【学校で習わない】"will"と"be going to"のニュアンスの違いについて解説【英文法/時制/未来表現】

There is no future tense in English. That's shocking. What do you mean? I want you to understand this as a fundamental way of thinking about grammar in English. Hello everyone! I'm Roy Nishizawa, an English doctor. In this channel, I teach you how to learn an uncommon language in an easy way. Roy-san, I want you to teach me about the future tense in English. I understand. I'm sure there are many people who are wondering what's the difference between will and be going to. That's also a question. But I want you to know one thing. There is no future tense in English. What? There is no future tense? If you can understand this properly, you will have a deeper understanding of the present tense in English. I would like to explain the difference between will and be going to. In this video, I would like to explain how to express the future tense in English. First of all, as I said at the beginning, there is no future tense in English. That's shocking. What do you mean? I want you to understand this as a fundamental way of thinking about grammar in English. I've been explaining the present tense in English for a long time. There is a present tense and a past tense in verbs. You can say that there is a present tense. Do you remember what I told you about the present tense and the past tense? Oh, that's right. You were going to express the fact, weren't you? That's right. In English, the present tense represents the fact. This is a very important point. The verb is used in the present tense. For example, if you say I run every day, it represents the fact that I run every day. If you say I ran yesterday, it represents the fact that I ran yesterday. Is this okay? Yes, it's okay. So is the future tense a fact? No, it's not a fact. Right? So in English, there is no future tense and no future tense. Oh, is that so? So there are several ways to express the future tense. Oh, I see. And it also includes the verb will and be going to. Let's start with the verb will. I've explained the details of the verb will in another video before, so if you haven't seen it yet, I'd be happy if you could check it out later. So, if you use the verb will and say, for example, I will run tomorrow, it represents the will to run tomorrow. That's why it feels like it represents the future. By the way, in this case, the verb run is a prototype, right? If it's a present tense, it represents the present fact. But this is about the future, not a fact. So it's a prototype without using it. I've told you before that if it's a form that doesn't have a present tense, it represents a non-fact. I think this is a well-made mechanism. That's true, it's well-made. So, as the first expression of the future, we use the verb will. Will is a will, so it's likely to happen in the future. Or it's like a conviction that it's likely to happen to others or the world. Will is an expression that represents that, but it also represents the future. I see. The second future expression is what you all know, be going to. I'm going to run tomorrow. Or shorten it, I'm gonna run tomorrow. It means, I'm going to run tomorrow. So, what's the difference between will and be going to? Let's learn about the difference. Some people may have learned that will and be going to mean the same thing at school. I was like that, too. I memorized it until I learned linguistics like will equals be going to. You remember that, too. But linguistically, it is said that if the expression is different, the meaning is different. Of course, it's not always different, so it's important to have a sense of balance. When there are two expressions, the image is like this. There are different places, and there are quite a few overlapping places. That's what it feels like. So there's almost no difference in meaning, and it's often used in the same way. But depending on the situation or situation, there may be a difference in nuance. By the way, the explanation of the language is difficult here. For example, there is a video that explains how to write SVOO in one form. I'm very happy that this video has been played more than 100,000 times. But what I don't want you to misunderstand is the difference in the explanation in that video. It's not always the case that native English speakers always use it like that. Of course, there are cases where both are used in the same way. For example, some people stick to the language and use it, and some people don't stick to it and use it. It's the same when we speak in Japanese. And it's different when you write a sentence and when you speak in a conversation. When you speak, you don't have much time, so you can't choose the right words. Also, there are times when you make a mistake and the grammar is a little different. So it's not always the case that there is a difference in the explanation in the video. That's why I should be careful not to make a mistake in the explanation. I'm just talking about the difference when the difference occurs. It's not always the case that it's different. And let's go back to Will and Be Going To. For example, if you watch foreign dramas, you can see that there are a lot of times when Will appears in the subtitles even though it's definitely Be Going To in the mouth. For example, even though I'm using Be Going To in I'm Gonna, I'm going to appear in the subtitles. I see. Why is that? This is also a problem with the number of letters. If you put it in the subtitles, Will is shorter, and if you omit it, it will be shorter. Of course, the big premise is that there is almost no difference in meaning, so you can do that. I see. So, Will and Be Going To have a lot of things that don't make much difference in meaning. But if there is a difference, I would like to explain again what kind of difference there is. For example, let's go on a trip. Tony, if you go on a trip in Japan next month, where do you want to go? I want to go to Osaka or Okinawa. I see. Osaka or Okinawa is fine, but where specifically do you want to visit? Shuri Castle. That's good. If you express it using Will, it will be, I will visit Shuri Castle next month. And if it's Be Going To, it will be, I'm going to visit Shuri Castle next month. This is a little ahead of next month, so there are quite a few nuances. First of all, Will represents a will, so it's like talking about a will to do it in the future. There is such a nuance. On the other hand, Be Going To has a slightly different nuance. I want you to interpret it literally, but isn't Be Going To like a progressive form? Yes, I think it's similar. I explained the progressive form in another video before, but it represents that it is in the middle of some kind of action. So Be Going To literally represents that it is in the middle of heading. I see. But this is a verb, right? Yes, it's a verb in terms of form, but if you interpret it literally, it's I'm going