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Eladio Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
I was going to / I was about to
Could you tell me the difference between:
I was going to phone you when you arrived.
I was about to phone you when you arrived.
Thank you in advance!
I was going to phone you when you arrived.
I was about to phone you when you arrived.
Thank you in advance!
Top answer
'about to phone' expresses the inceptive, the beginning of an action. For example, I was about to walk over to the phone or about to dial your number, when you walked in the door. 'going to' expresses a plan, something you planned on doing, but were unable to accomplish due to extenuating circumstances.
- 'about to phone' expresses the inceptive, the beginning of an action.
- For example, I was about to walk over to the phone or about to dial your number, when you walked in the door.
- 'going to' expresses a plan, something you planned on doing, but were unable to accomplish due to extenuating circumstances.
- For example, I planned on calling you this morning, but I slept in.
- It was too late to call, so I didn't call you.
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3 Answers
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'about to phone' expresses the inceptive, the beginning of an action. For example, I was about to walk over to the phone or about to dial your number, when you walked in the door.
'going to' expresses a plan, something you planned on doing, but were unable to accomplish due to extenuating circumstances. For example, I planned on calling you this morning, but I slept in. It was too late
'going to' expresses a plan, something you planned on doing, but were unable to accomplish due to extenuating circumstances. For example, I planned on calling you this morning, but I slept in. It was too late
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Hi, Casi
Okay, I agree, but don't you think that there is a very little difference between the following three sentences, particularly 1 and 3?
1 The newscasts started to talk about possible terrorism actions in rails. We were about to travel by train! I'm so nervous!
2 The newscasts started to talk about possible terrorism actions in rails. We were going to travel by train! I'm so
Okay, I agree, but don't you think that there is a very little difference between the following three sentences, particularly 1 and 3?
1 The newscasts started to talk about possible terrorism actions in rails. We were about to travel by train! I'm so nervous!
2 The newscasts started to talk about possible terrorism actions in rails. We were going to travel by train! I'm so
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"just" expresses the inceptive as well. English doesn't have an active inceptive class of verbs in comparison with other languages (e.g., Native American language: Navaho, Tutchone , and so on).
To me, 1. and 3. are synonymous. They also express immediacy more so than does 2.
To me, 1. and 3. are synonymous. They also express immediacy more so than does 2.
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