if clause + will or (be going to) ??

Question

My question is regarding the difference between "will" and "be going to" in an if clause.

I know the differences between them in normal sentences which are related to:

1- planned action (be going to)

2- spontaneous action (will)

3- prediction (will or be going to)

My question asks about the difference between those two forms in if clauses.

For example:

1- If it rains tomorrow, I am going to stay home.

2- If it rains tomorrow, I will stay home.

Do the differences between "will" and "going to" carry on to other clauses?

I hope that you could help me with that.

I am an non-native English teacher.

Thanks.

Inchoateknowledge · Accepted Answer

Hello

If it rains tomorrow, I am going to stay indoors.
It means to me that the narrator was planning for the future possibilities.

With will, the sentence conveys the notion of spontaneity, making a decision on the spur of the moment.

CalifJim · Answer

You said you were asking about will and going to in an if clause, but neither of your examples contains will or going to in an if clause. Your examples contain will and if in main clauses.

CJ

Magic79 · Answer

Calif Jim,

My examples of will and be giong to in an if-clause are there...and i am typing them again:

1- If it rains, I AM GOING TO stay home.

2- If it rains, I WILL stay home.

Inchoateknowledge posted a great answer by saying the using BE GOING means that the speaker has had that plan for quite sometime...whereas WILL in the second example gives the impression that the speaker has just thought of this plan (staying home if it rains).

Inchoateknowledge has only answered part of the question...what remains is what if the speaker is making a prediction using if-clause...What i want to find out from my posting is whether the differences between these two future verbs transfer to more complex sentences such as sentences with IF......So could you tell me if there is a difference when making a prediction with an IF CLAUSE....let's say you are watching a game...and you want to make a prediction about the result of the game using IF...would it be OK to use either forms to mean the same thing and feel the same degree of certainty about the prediction!!!!???

- If Micheal Jordan joins Chicago basketball team again, they (will) OR (are going to) win the game.

Thanks for enriching my understanding of those two forms.

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

"My examples of will and be giong to in an if-clause are there...and i am typing them again

1- If it rains, I AM GOING TO stay home.

2- If it rains, I WILL stay home"

this is the if clause in your sentences:

If it rains

J Lewis · Answer

CalifJim, you're right but you're being pedantic! Magic 79's question was clearly about the use of future forms in a conditional sentence containing an if-clause.

Anonymous · Answer

I will give you my bike if it will help you get home faster. I give you my bike if you say it will help you (after you have got my bike).
If you are going to be fashionable this year, you will wear black. (if you want to look trendy ... .)

Is it what you mean?

Inchoateknowledge · Answer

I will give you my bike if it will help you get home faster = I give you my bike if you say it will help you (after you have got my bike).
If you are going to be fashionable this year, you will wear black. (if you want to look trendy ... .)

Is it what you mean?

Magic79 · Answer

Thanks Cali for payiing attention to small details.

Yes Lewis, I meant using "will" or "going to" in a sentence that has a conditional if clause.

Inchoate added to the thread some sentences that has "will" in both the IF CLAUSE and the MAIN CLAUSE. I did not want for us to delve deeper before solving the apparent enigma of WILL and GOING TO in SENTENCES with IF CLAUSES.

Inchoate, I dont understand why you added some more examples. I got confused now. Bettey Azar's book "Fundamentals in English Grammar" and "Understanding English Grammar" explains the difference between "WILL" and "GOING TO" in simple sentences. And according to the book, there are 3 main points to be learned about them:

1- Planning (Only GOING TO is correct):

- I AM GOING TO study for the Ph.D. next fall.

2- Prediction (either GOING TO or WILL can be used):

- I think Michal Jordan is going to help the team win the final game.

- I think Micheal Jordan will help the team win the final game.

3- Spontaneous Action (only WIL can be used):

A: The phone is ringing.

B: I will get it.

A: Are you busy tonight?

B: hmmm, wellllllll, let me seeeeee, I will do the laundary and then I will go out for a run. (GOING TO is inappropriate here)

Based on this understanding of the differences between WILL and GOING TO, the question will those differences carry on to more complex structures, such as when using "IF CLAUSE", "When CLAUSE" etc.

- When I arrive home, I WILL call you OR I AM GOING TO call you ??????? (Planning)

- If are sick, you Will not win OR you ARE not GOINT TO win??????????? (Prediction)

THE DOOR BELL RINGS....so your wife says that there is someone at the door who wants to talk to you...to which the husband replies spontaneously without any previous plans saying:

-Well, if it is our neighbor, I WILL OR AM GOING TO see him in a minute. Otherwise, I will just continue sleeping.????????

I am sorry that the question was not very clear...but I hope that you can understand the question.

Thanks for your help.

Milky · Answer

Picky.

Anonymous · Answer

0[6]before to etudy I am going to the library01blockquote

01cite10Magic7912cite12br
10My question is regarding the difference between "will" and "be going to" in an if clause.12br
12br
10I know the differences between them in normal sentences which are related to:12br
12br
101- planned action (be going to)12br
12br
102- spontaneous action (will)12br
12br
103- prediction (will or be going to)12br
12br
10My question asks about the difference between those two forms in if clauses.12br
12br
10For example:12br
12br
101- If it rains tomorrow, I 10am going to stay 10home.12br
12br
102- If it rains tomorrow, I 10will stay 10home.12br
12br
10Do the differences between "will" and "going to" carry on to other clauses?12br
12br
10I hope that you could help me with that. 12br
12br
10I am an non-native English teacher.12br
12br
10Thanks.12br
12blockquote

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if clause + will or (be going to) ??

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