The "Be Going To" Future Tense for the TOEIC®: Rules, Examples, and Common Mistakes

“Be going to” is used to express a plan that is already arranged or an event for which you can already see the signs.

In the TOEIC®, you mainly encounter it in Parts 5 and 6 when you have to choose between different forms of the future tense.

For example:

• "The manager is going to review the proposal tomorrow"
  Le directeur va examiner la proposition demain.

The main trap? Confusing "be going to" with "will" when time indicators or context clearly point to a prepared intention.

The two main functions of "be going to"

Be going to is used in two specific situations that you need to recognize.

Expressing an intention or a plan

You use "be going to" when someone has already decided to do something. The decision is made before the moment you speak.

• "We are going to launch the new product next quarter."
  Nous allons lancer le nouveau produit le trimestre prochain.
• "She is going to attend the conference in Tokyo."
  Elle va assister à la conférence à Tokyo.

The person has already thought about and planned it. It is not a spontaneous decision made at the moment.

Making a prediction based on evidence

When you see concrete signs that announce something, you use "be going to". This is different from a simple guess.

• Look at those clouds. It is going to rain."
  Regarde ces nuages. Il va pleuvoir.
• "The sales figures are terrible. The company is going to lose money this quarter."
  Les chiffres de ventes sont terribles. L'entreprise va perdre de l'argent ce trimestre.

In the TOEIC®, this context often appears in emails or reports where someone is commenting on an observable situation.

Structure and Forms

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Note:

• The verb "be" must agree with the subject (am/is/are)
• "Going to" remains unchanged
• The following verb is always in its base form (infinitive without "to")

Examples:

• "The team is going to prepare the presentation tonight."
  L'équipe va préparer la présentation ce soir.
• "Are you going to join the meeting?"
  Vas-tu rejoindre la réunion ?

Common Traps in Part 5

What we often see with the candidates we coach: three mistakes consistently come up regarding "be going to" in the TOEIC®.

Forgetting the auxiliary verb "be"

• Incorrect: "I going to contact the supplier tomorrow."
• Correct: "I am going to contact the supplier tomorrow."

In Part 5, you will see choices such as:

(A) going to contact (B) am going to contact (C) will contact (D) contact.

If the context indicates a prepared intention, option (B) is correct.

Adding "to" after "going to"

• Incorrect : "She is going to to call the office."
• Correct: "She is going to call the office."

"To" is already part of "going to". The following verb must be in the base form, never the full infinitive.

Confusing it with the present continuous of "go"

• "I am going to Paris next week."
  Je vais à Paris la semaine prochaine -> physical travel
• "I am going to visit Paris next week."
  Je vais visiter Paris la semaine prochaine -> future intention

In the first case, "going" is the main verb. In the second, it is the "be going to" future structure. In the TOEIC®, context makes all the difference.

Be going to vs will: How to Choose

Even among candidates who already use a prep platform provided by their school, confusion between "be going to" and "will" remains a major issue in Part 5. And often, this is where many people get tripped up.

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When to use "be going to":

• next week/month/year (with an established plan)
• tomorrow (if mentioned in a preparatory context)
• soon (when talking about an ongoing project)

Examples:

• "The CEO is going to announce the restructuring plan tomorrow."
  Le PDG va annoncer le plan de restructuration demain.

On Flow Exam, you can practice directly on the Future Tenses topic in Part 5, with thousands of questions in the official format. If you struggle with this topic, you will never make the same mistakes again.

Quick Checklist for the TOEIC®

When you are unsure about "be going to" in Part 5 or 6, ask yourself these questions:

Step 1: Identify the time context

• Is there a future indicator? (tomorrow, next week, soon)
• Does the context discuss a plan or an intention?

Step 2: Look for evidence of intention

• Does the text mention a decision already made?
• Are there visible signs of an upcoming event?

Step 3: Check the form

• Is the auxiliary verb "be" present and correctly conjugated?
• Is the verb after "going to" in the base form?
• Is there no double "to"?

Step 4: Eliminate traps

• If it's a spontaneous decision → eliminate "be going to", keep "will"
• If it's just a simple guess → eliminate "be going to"
• If the subject is plural → eliminate "is going to", keep "are going to"

Frequent mistakes to avoid

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What we regularly observe among our students: they forget that fixed schedules (trains, flights, opening times) never use "be going to" in the TOEIC®. It is always the simple present, even if it is in the future.

• "The workshop starts at 2 PM tomorrow."
  L'atelier commence à 14h demain.

Not "is going to start" here, even though it's tomorrow.

Ready to practice?

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