Be going to go and be going to

[mrmvp]

Hello,

When do I use "be going to go" plus a place/ county. and "be going to" plus location/ county?

1 - I am going to China.
2 - I am going to go to China.
3 - I am going to go to the park.
4 - I am going to the park.

I feel that both are correct, but they might vary in meaning.

 

[teechar]

Note that [going to + verb] means you intend to, have planned, will soon do something.
For example:
In I'm going to tell you a story, "going to" is clearly not about going/traveling to some place.

In contrast, [going to + location] means you are on the way to that location, or that you will travel there at some point in the future.

 

[emsr2d2]

There are instances in which you could use either one.

Next week, I'm going to China.
Next week, I'm going to go to China.

They're both grammatical and mean the same thing. The first is more common (amongst BrE speakers at least).

 

[mrmvp]

Note that [going to + verb] means you intend to, have planned, will soon do something.
For example:
In I'm going to tell you a story, "going to" is clearly not about going/traveling to some place.

In contrast, [going to + location] means you are on the way to that location, or that you will travel there at some point in the future.

Thank you so much @teechar and @emsr2d2 for your contributions. In American English, is there a differences between going to+ location and going to+go?

1-I am going to the hospital/ village or a country.
2-I am going to go to the hospital/ village or a country.

As respected teacher @emsr2d2 mentioned they mean the same in British English. Are they the same tense?

 

[emsr2d2]

As respected teacher @emsr2d2 mentioned, they mean the same in British English. Are they the same tense?

In that context of the sentence in post #1, they mean the same thing. That's why I said "There are instances in which you could use either one". I didn't say you could apply it to all contexts.

 

[jutfrank]

There are instances in which you could use either one.

Next week, I'm going to China.
Next week, I'm going to go to China.

They're both grammatical and mean the same thing. The first is more common (amongst BrE speakers at least).

Sorry, I must point out that they do not have the same meaning/use, and also that how common they are is irrelevant to the difference between them.

In the metalanguage that I think is best to use:

• be going to is for expressing intentions
• present continuous is for expressing arrangements

 

[5jj]

I must point out that they do not have the same meaning/use

I don't agree. There is sometimes very little difference in meaning between them.

In the metalanguage that I think is best to use:

be going to is used for actions for which there is present evidence.
present continuous is used for expressing arrangements.

There is considerable overlap.

 

[jutfrank]

The difference in meaning/use is considerable. And considerable enough for its distinction to be made over and over again by writers and publishers all over the field.

be going to is used for actions for which there is present evidence.

This is a different use of 'be going to', i.e., quite dissimilar to the expression of intention.

There is considerable overlap.

Not really. Although there are times where an expression of intention could work in a similar context to where an expression of arrangement or prediction has been used, that doesn't mean the meaning is the same.

 

[emsr2d2]

Next week, I'm going to China.
Next week, I'm going to go to China.

Those are the example sentences I gave earlier and said there was no difference in meaning. By that I mean that at some point next week I will travel to China. Both sentences mean that. @jutfrank Are you saying they don't both mean that?

 

[jutfrank]

Next week, I'm going to China.
Next week, I'm going to go to China.

Those are the example sentences I gave earlier and said there was no difference in meaning.

The difference is in what they're expressing. The former expresses an an arrangement and the latter an intention. These are quite different things.

By that I mean that at some point next week I will travel to China. Both sentences mean that.

You're correctly identifying that both sentences say something about the future, yes. These two forms are what are called 'future forms' since they're used to talk in some way about an event in the future.

 

[5jj]

The difference is in what they're expressing. The former expresses an an arrangement and the latter an intention. These are quite different things.

How can you be sure of this?

 

[jutfrank]

Sorry, I don't understand the question. What exactly is not clear?

 

[emsr2d2]

If my flight was booked and I was definitely going to China next week, I could still use either sentence. It's both an intention and an arrangement. I've arranged it and I intend to go. @jutfrank Are you suggesting I should use one of the sentences only if it's an intention (a plan) and the other if all the arrangements are in place? I'm confused!

 

[5jj]

Sorry, I don't understand the question. What exactly is not clear?

I don't understand the question. What exactly is not clear?

 

[jutfrank]

How can you be sure of this?

Your question seems to be asking how it is possible for anyone to understand what anyone else means. The answer is that there two main ways to know what someone is saying. The first is the language they use, and the second is the context within which they use that language.

This seems like an odd question coming from you, 5jj! I figured you must be asking something else.

 

[emsr2d2]

I had the same question as 5jj. Nothing in either of those sentences suggests whether the trip to China is simply an intention or an actual arrangement.

 

[jutfrank]

If my flight was booked and I was definitely going to China next week, I could still use either sentence.

Yes.

It's both an intention and an arrangement. I've arranged it and I intend to go. @jutfrank Are you suggesting I should use one of the sentences only if it's an intention (a plan) and the other if all the arrangements are in place? I'm confused!

I think I see what you mean. The problem is with what I mean by the word 'intention'. Yes, the expression of an arrangement is in a sense the same as the expression of an intention. Let me clarify the distinction:

When I say 'arrangement', the idea is that there is a time and a place implied. With an intention, there's no implication of time and place.

I'm flying to Beijing tomorrow morning.

This is the present continuous for arrangements. If you said this to me, I'd presume that you have a ticket already (i.e., there's a time and place). Since the time and place are crucially implied in the meaning, this utterance is not considered an intention in the sense that I'm using it. In the sense I'm using it, an intention is an aim to perform an action in the world where the the time and place of this action is either unimportant, or unknown, or irrelevant.

Where is she? I'm going to kill her!

In this example, the killing is not implied to any particular time or place. It's irrelevant where and when I kill her—all that matters is that I have the intention to do it.

 

[jutfrank]

I had the same question as 5jj. Nothing in either of those sentences suggests whether the trip to China is simply an intention or an actual arrangement.

Yes, the preset continuous form in Next week, I'm going to China suggests that the trip is already arranged. The 'be going to' version doesn't do that.

 

[emsr2d2]

I think we'll have to agree to disagree as far as my understanding of those two sentences go, and what I would mean if I used either of them.

For me, "Next week, I'm going to go to China" could well mean that all arrangements are in place. If the arrangements weren't in place, I'd say "Tomorrow, I'm going to book my ticket for my trip to China next week" (or similar).

 

[jutfrank]

I think we'll have to agree to disagree as far as my understanding of those two sentences go, and what I would mean if I used either of them.

I'm pretty sure we agree on everything apart from what we mean when say 'intention'. For you, to express an arrangement is to express an intention, so a single utterance can be both at the same time. For me, it must be either one or the other since these two terms are exclusive by definition.

For me, "Next week, I'm going to go to China" could well mean that all arrangements are in place.

Yes, but if all arrangements are in place, that's not part of the meaning of the utterance. In other words, there's no way a listener could ever know that from the words alone. If you say Next week, I'm going to China, then the listener does know, from the words you use, that arrangements are in place. That's the important difference in meaning.