"I am going to..."
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is this:
To speak in the informal future tense (or whatever you would like to call it), you can use one of two methods...
Estoy yendo a hablar contigo.
I am going to talk to you.
(Yo) voy a hablar contigo.
I am going to talk to you.
Again, I am not entirely sure if the above is correct, but that is my understanding.
My question is this -- Do these sentences really mean the same thing? Yes or no, and why? If not, how are they different?
Thank you in advance to anyone who can help 
34 Answers
There's nothing inherently wrong with "I'm going to go ...". It may, at first blush, sound redundant but the verb "go" is serving two different functions in such constructions. The first ("I'm going to ...") is simply an alternative to "I will" (indicating futurity) and the second refers to the intended motion/physical displacement) that will be involved.
It is also true that one of the "go"'s can be eliminated without substantially changing the meaning. e.g. "I'm going to see the movie tomorrow." This version, is, however, somewhat ambiguous. It could mean "I will see the movie tomorrow." (I have the movie projector already set up in my living room and it is my firm intention to watch this movie tomorrow and, in fact, I am currently seated in front of the screen so I will not need to budge from here in order to do so.) Alternatively, it could mean that I will need to travel to some movie theater in order to see the film (with the emphasis on my need to go somewhere in order to see the film (and, as a consequence, de-emphasizing the future aspect).
Cuando utilizo "I will see the movie tomorrow" parece que la información no está en que "I will see the movie" sino en "cuándo" "iré a ver la película" que es "mañana". A mí me parece más apropiado utilizar "will" cuando se trata de informar del momento en que voy a realizar la acción.
Hi Heidita (it was apparently not my last comment)
We seem to be at cross purposes. The original comment, quoted in Spanish, exactly what you are saying and one version was wrong. The thread has developed into what can be said and what is normally not said in English. That was not what the person was asking about in the original comment. I fully understand what you are saying and it helped me to learn something about the Spanish language. Thank you.
My comments simply say that for "Voy a ir ..." it is not necessary to say "I am going to go ...." or for that matter "I am going to come ..." people do say it but .....
"I am going to the cinema." means "I am on my way to the cinema now" while " I am going to go to the cinema." means that "I will go to the cinema sometime in the future" but more normal would be "I will go to the cinema sometime in the future."
I think this thread has got away from the original comment that was posted.
There's nothing inherently wrong with "I'm going to go ...". It may, at first blush, sound redundant but the verb "go" is serving two different functions in such constructions. The first ("I'm going to ...") is simply an alternative to "I will" (indicating futurity) and the second refers to the intended motion/physical displacement) that will be involved.
It is also true that one of the "go"'s can be eliminated without substantially changing the meaning. e.g. "I'm going to see the movie tomorrow." This version, is, however, somewhat ambiguous. It could mean "I will see the movie tomorrow." (I have the movie projector already set up in my living room and it is my firm intention to watch this movie tomorrow and, in fact, I am currently seated in front of the screen so I will not need to budge from here in order to do so.) Alternatively, it could mean that I will need to travel to some movie theater in order to see the film (with the emphasis on my need to go somewhere in order to see the film (and, as a consequence, de-emphasizing the future aspect).
It MAY sound "alright" to you but it is not neccessary nor is it normal.
Check some teaching books and find out. Just because something sounds normal to you it does not mean it is normal. "gonna" "wanna" sounds normal to many but it is not "correct" English. Also check the first comment on this thread and see what started this whole debate.
This is my final comment on this thread.Ian, please do so yourself as your opinion on this is not based on any kind of grammar rule. I agree that if it sounds good it does not necessarily be correct English, or Spanish for that matter, however on this you are simply and plainly mistaken. It is precisely the grammar I am referring to not the sound of the sentence, which is what YOU referred to or "we don't normally use this" rule!
I am going to go to the party.
This is a perfectly correct sentence even though it may sound weird to you, Ian. And I am emphasizing to you as you seem to be the only native who is saying so.
However, it IS absolutely incorrect to say the same in Spanish:
Estoy yendo a ir al cine.
You simply cannot say this. Estoy yendo...can be used, very rarely, mind you, but never the form given above.
Actually, and now that I think of it:
I am going to buy a book.
if we translate this as:Estoy yendo a comprar un libro.
we would be thinking of a person who is on his way to buy a book. It would sound weird, but it can be said.
BUT this is of course not the meaning in English.
So he correct translation is "voy a comprar un libro" (at some time in the future).
It MAY sound "alright" to you but it is not neccessary nor is it normal.
Check some teaching books and find out. Just because something sounds normal to you it does not mean it is normal. "gonna" "wanna" sounds normal to many but it is not "correct" English. Also check the first comment on this thread and see what started this whole debate.
This is my final comment on this thread.
