Will vs. Going to vs. Present Continuous (for future) – English Grammar Exercises for B1
You are an employee speaking to your boss. Your boss is upset about a missing report and a few other sudden problems. Choose the correct future form (A, B, C, or D) to complete your responses and defuse the situation naturally.
1 Boss: “Where is the weekly financial report? I need to review it right now!”
Employee: “I am so sorry! I ______ it to your email right away.”
(A) am sending
(B) send
(C) will send
(D) am going to send
2 Boss: “My printer is completely broken, and the board meeting starts in five minutes.”
Employee: “Don’t panic, sir. I ______ the documents for you on my machine.”
(A) will print
(B) am printing
(C) print
(D) am going to print
3 Boss: “This is the second time the presentation has been delayed. It is unacceptable.”
Employee: “I sincerely apologize. I promise that this delay ______ again.”
(A) isn’t happening
(B) won’t happen
(C) doesn’t happen
(D) isn’t going to happening
4 Boss: “We need to finish this discussion quickly. What time is the client meeting?”
Employee: “According to the official schedule, it ______ at exactly 2:00 PM.”
(A) will start
(B) starts
(C) is starting
(D) is going to start
5 Boss: “Someone needs to call the supplier and apologize for our mistake.”
Employee: “I ______ it. It was my fault, so I should be the one to talk to them.”
(A) do
(B) am doing
(C) am going to do
(D) ‘ll do
6 Boss: “There is a massive typing error on page 4 of this contract.”
Employee: “Let me see… Oh, you are right. I ______ that immediately.”
(A) am going to correct
(B) correct
(C) will correct
(D) am correcting
7 Boss: “Why haven’t you replied to Mr. Smith’s email yet?”
Employee: “I already drafted the response. I ______ it after my lunch break.”
(A) will send
(B) am going to send
(C) send
(D) am sending
8 Boss: “I need all these client files updated before I leave the office today.”
Employee: “You can count on me. I ______ everything ready before 5:00 PM.”
(A) am having
(B) have
(C) will have
(D) am going to have
9 Boss: “Who is covering the reception desk this afternoon?”
Employee: “Sarah ______ the desk from 1 PM to 5 PM. I assigned her the shift yesterday.”
(A) is covering
(B) will cover
(C) covers
(D) is going cover
10 Boss: “Are the regional managers arriving today?”
Employee: “Yes, their flight ______ at 3:45 PM.”
(A) will land
(B) is going to land
(C) lands
(D) is landing
11 Boss: “This box of archived folders is incredibly heavy.”
Employee: “Hold on, I ______ you carry that to your office!”
(A) will help
(B) help
(C) am helping
(D) am going to help
12 Boss: “The quarterly review data must be absolutely flawless.”
Employee: “I swear I ______ every single number before I submit the final version.”
(A) am going to double-check
(B) double-check
(C) am double-checking
(D) will double-check
13 Boss: “Have you scheduled the interview with the new marketing candidate?”
Employee: “Yes, I ______ him tomorrow at 10:00 AM.”
(A) will interview
(B) am interviewing
(C) interview
(D) am going interview
14 Boss: “We are completely out of coffee in the breakroom!”
Employee: “I ______ down to the lobby cafe and buy some right now.”
(A) am going to run
(B) am running
(C) will run
(D) run
15 Boss: “Look at our sales chart. The numbers are dropping incredibly fast.”
Employee: “Yes, the trend is terrible. It looks like we ______ our monthly target.”
(A) aren’t hitting
(B) won’t to hit
(C) don’t hit
(D) aren’t going to hit
16 Boss: “I can’t find the Q2 budget folder anywhere on my computer.”
Employee: “Give me a minute. I ______ my digital files to see if I have a copy.”
(A) am checking
(B) will check
(C) am going to check
(D) check
17 Boss: “When will the company server be back online?”
Employee: “The IT maintenance window ______ exactly at 1:00 PM.”
(A) will close
(B) is closing
(C) closes
(D) is going to close
18 Boss: “The client is very angry on line 1 He is shouting.”
Employee: “I ______ let him speak to our staff like that. Let me handle the call.”
(A) am not going to
(B) don’t
(C) won’t
(D) am not
19 Boss: “Have you figured out a personal plan to improve your daily workflow?”
Employee: “Yes, I ______ a new software tool next month to automate my tasks.”
(A) implement
(B) will implement
(C) am going to implement
(D) am implement
20 Boss: “I am trusting you to fix this reporting issue.”
Employee: “Thank you for the opportunity. I promise I ______ you down.”
(A) am not letting
(B) won’t let
(C) don’t let
(D) am not going to let
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) will send
Why it is correct: The employee is making a spontaneous decision to solve a sudden problem. Instant reactions and promises made at the moment of speaking always use “will”.
Distractor Analysis: (A) and (D) imply the employee planned to send it right away before the boss complained, which doesn’t fit the crisis context. (B) is a routine.
2 (A) will print
Why it is correct: The employee is offering immediate help (“Don’t panic… I will print”). Spontaneous offers of assistance require “will”.
Distractor Analysis: (B) and (D) imply prior planning before knowing the printer was broken.
3 (B) won’t happen
Why it is correct: We strictly use “will” (or “won’t”) when making a promise for the future.
