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Knorico Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

"Will he...?" or "Is he going to...?"

0Hi! 02br
02br
00I'm a bit confused by my own handwritten note on my old textbook that claims:02br
02br
01font00"If I ask him nicely, will he lend me his computer? " --- OK02font02br
02br
01font00"If I ask him nicely, is he going to lend me his computer?" --- WRONG02font02br
02br
00Do you agree with this?02br
02br
00And will I be correct if I change the latter to the following?02br
02br
01font00"If I ask him nicely, do you think [he's going to lend / he'll lend] me his computer?" 02font02br
02br
01font02font0-
  

Top answer

02br 00First: you might hear either, Native speakers are not careful in following the guidelines, However:02br 01font 00"If I ask him nicely, will he lend me his computer? " --- WRONG. 02font 02br 00.

— Mister Micawber

  • 02br 00First: you might hear either, Native speakers are not careful in following the guidelines, However:02br 01font 00"If I ask him nicely, will he lend me his computer?
  • " --- WRONG.
  • 02font 02br 00.
  • 0-
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3 Answers
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0 .02br
00First: you might hear either, Native speakers are not careful in following the guidelines, However:02br
01font00"If I ask him nicely, will he lend me his computer? " --- OK.00 This is OK, because presumably 'he' will make an immediate, on-the-spot decision.00 02font02br
02br
01font
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0If you want to imply his 01b00willingness02b00, use "will." 02br
00If you want to just mention what 01b00might happen02b00, use "is going to." Still, I wouldn't be using it here, because "is going to" is normally related to scheduled/planned events, and here we don't know if this is acceptable to him or not. 0-
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0Wow! Thank you very much for your very quick responses. 02br
02br
00I feel I'm beginning to grasp the basic idea behind "will" and "be going to" forms. 02br
02br
00:-D0-
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