"going to ________" Vs. "going to be ________ing"

Question

1."When I arrive at the party, everybody is going to be celebrating"
2."When I arrive at the party, everybody is going to celebrate"

1."At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to be washing the dishes"
2."At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to wash the dishes"

Hi, I was wondering if the verb tenses of both "going to ________" and "going to be ________ing" are being considered interchangeable by native speakers.

I always see native speakers use the 1st verb tense favoringly and the 2nd one, almost never in everyday speech, is it true?

Thank you

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

1."When I arrive at the party, everybody is going to be celebrating"
2."When I arrive at the party, everybody is going to celebrate"

1."At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to be washing the dishes"
2."At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to wash the dishes"

Hi, I was wondering if the verb tenses of both "going to __" and "going to be __ing" are being considered interchangeable by native speakers.

I always see native speakers use the 1st verb tense favoringly and the 2nd one, almost never in everyday speech, is it true? No, it's not.

Let's just consider one of your examples.
1."At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to be washing the dishes"
He is going to start before 8pm and finish after 8pm.
At 8 pm, the activity will be happening.

2."At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to wash the dishes"
The washing will start at 8pm.

Best wishes, Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Your question is very interesting and deals with two different future aspects set in present tense. I will talk about them in reverse order for the sake of explanation. Also note that these explinations apply to past tense and present tense versions of the same two aspects here.

Number 2 is a present progressive of to go followed by an infinitive, some call the near future, although this is not accurate by any means, as it is entirely possible to say ''I am going to die in 90 years," etc...

Number 1 is a comination of number 2 plus a continuous ''to be celebrating'' with to be + a progressive.

Both are future aspects as indicated above, but they are by no means interchangable.

Though both of them indicate the action of celebrating in the future, the difference in aspect has to do with emphasis intended by the speaker.

Both are perfectly grammatically correct, but the emphasis is placed on a different idea.

In Number 2, the speaker places the emphasis on the action of celebrating. This also places emphasis on the effect on the environment (the party) and not the effect on the people doing the action. In other words, a native might expect the next sentence to be. "There will be music food, and entertainment. I'll explain why..

In Number 1, the speaker places the emphasis on the person or persons celebrating. This also places emphasis on the effect on the individuals celebrating. A native might expect the next sentence to be ''There will be smiles on their faces."

This is the main difference, although most people would only explain it in the way I am about to now:

There is another difference which is not 100 percent of the time the case, but often.

In Number 2 you could interpret that because of the use of to be + ing accompanied by going to this would indicate that when you arrive at the party, the dancing will already be taking place.

In Number 2 it is quite clear to the native speaker that the dancing will not occur until you get to the party. This goes back to my this idea of the the environment vs. the person doing the action.

As I said before, this same difference of aspect applies in the past as well. I would like to offer one more example, but in the past. This example was given to me by an English professor named John Walker I had while I studied in France, who taught English to French students.

Now see if you can tell the difference in aspect between these two sentances. If you are not native, it will not be obvious until you learn this rule I have discussed above.

1.

-What has happened?
I have cut wood .

2. What has happened?
I have been cutting wood.

Some would simply say that in number 2, more time was spent cutting the wood than in number 1. This could be true, but it is not the reason the native speaker most likely chooses the tense. Again it deals with emphasis.

Number 1 uses a present perfect, a present tense which is an aspect of a recent past action carries over to the present. Here the emphasis is placed on the environment. The native might expect the next sentenece to be "That is why there is sawdust all over the floor."

Number 2 uses a continuous with to be + ing i.e. progressive. The emphasis is placed on the person doing the cutting. The native might expect the next sentence to be. ''That is why I look so tired,'' or ''That is how I cut my finger"

It makes sense this way if you think about the verb to be. When an ing word comes after it, it almost acts as an adjective discribing the person doing the action, just as an adjective would.

John is married.
John is white.
John is American.
John is cutting wood.

So then, that would explain why to be is used to emphasize the person acting, rather than the effect of the action on the environment.

CalifJim · Answer

GuyperHi, I was wondering if the verb tenses of ~~both~~ "going to __" and "going to be __ing" are ~~being~~ considered interchangeable by native speakers.

No!!!

They're going to be celebrating (at some point in time) ~ Celebration will already be in progress. You will arrive to a room full of commotion and activity. Perhaps the participants will hardly notice your arrival.

They're going to celebrate (at some point in time) ~ Celebration will begin. You will arrive to a quiet room, and then everybody is going to start the celebration activities. This sentence almost suggests that your arrival is the cause of the celebration. They've assembled to congratulate you in some way, perhaps. Or perhaps, in a self-centered way, the speaker is saying that he's such a fine fellow that his arrival is cause for celebration.

The same remarks apply to the dish washing example, and generally to all such pairs of sentences.

CJ

"going to " Vs. "going to be ing"

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