Lesson 11 Going for it

Lesson 11
Going for it
Plan:
1. Grammar: going to future, infinitive of purpose
2. Vocabulary: What’s the weather like?
3. Everyday English: Making suggestions
4. Reading: Human towers
5. Listening: Weather forecast
6. Writing: Descriptive writing
1.Grammar: going to future, infinitive of purpose
Be going to: form
We use be going to + the base form of the verb:
I’m going to take a few exams at the end of the year.
It’s going to be difficult to get a job during the summer as the tourist industry is suffering from the economic downturn.
Be going to: uses
Be going to is commonly used in informal styles.
Intentions
We use be going to to talk about future plans and intentions. Usually the decision about the future plans has already been made:
She’s going to be a professional dancer when she grows up.
I’m going to look for a new place to live next month.
Predictions
We use be going to to predict something that we think is certain to happen or which we have evidence for now:
It’s going to snow again soon. (The speaker can probably see dark snow clouds.)
Look out! He’s going to break that glass.
Commands
We use be going to when we give commands or state that something is obligatory:
[parent to a child]
You’re going to pick up all of those toys right now. This room is a mess!

Gonna (informal contexts)
Spoken English:
We use gonna /gənə/ instead of going to in informal contexts, especially in speaking and in song lyrics. We write gonna to show how to pronounce it:
Are you gonna try and get stuff sorted as soon as you can then? (Are you going to try and get things organised as soon as you can?)
One day I’m gonna be a star.
Be going to or will?
Will is often used in a similar way to be going to. Will is used when we are talking about something with absolute certainty. Be going to is used when we want to emphasise our decision or the evidence in the present:
[An ‘A’ road is a main road. A ‘B’ road is a smaller road.]
We are now very late so we’re going to take the ‘B’ road. (the speaker refers to the present and emphasises the decision)
I know the ‘B’ road will be quicker at this time of day. (the speaker states a fact)


Infinitive of purpose

We can use to + infinitive to say why we do something. It tells the other person the reason. We need to have a normal verb as well.

• 
  I went on holiday (this is what I did) to relax (this is why I did it).
  
• 
  She studies hard to get good marks.
  
• 
  He gave up cakes to lose weight.
  
• 
  I'm calling you to ask for your help.
  

Be careful! In many languages, we use 'for + infinitive'. This is not correct in English. NOT: .

The main verb can be in any tense. For example:

• 
  Present simple: I exercise every day to stay healthy.
  
• 
  Present continuous: He's saving money to buy a flat.
  
• 
  Past simple: I went to university to get a degree.
  
• 
  Past continuous: She was walking to the shops to buy milk when she met John.
  
• 
  Future simple: He'll come to the party later to pick up Julia.
  
• 
  Present perfect: She's gone to the library to study.
  

We can also use 'in order to + infinitive' and 'so as to + infinitive'. 'In order to' is a bit more formal but the meaning is the same as 'so as to' and 'to + infinitive'.

• 
  I went on holiday to relax.
  
• 
  I went on holiday in order to relax.
  
• 
  I went on holiday so as to relax.
  

We can use a negative infinitive of purpose by adding 'not' before 'to'. Often we do this with 'in order not to' and 'so as not to'.

• 
  I drank coffee in order not to fall asleep.
  
• 
  He got up very quietly so as not to wake the children.
  

We can only use the infinitive of purpose if the subject of the main verb and the infinitive of purpose are the same. If they are different, we use 'so that + clause' or 'in order that + clause'.

• 
  I went to the library to study. (I went to the library and I studied - the subject are both 'I'.)
  

BUT

• 
  I went to the library so that John could study. (I went to the library, but John studied. The two subjects are different - I and John - so we can't use an infinitive of purpose.)
  

With the verbs 'come' and 'go', we use an infinitive of purpose when they're in a normal tense but we often use 'and + infinitive' with imperatives or after modal verbs.

• 
  I went home to sleep.
  
• 
  Go home and sleep!
  
• 
  You must go home and sleep!
  

2.Vocabulary: What’s the weather like?