I'm sorry dinner isn't ready yet, but it will be ready in a minute

[svetlana14]

Please have a look at the test below.

I'm sorry dinner isn't ready yet, but it

A) is going to be ready in a minute.
B) will have been ready in a minute.
C) will be ready in a minute.

This exercise is taken from Advance Language Practice by M. Vince (2004).

In explanations section he noted (among other things) that "going to is used to describe an event whose cause is present or evident. Look at that tree! It's going to fall".

I know that the only correct answer is C). However the choice A) "mirrors" the given explanation. For instance, I am looking at the soup (dinner) and it appears for me, what is evident from the situation/the cause is present, that the dinner will be ready in just 5 minutes. Why does not A) work here? Thank you.

 

[emsr2d2]

Both A and C are correct in BrE.

 

[jutfrank]

I know that the only correct answer is C).

That's not quite right. The 'correct' answer is C, where 'correct' means the answer that the person who wrote the question wants you to put.

A is also correct in the sense of being grammatical and natural, but it isn't the correct answer to this question.

 

[svetlana14]

Does it mean that there is no an exact rule and one should just to remember that such reply should be used (or more preferrable) in such context as a standard English collocation?

 

[Tdol]

A) makes more sense to me if you're not the cook.

 

[svetlana14]

Unfortunatelly, for me it is not clear enough - given that there is no consent even among native speakers. .

 

[Yankee]

Both A and C are correct in BrE.

And in AmE.

 

[emsr2d2]

Unfortunately, this is a common problem with multiple choice exercises. Sometimes the writer simply doesn't know the language well enough to realise that they've given more than one possible grammatically correct option. Sometimes they just have an answer in their head, which they provide as an option and mark as correct, then they write two more options without giving any thought to whether they could also be used.

 

[Tdol]

Language is messy- it deals with the complexities of the human experience. In the case of many languages, this is complicated by the language being spoken in different locations by different cultures. Examiners want black and white simplicity. Sometimes they get it, and sometimes usage says that the answer is greyer than the exam paper.

 

[Tdol]

And that is forgetting the changes brought about by time.