実践英会話教室6

WillとBe going toの違い

"Will" と "Be going to" は、未来を表すのに共に使われ、同じ意味を表すことが多いが、異なった意味を表すことがある。次の２つに留意して下さい。

"will"は、話し手が今決めたことを述べるときに使われ、 "be going to"は、すでに決めていたことを述べるときに使われる。

A:  I'm thirsty.（のどがかわいた）
B:  Okay, I'll buy some tea.（わかった。お茶を買いましょう）
(Bはその時、お茶を買うことを決めたので、 "will" を使う。)

Five minutes later B is walking down the road to the convenience store and meets C.
（５分後、Bはコンビニに歩いていく途中、Cに会う。）

C:  Where are you going?（どこへ行くの？）
B:  To 7-11. I'm going to buy some tea.（セブンイレブンにお茶を買いに行きます。）
(Bはすでにお茶を買うことを決めていたので、"be going to"を使う。)

"be going to" は、計画を述べるときに特に使われる。

A:  What are you doing this weekend?（今週末の予定は？）
B:  I'm going to meet some friends for dinner in Ebisu.（恵比寿に夕食を食べに友達と会う予定です。）
(Bはすでに、友達と会うことを決めていました。この食事は週末の彼の計画の一部である。)

将来、すぐに起きそうな事を述べる時は、"be going to" を使う。

You see some kids playing baseball in a greenhouse. You say, "You're going to break the glass."
子供たちが温室で野球をするのを見て、「ガラスを割っちゃうよ」と言う時

You see dark clouds on a very cold wet day. You say, "I think it's going to snow."
暗い雲のかかったとても寒い日に、「雪が降りそうだね」と言う時

[追記]
要するに、以前から計画していた場合は "be going to"を、今決めたことをする場合は"will"を使えば良い。ネイティブスピーカーは無意識にこれを使い分けているのですが、我々ノン・ネイティブはしっかりこれを頭に入れて使わないときちんとした会話になりません。

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Will / Going to

"Will" and "going to" are both used for talking about the future, but sometimes they are different. Here are two kinds of situations that students should remember.

When you're deciding to do something, use "will" at the time that you're deciding. Use "going to" for something that's already decided.

A:  I'm thirsty.
B:  Okay, I'll buy some tea.
(B decides to buy tea at that moment, so B uses "will" for the future.)

Five minutes later B is walking down the road to the convenience store and meets C.

C:  Where are you going?
B:  To 7-11. I'm going to buy some tea.
(B has already decided to buy the tea although it's still in the future.)

Using "going to" is especially common when discussing your plans.

A:  What are you doing this weekend?
B:  I'm going to meet some friends for dinner in Ebisu.
(B has already decided to meet his friends. This dinner is part of his plans for the weekend.)

When you see something that makes you think something will happen, you use "going to" to describe it.

You see some kids playing baseball in a greenhouse. You say, "You're going to break the glass."
(You see the situation and you know that someone will hit the ball through the glass.)

You see dark clouds on a very cold wet day. You say, "I think it's going to snow."
(Because of the clouds and the cold weather you expect snow.