be going to-will

Question

Are you going to ask him for help? Will you ask him for help?

I think He will find her name. I think he is going to find her name. ( "I think " sentences I have seen both tense uses)

Which ones are true?

THE VALLEY OF THE WOLVES

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

True?

Questions can't be true or false.
In the cases of "I think", if you really do think those things, then the sentences are true.
If you do not think those things, then the sentences are false, and you are lying about what you think.

(All are correct, however.)

Be careful. true and correctdo not mean the same thing.

See also Post .

CJ

Redkiddy · Answer

Thanks CaliffJim

These ones were questions in one of the english learning sites,,,,,,,, according to them one is correct.( and no other explanations sentences were there.)

CalifJim · Answer

No context given? That's strange.

CJ

Pastsimple · Answer

CalifJimTrue?

All are correct, however.

CJ

Hi CJ,

Does Will you ask him for help? imply I'll be happy if you do (ask him) or I want you to ask him? I'd say so.
Also, there's no such implication in Are you going to ask him for help?, isn't it?
What about Will you be asking him for help? The future progressive tense does remove the above implications but isn't it too unnatural in this example? Would you as a native speaker use it?

CalifJim · Answer

Does Will you ask him for help? imply I'll be happy if you do (ask him) or I want you to ask him? I'd say so.

No. imply is too strong a word. There is a reading of 1 below which means essentially the same as 2 below, but another reading of 1 which means essentially 3.

1 Will you ask him for help?
2 Would you (please) ask him for help? / Could you (please) ask him for help?
3 Do you intend to ask him for help? / Are you going to ask him for help? / Is it your decision to ask him for help?

This is a matter of using the same words with different shades of meaning in different situations, not a matter of one statement implying another.

Are you going to ask him for help? cannot take the reading in 2, no. At least I can't think of a context where that makes sense.

So in this particular choice, the questioner may show a bit more self-interest by using the will form. I don't think this should be taken as a universal fact which differentiates the two forms, however.

Addition of the progressive just increases the "liveliness" or "descriptiveness" of the action of asking. It does strongly mask any tendency to read it as in 2 above, as you say. Curiously, what is added (on one possible reading) is an element of prying - and the idea of self-interest again.

Will you be ...ing? -- Because if so, could you ... for me, too?

CJ

Pastsimple · Answer

OK. Thanks, CJ.

And what about Will you be asking him for help?

CalifJim · Answer

I added more to the previous post. I wasn't quite finished thinking it through!

CJ

MichalS · Answer

Hi,

As far as I know, future continous may also add some politeness to the questions. For example:

Will you still be needing your car today?

That would be a very formal and polite question.

Pastsimple · Answer

MichalSHi, As far as I know, future continous may also add some politeness to the questions. For example: Will you still be needing your car today? That would be a very formal and polite question.

I would argue otherwise. As far as I know, e.g. "Will you be wanting anything else?" is one of the least polite ways a (very annoyed) waitress can ask you.

Aperisic · Answer

Redkiddy
Are you going to ask him for help? Will you ask him for help?

I think He will find her name. I think he is going to find her name. ( "I think " sentences I have seen both tense uses)

Which ones are true?

Both.

"be going to" is used as a more certain close future, decision, it connects the action in the future with the action in the present

"will" is used as a general future

For example:

"I think he will find her name." it means that somewhere in the future the name may be in his possession

"I think he is going to find her name." it means that the name may be in his possession soon but additionally he already has started the search or something related to finding the name

"Are you going to ask him for help?" it means did you make a decision of asking him and now you are about to ask him

"Will you ask him for help?" could mean the same, but if we take that "will" is a future tense it means: in the future can you decide to ask him for help

For example I would say

Are you going to ask him for help tomorrow?

but

Will you ask him for help next year?

(In all samples I understood "will" as the future tense modal verb. "Will" could be understood as a verb on its own "will" - "have intention", as well as many others, but I don't thinking that it is what you meant here.)

P.S.

"Be going to" connects the future and the present in the similar way which "have done" connects the present and the past tense. "Be going to" could mean "be about to". "Will" very rarely means "be about to".

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