5.58 Other ways of indicating the future

If you think the event you are referring to will happen quite soon or if you are stating your intention that it will happen, you can use 'be going to' followed by an infinitive.

• I'm going to explore the neighbourhood.
• Evans knows lots of people. He's going to help me. He's going to take me there.
• I think the Social Democrats are going to have some problems ahead of them.
• We're going to see a change in the law next year.

5.59

You can also use 'be due to' and 'be about to' to refer to planned future events that you expect to happen soon. They are followed by infinitive clauses.

• He is due to start as a courier shortly.
• It's due to be completed in 1996.
• Another 385 people are about to lose their jobs.
• Are we about to be taken over by the machine?