Planning out your future activities and trips can be exciting, and it’s important to convey your plans clearly when discussing them with others. In this lesson, we provide tips and examples to help you accurately talk about future plans, along with alternative phrases that can add variety to your conversations.
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Conversation Tips for Hopes and Preferences
Verb tenses to talk about future plans
When it isn’t definite
We use the present continuous tense to talk about things that we are presently considering.
- I’m thinking of going to …
- We’re planning to go to…
- He’s hoping to go to…
- I’m toying with / playing with the idea of…
When your plans are all arranged
You can use the present perfect tense to announce your plans:
- We’ve decided to explore Japan.
- We’ve settled on Dubai as our next destination.
- They’ve opted for a ski trip in Switzerland.
- We’ve booked a week at a resort in Thailand.
You can also use the going to future to talk about your intentions:
- We’re going to go to Hawaii for our anniversary.
- She’s going to spend a month in a retreat in Bali.
Note: if “going to” is followed by the verb “go to”, you can omit “go to”. We’re going to go to New York= We’re going to New York.
You can also use will to talk about definite plans that will happen in the future.
- Next summer we will visit the Grand Canyon.
- We’ll tour Europe for a month, then head back in April.
Other useful phrases to talk about your future plans
Here are some alternative expressions you can use in English to talk about your plans.
- I’ve got my heart set on… (a road trip across the USA / a safari in Africa, etc.)
- I’ve been dying to go to…( New Zealand ever since I saw pictures from a friend.)
- I’d love to go to the Maldives, but it’s too far away / too expensive.
- I can’t choose between Japan or South Korea.
- I’m torn between Iceland and Norway.
When your plans aren’t yet certain
- It looks like…(we’re going to Bali / we’ll be staying in town, etc).”
- As long as we can secure the tickets, we’ll be heading to Brazil.
- We’re not 100% sure, but we might be visiting Canada.
- It’s a toss-up between Australia and New Zealand. (to toss a coin = to flip a coin to decide one choice or another)
- We’re on the waiting list for an apartment in New York.
Asking other people about their plans
- What are your plans for… (summer / Easter, etc)?
- Have you decided … (where you’re traveling for the holidays)?
- What are you up to … (in summer / next weekend, etc)?”
- Are you going to … (visit Spain again for the summer)?
Conclusion
Practice these examples to improve your proficiency and make your conversations about future plans more engaging and precise.
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