Elton John Song Teaches about Future Time
2022-02-18
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1Elton John's famous 1972 song Rocket Man appeared in a surprising way during this Winter Olympic Games.
2Skater Nathan Chen performed to it during the men's final free skating event - an event in which Chen won the gold medal.
3And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
4In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore what this song can teach you about English grammar.
5You will learn how it uses an important structure for expressing future time - be going to.
6You will also learn how English speakers often use this structure in everyday speech, and how it is similar to and different from the helping verb "will."
7Let's start with a few important terms and ideas.
8Grammar books often describe English verbs in terms of tense.
9Tenses are forms of verbs that show when the action happened.
10However, these English verb tenses do not line up into clear groups all the time.
11For example, there are several different ways that English speakers can express future time.
12They might use the simple present or present progressive, as in the sentences, "She leaves tomorrow," or "He's leaving this afternoon."
13But for the purpose of today's report, let's pay careful attention to two important structures that can show future time:
14the structure "be going to" and the helping verb "will."
15In some cases, these two can be used interchangeably.
16That means one can be used in place of the other without a change in meaning.
17English speakers often use "will" and "be going to" interchangeably when making predictions.
18If you watch or listen to an American weather report, for example, you might hear either of these two sentences:
19Satellite imaging suggests it will be cloudy tomorrow.
20Satellite imaging suggests it is going to be cloudy tomorrow.
21Remember that in Elton John's song Rocket Man, the structure "be going to" is very important.
22And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
23In this case, the singer is making a prediction about the future. He could have sung:
24And I think it will be a long, long time...
25But perhaps the structure "be going to" sounded better to the songwriter's ear.
26Whatever the case, Elton John did not sing each word clearly.
27He connected some words and dropped out some sounds. He did not sing:
28It is going to be a long, long time.
29This is because in everyday speaking, English speakers often reduce words.
30Function words - words that have a grammatical purpose but little specific meaning - are often cut short.
31This means "It is going to be" often sounds like "It's gonna be..."
32This is not slang or impolite language.
33This is just how people speak in many situations.
34There are situations in which "will" and "be going to" have different uses.
35We have explored this subject in detail in earlier Everyday Grammar programs.
36The next time you listen to music or news broadcasts in English, pay careful attention to how speakers use "will" and "be going to."
37You will notice situations in which one or the other is used. Ask yourself why.
38And be sure to keep these two statements in mind:
39With time and hard work, my English is going to improve.
40With time and hard work, my English will improve.
41I'm John Russell.
1Elton John's famous 1972 song Rocket Man appeared in a surprising way during this Winter Olympic Games. Skater Nathan Chen performed to it during the men's final free skating event - an event in which Chen won the gold medal. 2And I think it's gonna be a long, long time 3In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore what this song can teach you about English grammar. You will learn how it uses an important structure for expressing future time - be going to. 4You will also learn how English speakers often use this structure in everyday speech, and how it is similar to and different from the helping verb "will." 5Let's start with a few important terms and ideas. 6Future time 7Grammar books often describe English verbs in terms of tense. Tenses are forms of verbs that show when the action happened. However, these English verb tenses do not line up into clear groups all the time. 8For example, there are several different ways that English speakers can express future time. They might use the simple present or present progressive, as in the sentences, "She leaves tomorrow," or "He's leaving this afternoon." 9But for the purpose of today's report, let's pay careful attention to two important structures that can show future time: the structure "be going to" and the helping verb "will." In some cases, these two can be used interchangeably. That means one can be used in place of the other without a change in meaning. 10English speakers often use "will" and "be going to" interchangeably when making predictions. If you watch or listen to an American weather report, for example, you might hear either of these two sentences: 11Satellite imaging suggests it will be cloudy tomorrow. 12Satellite imaging suggests it is going to be cloudy tomorrow. 13Remember that in Elton John's song Rocket Man, the structure "be going to" is very important. 14And I think it's gonna be a long, long time 15In this case, the singer is making a prediction about the future. He could have sung: 16And I think it will be a long, long time... 17But perhaps the structure "be going to" sounded better to the songwriter's ear. 18In normal speech 19Whatever the case, Elton John did not sing each word clearly. He connected some words and dropped out some sounds. He did not sing: 20It is going to be a long, long time. 21This is because in everyday speaking, English speakers often reduce words. Function words - words that have a grammatical purpose but little specific meaning - are often cut short. This means "It is going to be" often sounds like "It's gonna be..." 22This is not slang or impolite language. This is just how people speak in many situations. 23Closing thoughts 24There are situations in which "will" and "be going to" have different uses. We have explored this subject in detail in earlier Everyday Grammar programs. 25The next time you listen to music or news broadcasts in English, pay careful attention to how speakers use "will" and "be going to." You will notice situations in which one or the other is used. Ask yourself why. 26And be sure to keep these two statements in mind: 27With time and hard work, my English is going to improve. 28With time and hard work, my English will improve. 29I'm John Russell. 30John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 31________________________________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33present progressive - n. (grammar) a verb tense that is used to refer to an action or a state that is continuing to happen 34function word - n. a word (such as a preposition or a conjunction) that is used mainly to show grammatical relationships between other words 35slang - n. words that are not considered part of the standard vocabulary of a language and that are used very informally in speech, especially by a particular group of people