Be Going To – Plans Practice Tests with A1 Grammar Rules & Examples

Be Going To – Plans

Do you have plans for tomorrow? Do you want to talk about the future in English? We use be going to to talk about plans – things we decide to do before we speak.

Look at these simple examples:

• I am going to visit my grandmother tomorrow.
• She is going to cook dinner tonight.
• They are going to watch a film.

In this lesson, you will learn how to make be going to sentences for plans. We will look at positive sentences, negative sentences, and questions. Let's start from the beginning!

What Does "Be Going To" Mean?

Meet Tom. Tom is sitting at home. He is thinking about tomorrow. He says:

"I am going to clean my room tomorrow."

Tom already has this plan in his head. He decided before he spoke. This is why we use be going to – for plans we already have.

Think of be going to like this:

I already decided → I am going to do it.

The Three Parts of "Be Going To"

Every be going to sentence has three important parts. Look carefully:

Subject + be + going to + verb

Here is an example broken into parts:

Subject	Be	Going to	Verb
I	am	going to	play football.
She	is	going to	read a book.
They	are	going to	travel to London.

A subject is the person or thing doing the action. For example: I, you, he, she, it, we, they.

The verb in a be going to sentence does not change. It always stays in its simple form. For example: play, read, eat, go, travel, buy.

The Verb "Be" Changes

The word be changes depending on the subject. This is very important! Look at the table below:

Subject	Be	Example
I	am	I am going to study.
You	are	You are going to study.
He	is	He is going to study.
She	is	She is going to study.
It	is	It is going to be sunny.
We	are	We are going to study.
They	are	They are going to study.

Remember: I → am, He / She / It → is, You / We / They → are.

Positive Sentences with "Be Going To"

A positive sentence means you say something will happen. There is no "not" in the sentence.

Pattern:

Subject + am / is / are + going to + verb

Here are more examples with different subjects:

• I am going to buy a new coat.
• You are going to visit your friend.
• He is going to cook pasta.
• She is going to call her mum.
• It is going to rain today.
• We are going to have a picnic.
• They are going to play in the park.

Contractions – Short Forms

In English, we often use short forms when we speak and write informally. A short form is called a contraction. We join two words together and use an apostrophe ( ' ) to show where letters are missing.

Full Form	Contraction	Example
I am	I'm	I'm going to eat lunch.
You are	You're	You're going to love this film!
He is	He's	He's going to play tennis.
She is	She's	She's going to start school.
It is	It's	It's going to be cold tonight.
We are	We're	We're going to visit the museum.
They are	They're	They're going to move house.

Both the full form and the contraction are correct. Contractions are more common in everyday English.

Negative Sentences with "Be Going To"

A negative sentence means something is not going to happen. We add not after am / is / are.

Pattern:

Subject + am / is / are + not + going to + verb

Look at these examples:

• I am not going to watch television tonight.
• He is not going to eat meat.
• She is not going to work tomorrow.
• We are not going to take the bus.
• They are not going to stay at home.

Short Forms for Negatives

We can also use contractions in negative sentences:

Full Negative Form	Contraction	Example
I am not	I'm not	I'm not going to be late.
You are not	You aren't	You aren't going to miss the train.
He is not	He isn't	He isn't going to call you.
She is not	She isn't	She isn't going to come to the party.
It is not	It isn't	It isn't going to snow.
We are not	We aren't	We aren't going to be here.
They are not	They aren't	They aren't going to play today.

Note: We never say I amn't. For I, we always say I'm not.

Questions with "Be Going To"

To ask a question, we move am / is / are to the beginning of the sentence, before the subject.

Pattern:

Am / Is / Are + subject + going to + verb?

Look at how the sentence changes:

Positive Sentence	Question
You are going to visit Tom.	Are you going to visit Tom?
She is going to cook dinner.	Is she going to cook dinner?
They are going to travel.	Are they going to travel?
He is going to buy a car.	Is he going to buy a car?
We are going to study English.	Are we going to study English?

Short Answers to Questions

When we answer a yes/no question, we use a short answer. We do not repeat the whole sentence.

Are you going to cook tonight?

• ✅ Yes, I am.
• ✅ No, I'm not.

Is she going to travel to Spain?

• ✅ Yes, she is.
• ✅ No, she isn't.

Are they going to come to the party?

• ✅ Yes, they are.
• ✅ No, they aren't.

Useful Time Words for Plans

We often use be going to with time words. These words tell us when the plan will happen.

Time Word	Example Sentence
tomorrow	I am going to call you tomorrow.
tonight	She is going to study tonight.
next week	We are going to move next week.
next month	He is going to start a new job next month.
this weekend	They are going to visit the beach this weekend.
this afternoon	I am going to go shopping this afternoon.
next year	She is going to learn French next year.

Important Differences – "Be Going To" vs "Will"

At level A1, it is good to know one important thing. English has two ways to talk about the future. One is be going to. The other is will. Do not worry too much about will right now – you will learn it later. But here is one simple difference:

We use be going to when we already have a plan before we speak.

Example: I am going to visit Paris in July. (I booked the trip last month. I already have this plan.)

We use will for a quick decision we make at the moment of speaking.

Example: "The phone is ringing!" "I'll answer it!" (I decided just now, in this moment.)

For this lesson, focus only on be going to for plans. This is the most useful structure for A1 learners.

Common Mistakes

Here are some mistakes that learners often make. Read them carefully so you can avoid them!

❌ I am going to played football.
✅ Keep the main verb in its simple form. I am going to play football.

❌ She going to visit her friend.
✅ Do not forget "be". She is going to visit her friend.

❌ He is going to goes to the gym.
✅ The main verb does not change. He is going to go to the gym.

❌ They are not going to don't come.
✅ Use only one negative. They are not going to come.

❌ Is she going to to buy a bag?
✅ Do not write "to" twice. Is she going to buy a bag?

❌ I amn't going to be late.
✅ We never say "amn't". I'm not going to be late.

More Example Sentences – "Be Going To" Plans

Here are some more natural sentences with be going to for plans. Read them out loud for practice!

• I am going to make a cake for my sister's birthday.
• My dad is going to buy a new car next month.
• We are going to have a big family dinner on Sunday.
• My friend and I are going to start an English class next week.
• She isn't going to eat fast food anymore.
• Is your brother going to come to the party tonight?
• Yes, he is! He's going to bring some music too.
• I'm not going to wake up late tomorrow. I have an important meeting!

Be Going To – Plans: Quick Summary

Here is a quick summary of everything you learned in this lesson:

• We use be going to to talk about plans – things we already decided to do.
• The structure is: Subject + am / is / are + going to + verb.
• The main verb always stays in its simple form (play, go, eat, buy).
• Use am with I, is with he / she / it, and are with you / we / they.
• For negatives, add not after am / is / are: She is not going to come.
• For questions, put am / is / are at the beginning: Are you going to study tonight?
• We can use contractions (short forms): I'm, he's, she's, we're, they're, isn't, aren't.
• Common time words: tomorrow, tonight, next week, this weekend, next year.

Now practise be going to for plans in the exercises below.