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

Be Going To – Predictions

Sometimes we look at a situation and we know what will happen next. We can predict the future. In English, we use be going to to talk about these predictions.

A prediction means we look at something now and we say what we think will happen. For example, you look at the sky. The sky is very dark. You say: "It is going to rain."

In this lesson, you will learn how to use be going to for predictions at A1 level. We will use short, simple sentences and everyday situations.

A Simple Story

Meet Tom. Tom is standing outside. He looks at the sky.

The sky is very dark and grey. Tom thinks: "I can see dark clouds. Rain is coming soon."

Tom says to his friend: "It is going to rain."

Tom is making a prediction. He can see the dark clouds now. That is his reason for saying it will rain.

This is how we use be going to for predictions. We see something now, and we say what will happen next.

Rule Breakdown

To make a prediction with be going to, we use three parts:

Part 1: The subject (the person or thing doing the action)
Part 2: The verb be (am / is / are)
Part 3: going to + the base verb (the simple form of the verb, e.g. rain, fall, win)

The pattern is:
Subject + am/is/are + going to + base verb

Let's look at some examples:

• It is going to rain. (I can see dark clouds.)
• She is going to fall. (I can see she is losing her balance.)
• They are going to win. (I can see they are playing very well.)

Am, Is, or Are?

The verb be changes depending on the subject. The subject is the person or thing we are talking about.

I → am
He / She / It → is
You / We / They → are

Here are the full forms with be going to:

Subject	Be Verb	Going To + Base Verb	Full Example
I	am	going to fall	I am going to fall.
He	is	going to cry	He is going to cry.
She	is	going to win	She is going to win.
It	is	going to rain	It is going to rain.
You	are	going to be late	You are going to be late.
We	are	going to lose	We are going to lose.
They	are	going to win	They are going to win.

What Is a Base Verb?

A base verb is the simple form of a verb. It does not change. We do not add -s, -ed, or -ing to it after going to.

• rain ✅ (not raining ❌)
• fall ✅ (not falls ❌)
• win ✅ (not wins ❌)
• cry ✅ (not cried ❌)

Always use the base verb after going to.

More Prediction Examples

Here are some everyday prediction situations. Notice the reason we can see now:

What I Can See Now	Prediction (Be Going To)
The sky is very dark.	It is going to rain.
The boy is running fast. He is near the wall.	He is going to hit the wall.
The cat is sitting on the table. It is moving towards the glass.	It is going to knock the glass over.
My team is playing very well.	We are going to win.
The baby is crying a lot.	She is going to sleep soon.
There is a lot of traffic.	We are going to be late.

Contractions with Be Going To

In English, we often make words shorter when we speak. These shorter forms are called contractions. A contraction joins two words together with an apostrophe (').

We can make contractions with the subject and the verb be:

I am → I'm
He is → He's
She is → She's
It is → It's
You are → You're
We are → We're
They are → They're

Here are examples with contractions:

• It's going to rain. (= It is going to rain.)
• She's going to fall. (= She is going to fall.)
• They're going to win. (= They are going to win.)
• I'm going to be late. (= I am going to be late.)

Both forms (full and contraction) are correct. Contractions are more common in speaking.

Negative Form of Be Going To

Sometimes we predict that something will not happen. We add not after the verb be.

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

Examples:

• It is not going to rain. (The sky is clear and blue.)
• She is not going to win. (She is playing very badly.)
• We are not going to be late. (We have a lot of time.)

We can also use contractions for the negative:

is not → isn't
are not → aren't
am not (no contraction – we do not say amn't)

• It isn't going to rain.
• She isn't going to win.
• They aren't going to lose.

Question Form of Be Going To

To ask a question with be going to, we move the verb be to the beginning of the sentence.

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

Examples:

• Is it going to rain?
• Is she going to fall?
• Are they going to win?
• Am I going to be late?

Short answers to these questions:

Question	Short Answer (Yes)	Short Answer (No)
Is it going to rain?	Yes, it is.	No, it isn't.
Is she going to fall?	Yes, she is.	No, she isn't.
Are they going to win?	Yes, they are.	No, they aren't.

Important Differences – Be Going To Predictions vs. Plans

We use be going to for two different things. At this level, it is important to know the difference:

1. Predictions – We can see something now that tells us what will happen.
2. Plans – We have already decided to do something.

This lesson is about predictions. Look at these two sentences:

Prediction: Look at those dark clouds! It is going to rain.
(I can see the clouds. They are my reason.)

Plan: I am going to visit my grandmother tomorrow.
(I have already decided this. It is my plan.)

For predictions, there is always something we can see or notice right now that gives us the reason.

Common Mistakes

❌ It is going to raining.
✅ It is going to rain. (Use the base verb after "going to", not the -ing form.)

❌ It is go to rain.
✅ It is going to rain. (We must say "going to", not just "go to".)

❌ She going to fall.
✅ She is going to fall. (Do not forget the verb "be" – is/am/are.)

❌ They is going to win.
✅ They are going to win. (Use "are" with "they", not "is".)

❌ He are going to cry.
✅ He is going to cry. (Use "is" with "he", not "are".)

❌ It is going to rains.
✅ It is going to rain. (Do not add -s to the base verb after "going to".)

Be Going To – Predictions: Quick Summary

Let's look at everything we learned in this lesson:

• We use be going to to make predictions about the future.
• A prediction is when we see something now and we know what will happen next.
• The pattern is: Subject + am/is/are + going to + base verb
• Use am with I, use is with he/she/it, use are with you/we/they.
• Always use the base verb after going to (no -s, -ed, or -ing).
• For the negative, add not after am/is/are: It is not going to rain.
• For a question, move am/is/are to the beginning: Is it going to rain?
• We can use contractions in speaking: It's going to rain. They're going to win.

Now practise be going to – predictions in the exercises below.