Nila45
"I am going to come tomorrow" and "I will be coming tomorrow" both mean the same thing - BUT normally we don't use "I am going to come tomorrow" Similarly we normally don't say " I am going to go tomorrow"
There is nothing wrong with the grammar it is just that we don't normally use either "I am going to go ..." or " I am going to come..."
We say "I am going...." and "I am coming ...."
I am gonna go(in talking) = I am going to go(in writing)
You cannot use "gonna" in writing.
I am going to go
I am going to come
They all sound perfectly normal to me. We say this all the time in the States.
I have to say that I agree with Duy. It sounds perfectly natural (to me) to say "Are you going to go to the party tomorrow'" "Yeah, I guess I'm going to go."
Yo creo que suena mejor "voy a venir a las seis el próximo lunes" porque lo más seguro es que sea un compromiso o una promesa que se está haciendo a otra persona. Aunque si analizas "estaré viniendo a las seis el próximo lunes" tampoco es una frase que se pueda descartar, pero yo particularmente no la utilizaría a menos que fuera en una situación especial.
Y también utilizamos la siguiente frase como ejemplo: "dentro de 15 años yo estaré trabajando por mi cuenta". Es decir, lo que imagino que estará pasando en un futuro.
Cuando un hispano parlante está estudiando este tiempo verbal: "will + be + presente participle" siempre se pone un ejemplo que es fácil de entender para nosotros:
"I will be flying to New York at six next Monday" (El próximo lunes a las seis estaré volando a Nueva York).
(More or less). (Correct me if there is any mistake).
Aunque a nosotros nos gusta expresar esta frase de la siguiente manera: el próximo lunes a las seis me encontraré volando (en el avión) a Nueva York.
Pero "I will be coming at six o'clock next Monday" suena bastante extraño en la traducción. Es decir, "estaré viniendo a las seis el próximo lunes". Suena mejor, "voy a venir a las seis el próximo lunes".
¿Tienen estas dos frases el mismo significado aunque el tiempo verbal sea diferente?
I will be coming tomorrow
I am going to come tomorrow
Sí, todas son iguales. Sin embargo, si hubieras escrito estas dos frases como
"I will be coming" o "I am going to come" sin poner la palabra "tomorrow", todas serían diferentes. Cuando se dice "I will be coming", se significa que se viene en el período de tiempo de futuro, que sea una semana, un mes o un años. Por otro lado, "I am going to come" significa que se viene de pronto.
Update: De verdad, tengo dudas, no estoy seguro de mi explicación. Ahora, estoy inclinado a decir que "will be coming" y "going to come" son iguales porque se me había olvidado de que estabas hablando de "will be coming", ni "will come." Espero que alguien te vaya ayudar.
We use "going to" to indicate that an event is going to take place soon.
In Spanish it does not necessarily mean that it is going to happen soon, although we are less likely to use it for events that will happen in a distant future. Still, this is a perfectly acceptable sentence:
Voy a vender la casa dentro de 15 o 20 años.
Twenty years is not exactly soon. In Spanish, the choice between present tense, future tense an the construction IR A+infinitive to talk about the future is a matter of perspective, not time spans.
Nila45
"I am going to come tomorrow" and "I will be coming tomorrow" both mean the same thing - BUT normally we don't use "I am going to come tomorrow" Similarly we normally don't say " I am going to go tomorrow"
There is nothing wrong with the grammar it is just that we don't normally use either "I am going to go ..." or " I am going to come..."
We say "I am going...." and "I am coming ...."
I am gonna go(in talking) = I am going to go(in writing)
You cannot use "gonna" in writing.
I am going to go
I am going to come
They all sound perfectly normal to me. We say this all the time in the States.
In fact, in Spanish, they do the same.
I am going to go to the beach
Voy a ir a la playa.
We use "going to" to indicate that an event is going to take place soon.
Yo creo que "I am going to the shopping centre" es lo mismo que "voy al centro comercial". Mientras que "I am going to go to the shopping centre" es lo mismo que "voy a ir al centro comercial".
Normalmente, se omite el "ir" (go) pero, a veces, puede haber frases en la no quede mal.
Nila45
"I am going to come tomorrow" and "I will be coming tomorrow" both mean the same thing - BUT normally we don't use "I am going to come tomorrow" Similarly we normally don't say " I am going to go tomorrow"
There is nothing wrong with the grammar it is just that we don't normally use either "I am going to go ..." or " I am going to come..."
We say "I am going...." and "I am coming ...."
¿Tienen estas dos frases el mismo significado aunque el tiempo verbal sea diferente?
I will be coming tomorrow
I am going to come tomorrow
In English there are 2 (I only know 2) exceptions to the "going to" structure.
We should never (don't have to) say "I am going to go..." but "I am going...." This is because we don't like to repeat the same word "go" in a sentence.
and we should never (don't have to)say "I am going to come ...." but "I am coming...." Why this is like this I have no idea.
No veo nada raro en la frase: voy a venir mañana, te lo prometo. (I am going to come tomorrow, I promise)