Distractor Analysis: (A), (C), and (D) cannot be used to declare a promise.
4 (B) starts
Why it is correct: A scheduled meeting time is often treated as an official timetable in a corporate setting. For fixed schedules and timetables, we use Present Simple.
Distractor Analysis: (A), (C), and (D) are generally not used for published public/official schedules.
5 (D) ‘ll do
Why it is correct: The employee volunteers on the spot to take responsibility (“I’ll do it”). This is an instant decision.
Distractor Analysis: (C) “am going to do” means the employee decided this before the boss even asked “Someone needs to call…”.
6 (C) will correct
Why it is correct: The employee just noticed the error (“Let me see… Oh, you are right.”) and makes a sudden decision to fix it.
Distractor Analysis: (A) and (D) imply the employee already knew and planned to fix it.
7 (B) am going to send
Why it is correct: “I already drafted the response.” This proves the employee formed the intention to send it before the boss asked. For personal intentions/plans made previously, use “going to”.
Distractor Analysis: (A) is for spontaneous decisions. (C) is a routine. (D) is for fixed arrangements involving others.
8 (C) will have
Why it is correct: “You can count on me.” The employee is making a strong promise to reassure the boss. Promises require “will”.
Distractor Analysis: (A) and (D) lack the specific communicative function of making a promise.
9 (A) is covering
Why it is correct: “I assigned her the shift yesterday.” This is a 100% confirmed, fixed arrangement involving another person. Present Continuous is required for diary arrangements.
Distractor Analysis: (B) is a sudden decision. (C) is a general routine.
10 (C) lands
Why it is correct: The arrival of a flight is a fixed, official timetable published by the airline. Present Simple is used.
Distractor Analysis: (A), (B), and (D) are incorrect for official public transport schedules.
11 (A) will help
Why it is correct: The employee sees the boss struggling with a heavy box and makes a spontaneous offer to help.
Distractor Analysis: (C) and (D) would mean the employee planned to help before the boss even picked up the box.
12 (D) will double-check
Why it is correct: The phrase “I swear” is a very strong promise. Promises for future actions always use “will”.
Distractor Analysis: (A) and (C) do not fit the grammatical structure of a promise.
13 (B) am interviewing
Why it is correct: An interview is a confirmed meeting/arrangement agreed upon with the candidate. Present Continuous is the standard “diary tense” for this.
Distractor Analysis: (A) is for instant decisions. (C) is for timetables.
14 (C) will run
Why it is correct: The employee hears about the coffee shortage and instantly decides to fix the problem (“I will run down… right now”).
Distractor Analysis: (A) implies they planned to buy coffee before the boss mentioned it was empty.
15 (D) aren’t going to hit
Why it is correct: The boss points to the sales chart. This is clear, present visual evidence. When predicting an outcome based on physical evidence, we use “going to”.
Distractor Analysis: (A) is for arrangements. (B) is grammatically incorrect. “Won’t hit” is a guess without evidence, but “going to” is strictly used when pointing at proof (the dropping numbers).
16 (B) will check
Why it is correct: The employee is offering an immediate, spontaneous action to help the boss locate the missing folder.
Distractor Analysis: (A) means the employee is checking exactly right now, but they say “Give me a minute”, placing the action in the immediate future. (C) implies prior planning.
17 (C) closes
Why it is correct: System maintenance windows are strictly scheduled corporate timetables. Therefore, Present Simple is required.
Distractor Analysis: (A), (B), and (D) ignore the timetable rule.
18 (C) won’t
Why it is correct: A strong, spontaneous refusal or promise to protect the staff (“I won’t let him speak…”). “Will/won’t” is used for strong reactions at the moment of speaking.
Distractor Analysis: (A) lacks the immediate, protective reaction of “won’t”.
19 (C) am going to implement
Why it is correct: The boss asks for a “personal plan.” The employee has already decided to use new software next month. For established intentions/plans, use “going to”.
Distractor Analysis: (B) would mean the employee just thought of the software idea at that exact moment.
20 (B) won’t let
Why it is correct: “I promise I won’t let you down.” The word “promise” dictates the use of “will” (or “won’t” in the negative).
Distractor Analysis: (A), (C), and (D) are grammatically unnatural following “I promise”.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
To master future forms at the B1 level, you must understand the difference between reacting immediately and having a pre-existing plan.
1 Will (Spontaneous Decisions, Promises, & Offers):
- Use will when the decision is made at the exact moment of speaking.
- If there is a crisis, an apology, or a sudden problem, you will fix it.
- Examples: “You lost the file? I will find it for you.” (Offer) / “I promise I will send it today.” (Promise).
2 Be Going To (Prior Intentions & Evidence):
- Use be going to if you have already decided your plan before the conversation started.
- It is also used to predict the future when you can see physical evidence right now.
- Examples: “I am going to upgrade my software tomorrow.” (My personal plan). / “Look at the chart, sales are going to drop.” (Prediction with evidence).
3 Present Continuous (Fixed Arrangements):
- Use this for plans that are 100% confirmed, booked, and usually involve other people.
- Example: “I am interviewing the candidate at 10 AM.” (The meeting is scheduled with them).
4 Present Simple (Timetables):
- Use this for official, unchangeable schedules (flights, opening hours, system maintenance).
- Example: “The server closes at 1:00 PM.”