I don't feel well. I think I will be

[ademoglu]

Hello,

I don't feel well. I think I _____ (be) ill.

The key: am/am going to be

This question was asked on the exam today. I feel confused why 'will' is wrong. Does it really sound odd?

Thanks.

 

[AirbusA321]

You could also use "I think I'm getting/becoming ill."

 

[emsr2d2]

I'd use either "I don't feel well. I think I'm ill" or "I don't feel well. I think I'm going to be sick" in BrE. In the second "to be sick" means "to vomit".

 

[GoesStation]

We use going to before mentioning an event we expect to happen in the near future. Will can express a non-specific futurity: If I eat that, I'll get sick.

 

[Rover_KE]

You could also use "I think I'm getting/becoming ill."

Those aren't natural, AirbusA, and in any case, the question specifies that the verb 'to be' must be used.

 

[AirbusA321]

Are you sure? I mean, I'm no expert but Google has 15,300 hits for "I think I'm getting ill."

 

[GoesStation]

Are you sure? I mean, I'm no expert but Google has 15,300 hits for "I think I'm getting ill."

That's natural in American English at least.

 

[teechar]

Are you sure? I mean, I'm no expert but Google has 15,300 hits for "I think I'm getting ill."

And it has almost half a million for "I think I'm getting sick."

 

[jutfrank]

I think I'm getting ill/sick both sound natural enough to me.

And in answer to the question, I think I'll be ill is not right in this context. The will here makes the utterance sound like it's a conscious decision. You need a going to to make a prediction of events supported by evidence. The evidence here is the 'not feeling well'.

 

[lupicatulum]

Hello,

I don't feel well. I think I _____ (be) ill.

The key: am/am going to be

This question was asked on the exam today. I feel confused why 'will' is wrong. Does it really sound odd?

Thanks.

Ademoglu, I might know why are you confused. The verb in the brackets (be) must be cut out from the sentence and used in some other way. Like "I think I am Ill". But in your example, your sentence goes "I think I will ill". Your sentence does not mean (as you probably thought) "I think I will be ill.". You have to convert be. It does not stay there.

At least that's what I think what you think, because I would make the same mistake, until I realized what other people answered and figured out where the problem is.

 

[emsr2d2]

"I think I'm getting ill/sick" and, in BrE, "I think I'm coming down with something" mean that you just don't feel quite right, you don't feel 100% healthy but you can't quite put your finger on what's wrong. Even so, you're sure that within 24 hours or so, some illness or other is going to manifest itself.

 

[GoesStation]

Americans also come down with something.