GRAMÁTICA: Future (2): going to, present continuous e simple present

FONTE: http://www.teclasap.com.br/blog/2010/02/26/future-2-going-to-present-continuous-e-simple-present/

A: What are your holiday plans? Do you know yet?
B: Oh, yes. We will visit are going to visit / are visiting some friends in France.
A: That’s nice. So you plan to take the car, I suppose.
B: No, we fly are going to fly / are flying. They have two cars, so we won’t need ours. Oh, look at those black clouds.
A: Perhaps we should go inside.
B: Yes. It rains it’s going to rain in a minute.

going to

• going to é usado para indicar algo que, ao que parece, acontecerá.
  • Look at all this traffic. We‘re going to be late.
  • Olhe o trânsito! Vamos chegar atrasados.
  • Careful! You‘re going to knock my glass over!
  • Cuidado! Você vai derrubar meu copo!
• going to é usado também para expressar planos e decisões pensadas.
  • We‘re going to buy a new car. We’ve already sold our old one.
  • Jane isn’t going to stay on at school after July. She‘s going to look for a job.

Comparação:

• I‘m going to park in the station car park. There’s never a space in this road. [= decisão pensada]
• Eu vou estacionar no estacionamento da estação. Nesta rua nunca há vaga.
• Oh, look. There is a space today. Ok, I‘ll park here. [= decisão espontânea]
• Veja só. Hoje há uma vaga. Bom, vou estacionar aqui.

Present Continuous

• O present continuous é usado quando já foram tomadas providências ou feitas combinações referentes ao futuro, ou para expressar que existe um horário preestabelecido.
  • I‘m meeting Ann for a meal tomorrow evening. I’ve booked a table for 7:30 at the Italian restaurant.
  • I’ve got a busy week. Tomorrow I‘m painting the kitchen, and on Friday I‘m doing the bathroom.
• Quando o present continuous se refere ao futuro, ele é usado com uma indicação temporal: p. ex., next week, on Friday, at seven o’clock etc.
• Freqüentemente, o present continuous ou going to podem ser usados indistintamente, sem diferença de significado.
  • Next Sunday I‘m meeting Phil. [= está decidido] / I‘m going to meet Phil. [= plano]

Simple Present

• O simple present é usado quando algo é preestabelecido por um guia, programa etc.
  • My train arrives at 7:43 and the concert starts at 8.