \u201cIt will be cold in Finland.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <em>will<\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But first I want to talk about time, and especially the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We know what happened in the past, and we have a past tense to talk about it. We also know what\u2019s happening in the present, both now and what happens regularly, and we have two present tenses to talk about all of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many languages also have a future tense, that is to say, a form of the verb to talk about the future, but English doesn\u2019t. There is no future tense in English. Why not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My personal opinion is that this is because we know (more or less) what happened in the past and we know (more or less) what\u2019s happening now, but we simply don\u2019t know what the future will bring. In English, we can talk about the future in three ways: Intentions, Predictions, Plans and Schedules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1 Intentions: <em>going to<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We know what we hope to do, and we can guess what other people &#8211; and even nature &#8211; might decide to do, so we have sentences like these:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>I\u2019m going to tell my boss what I think of him (oops!).<\/li><li>He\u2019s wobbling on that bike, he\u2019s going to fall off!<\/li><li>Look at those clouds, it\u2019s going to rain.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We use <em>going to <\/em>to signal our intentions, and when we\u2019re talking about other people &#8211; and things &#8211; we use <em>going to <\/em>&nbsp;especially when we can see what someone is going to do or that something is going to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2 Predictions: <em>will, may, might<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We don\u2019t know what will happen in the future, but we can guess, or predict. There\u2019s a scale of three words to express how sure we are, or how sure we want to appear to be, about the future:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <em>might<\/em> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 30% sure (it could happen, but I doubt it)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <em>may<\/em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 60% sure (I am fairly optimistic about it)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <em>will<\/em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 90% sure (some people will say 100%, but you can never be 100%<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; sure of anything in the future!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We tend to use this about future events for which there is no present evidence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; \u201c<em>It is going to rain\u201d<\/em> sounds as if you can see a cloud<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; \u201c<em>It will rain\u201d<\/em> sounds like a comment on the approaching rainy season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"274\" height=\"167\" src=\"http:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6841\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s a picture of two guys at an airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The guy on the left is stating his <strong>intentions<\/strong>. This is what he wants to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The guy on the right is making a <strong>prediction<\/strong>. He knows something about the weather in Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s a video you can look at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube aligncenter wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p class=\"responsive-video-wrap clr\"><iframe title=\"Learn English - future tense basics (&quot;I will, I am going to&quot;)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F2O4a_7Ony4?list=PLB7A838538188AB07\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3 Plans and Schedules: present progressive and present simple<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019ll talk about these next week<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Notes on \u201cmore complicated\u201d stuff<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1 Native speakers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Natice speakers are anarchic, and don\u2019t care much about language rules. This sounds like a bad thing, but I don\u2019t think it is: a language is a living thing and speakers are free to do what they like. This freedom enables language to keep growing and changing in order to satisfy the needs of millions of speakers all over the world. Nouns like <em>mouse<\/em> and <em>computer<\/em>, verbs like <em>uploading<\/em> and <em>scamming<\/em>, came out of nowhere, have not been authorised by any official body, they just happened. And we have welcomed them into our lives with open arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2 The future<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Native speakers do all sorts of things with future forms, so although I lay out the underlying meaning of the ways we can talk about the future, don\u2019t expect native speakers to always obey the rules! Every speaker has their own view, and their own way of saying what they mean (I\u2019ll write about \u2018singular <em>they<\/em>\u2019 another day). Some people feel doubtful, some feel sure, some state their intentions, others make the future look fixed. Everyone is different, unique, and everyone speaks in their own unique way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3 <em>Going to<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My feeling is &#8211; and it\u2019s no more than a feeling &#8211; that native speakers regularly use <em>going to &#8211; <\/em>usually shortened in quick,casual speech to<em> gonna &#8211;<\/em> to talk about the future, and some speakers use it almost to the exclusion of <em>will<\/em>. This doesn\u2019t say anything about the language and what it can do. But it might say something about the speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every situation is different, and quick, informal speech is often fine, but It is also useful, especially in more formal situations, to know whether a speaker is saying what he plans to do, or what he thinks will happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next week I\u2019ll talk about <strong>plans<\/strong> and <strong>schedules<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In my piece on Present simple and Progressive (ELTWeekly 8 Sep 2020), in Notes on the \u201cmore complicated\u201d Stuff, I mentioned four ways of talking about the future. Here are the first two (I\u2019ll look at the other two next week): Intention: \u201cI\u2019m gonna wash that man right out of my hair.\u201d (song)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; going to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","omw_enable_modal_window":"enable","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,263,272],"tags":[851,921],"class_list":["post-6842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eltweekly","category-eltweekly-volume-11","category-eltweekly-volume-11-issue-17","tag-elt-newsletter","tag-eltweekly","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6842\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}