Will or be going to

[Monica238]

According to my book Essential English Grammar by Raymond Murphy "will" is used in situations when an action is going to happen anyway. If I explained that correctly. But it doesn't say if "be going to" is correct too. Can I use it?
1. I am going to be at work at this time tomorrow.

2. She is going to be at school at this time tomorrow.

3. She is on holiday. She is in Rome now. In three days she will be in London. At the weekend she will be in Paris.

 

[lingobingo]

I suspect your book simply cites that as one of the many uses of will. Don’t take it too literally. These things always depend on the wider context.

The fact is that we can’t see into the future, so no one can ever be 100% sure that something will actually happen – until it does (or doesn’t). All we can say with certainty is that it’s scheduled or expected to happen, and that can be conveyed using either will or is/are going to [happen or be the case at a future time or date]. There’s no real difference between them, in that respect.

 

[The Newt]

[...]
1. I am going to be at work at this time tomorrow.

2. She is going to be at school at this time tomorrow.

[...]

It's probably more idiomatic to just say "at work this time tomorrow."

I don't see any significant difference between "will" and "going to" in those examples.

 

[JulianStuart]

This might be the commonest question here Perhaps you already looked at some of the hundreds of threads with "will going to" in their titles and felt confused. If you are looking for a clearcut rule that operates all the time the same way for all speakers, you will be disappointed. In a large proportion of cases the speaker is not trying to convey one meaning with will and a different one with going to. The "rules" that are out there should be interpreted (and taught) as guidance only, and using one versus the other will not be considered "incorrect". The threads have many discussions about which is used depending on precisely when "the plan" came into being. Sometimes it's days before the sentence is uttered and sometimes just microseconds before speaking, but most of the time, either can be used, as lingo says, to communicate future plans.