to visit. You can interpret it like that. And in fact, Be Going To often feels like things are starting to move. So I'm going to visit Shuri Castle next month. Now, what do you think is going on here, Tony? Is it like holding down a ticket? Yes, for example, buying a train or airplane ticket or making a reservation at a hotel. For example, in that way, it gives a nuance that everything is already moving. I see. On the other hand, Will represents a willingness to visit. And when you understand the difference between the two expressions, like Will and Be Going To, I often draw a table of contents and explain it. Oh, this is a diagram that represents a will, right? Yes, but this is a perfect image to explain the division of the two expressions. What do you mean? There are two points. First of all, when there are two expressions, draw a straight line in the middle of these two. First of all, there is nothing to say that this and this are used in this way. Words are creatures, so they are more organic, or they are well divided. For example, the border is basically not a straight line, right? It's the same with Kenzakai, right? That's right. So, if you're in charge of this, I'll take care of this. It's like dividing the roles well and taking care of them. As a result, the boundary is fluctuating. It's clear that you can't divide it in a straight line. And the other point is that it's important to hold down the angular part. There are two circles in this table of contents, right? Yes. The image is that the circles are each angular. If you hold it down properly, you'll be able to feel the difference and the division. There is a tendency to feel like things are already moving in Be Going To. Then, depending on the division, the will may feel like things are not moving yet. It's not always like that, but it's a story that such a tendency may occur. And in some cases, the will may mean that such a will has been born. Does it mean that you've come up with a will? That's right. When I think of going to Shuri Castle next month, I can say, I'll visit Shuri Castle next month. In that sense, there is a tendency to express that there is a will, or that there is a will. On the other hand, Be Going To feels like things are moving concretely. That's why it's translated as a plan. There may be such a difference in nuance. Of course, both of them are heading for that kind of future. It's not just a matter of thinking about the will, but it's a high possibility. But by understanding it by dividing it up like this, you will be able to feel the difference in nuance. I see. I'm starting to understand the difference in nuance. However, as I said at the beginning, there is no guarantee that such a difference will always occur, so please be careful. I would like to introduce an interesting example. For example, let's say someone recommends something to you. There, using the will, Yes, I'll buy it. And using Be Going To, Yes, I'm gonna buy it. It's said that the nuances that come out of this are different. Well, there are cases like that. I'd like you to try this out. Do you know the difference? Tony, what do you think? Well, the will has an idea. Does Be Going To feel like you're heading to the cash register with that product? Oh, you did your best to think about it. Yes. The will feels like you've just come up with it, so it's recommended and you buy it. It's a nuance like that. On the other hand, Be Going To feels like things are already moving. That's why I'm going to buy it before I'm told. That's what people say. I see. There's a lot of difference in how you feel. That's right. There are cases where there's a difference in how you feel. It was a little bit of a detailed example. But if you think about it from the angle of the image I showed you earlier, You can understand it quite naturally, right? Yes, I'm very convinced. And one more thing I'd like to touch on is It's the difference when you use Will and Be Going To in a negative way. For example, I will not visit Shuri Castle next month. If you say that, there is no intention to visit Shuri Castle. And I'm not going to visit Shuri Castle next month. If you say that, there is no intention to visit. It means that things are not moving in that way. Yes. That's how you're going to deny it. There's a little bit of a point to be aware of when it comes to Will's denial. Will represents will. Will's denial is to deny the will. So, to put it bluntly, it's like, I'll never do it. There are times when it's a strong denial. I will not go. Will not is a form of won't. I won't go. And then you use never. I will never go. If you strongly deny it like that, There's a nuance like, I'll never do it. This is a nuance that can't be put into Be Going To. No matter how much you deny Be Going To, It doesn't mean you'll never do it. It's just that you don't have a plan. Yes. But if you know that the core of Will is will, I think it's natural to understand that it's a strong denial like, I'll never do it. I see. I understand. So this time, there's no future tense in English. There's a future tense expression. I've taken the difference between Will and Be Going To and explained it. Did you feel the difference in the two expressions? Of course, there are many cases where you use it in the same way. I hope you can express the difference in nuance when you can use it well. And of course, when you touch raw English, I think it would be interesting if you could taste the differences in this area. And actually, there's another important future tense expression. What? Is there another one? But if you know this well, it's going to be a lot less. If you can use it effectively, I think it's going to be a lot less. Another important future tense expression that is often used in conversation. I'd like to explain it in another video later. In today's story, I was shocked to find that it was not a future tense, but a future tense expression. I thought that the two of Will and Be Going To had the same meaning. When I showed it in the table of contents, There's a will at the core of Will. There's a difference in the way things work at the core of Be Going To. I could see that the nuance of the expression could change. I was very impressed with the fact that you used the word in the table of contents. Thank you very much for today. I'm glad you liked the table of contents. Yes, I liked it a lot. Thank you for watching the video until the end. If you found this video useful, Please subscribe to the channel, rate it highly, and leave a comment. I'd be happy if you could write your thoughts on the difference in feelings between Will and Be Going To and the table of contents. I'm always happy to receive a lot of comments. Thank you very much. Also, please subscribe to the official LINE account from the link in the summary section below the video. See you in the next video. This was English Doctor Nishizawa Roy. See ya!