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Lesson Plan January 19, 2024

Topic: Future Plans & Decisions

In this lesson we will study and practise basic grammatical structures for talking about future plans and decisions.

When we talk about plans or decisions for the future, we can use the present continuous, going to or will + infinitive.

Section A: Future plans

We use the present continuous to talk about plans or arrangements for the future:

• I’m meeting an old friend for lunch tomorrow.

• I’m flying to France next Wednesday.

• Are you going on holiday this summer?

We do not use will to talk about future plans. We can use will + infinitive to talk about something that is possible in the future:

• A: ‘Where are you going on holiday this summer?’
  B: ‘I don’t know. Perhaps I’ll go to Italy’

• Maybe I will see you at the party next week.

NOTE: will + infinitive is often used with I think, I don’t think, I’m sure, probably, perhaps, maybe, etc.

Dialogue
A: We are going to Spain this summer. What about you?
B: I don’t know yet. Maybe I will travel around Japan.

Section B: Decisions for the future

We use going to + infinitive to talk about intentions or decisions for the future:

• I’ve made my decision. I’m going to quit smoking.

• Are you going to come to the party tonight?

We use will + infinitive when we make a spontaneous decision at the time of speaking (not before):

• A: ‘It’s cold in here.’
  B: ‘I’ll go and shut the window.’

• A: ‘Can you send me the information I need?’
  B: ’Sure, I’ll do it right away.’

Dialogue

A: Have you decided what to cook tonight?
B: Yes, I’m going to cook fish and rice.
A: Sounds good. I’ll bring a bottle of white wine.

Lesson Notes

• How was your trip?

• Did you enjoy your trip?

• How did your trip go?

• I rank my trip as a 7.5.

• I don’t think you’ll like this curry, it’s quite spicy. It’ll probably burn your mouth.

• This curry is so flavourful, it must have a dozen different spices in it.

Vocabulary

• Rank; (verb) to say how good or bad something is, often on a scale of zero to ten.

• "Spicy food”; typically means food that is hot or has a strong heat component, often from the use of chili peppers or other hot ingredients

• "Food with spices”; suggests a preference for food that is flavourful and rich due to the use of various spices

Future Plans & Decisions

When talking to friends

• “I am going to have a pizza.”

• This is common in casual conversations with friends. It implies that you're expressing your choice.

When placing an order with a waiter:

• “I'll have a pizza.”

• This is a polite way to express your order in a restaurant.

Position of Adverbs

• In positive sentences, "probably" is typically placed between the modal verb (such as "will") and the main verb.

• I will probably finish the project by tomorrow.

• She probably knows the answer to the question.

• In negative sentences, "probably" is generally placed between the modal verb (in this case, "won't" as the contraction of "will not") and the main verb.

• They probably won't be home for dinner tonight

• He probably won't call you back until later in the day.

When expressing a prior plan, there is no difference in meaning between these sentences

• I am going to meet a friend at Alice’s restaurant at six.

• I am meeting a friend at Alice’s restaurant at six.