Thread: Going to go

Hello.
I've heard recently, that one native English speaker said something like this: "I'm going to go out this weekend." In my opinion it sounds odd. I would say "I'm thinking of going out this weekend" or "I'm going out this weekend". What do you think? Thank you in advance.

My English teacher said me now its posibble...

Originally Posted by sergey.k

Hello.
I've heard recently, that one native English speaker said something like this: "I'm going to go out this weekend." In my opinion it sounds odd. I would say "I'm thinking of going out this weekend" or "I'm going out this weekend". What do you think? Thank you in advance.

In English, the phrase "going to", when used before a verb, creates a new verb tense, that implies a current intent about a future event. For instance:

I am going to wash the car soon. -- Washing the car is an activity I will soon perform.
I am going to eat something. -- Eating is the next activity I will perform.
I am going to go out this weekend. -- Going out is an activity I will perform this weekend.

Aside from grammatical considerations, there's probably some shade of meaning that is lost without context. The speaker may have been assertive or perhaps thought "I'm going out this weekend" seemed too terse for the situation. There are many possibilities.

Aside from grammatical considerations, there's probably some shade of meaning that is lost without context. The speaker may have been assertive or perhaps thought "I'm going out this weekend" seemed too terse for the situation. There are many possibilities.

He was a little thoughtful.
OK thank you. I see, it is possible. But is it ok to say e.g. "It is quite late. I am going to go home." If I said this, would you think that my English has odd style?

Just because you repeat the same word twice in the same sentence doesn't mean there is something wrong with your style, especially such common words as "go" or "do" etc. English is different from Russian in that respect. You don't question phrases like "I didn't do that", do you? Yet it also has two instances of the verb "do." I think situation is exactly the same with "I am going to go". The function of "going" in your sentence is grammatical/modal, while the function of "go" is semantical. So it is not a pleonasm or a bad repetition of the same word, and, in my opinion, it is totally okay.

Originally Posted by sergey.k

OK thank you. I see, it is possible. But is it ok to say e.g. "It is quite late. I am going to go home." If I said this, would you think that my English has odd style?

I would call that stilted; overly formal, rather than odd, assuming you are talking to a friend or acquaintance. It would not be out of place if you were irritated with someone and were saying something like,"I'm tired of listening to you, I'm going to go home now."

Originally Posted by sergey.k

OK thank you. I see, it is possible. But is it ok to say e.g. "It is quite late. I am going to go home." If I said this, would you think that my English has odd style?

There's nothing particularly odd about that. In fact, I say it often.

On that note I am going to go get some food because I am hungry. These types of phrases are very common.

It's perfectly normal coloquial English. My school English teacher or my grandfather might have slapped me for saying it 20 years ago, but I think you'd have to go some to find someone who'd really object to it these days.

There's also an aspect of "to be going to" (apologies if somebody already mentioned this) that is perfectly acceptable in English, and that is the implication of imminence. That is, something is about to happen very soon after the observation is made.

For example, if you say, "The vase is going to fall", you aren't saying that the vase intends to fall, you mean that it is happening before your eyes, practically. The Cambridge EFL course has a lesson devoted to "to be going to" and this aspect is included, so it is actually English you might learn in school.

Therefore, "I am going to go", could mean (depending on context) that you are leaving right now. It is perfectly acceptable English.

Originally Posted by sperk

Originally Posted by sergey.k

OK thank you. I see, it is possible. But is it ok to say e.g. "It is quite late. I am going to go home." If I said this, would you think that my English has odd style?

I would call that stilted; overly formal, rather than odd, assuming you are talking to a friend or acquaintance. It would not be out of place if you were irritated with someone and were saying something like,"I'm tired of listening to you, I'm going to go home now."

Perhaps the whole statement sounds a bit formal if you are talking to a friend, but there's nothing wrong with it, and nothing odd about using "going to" there. That's what he was asking about.

Thank you, everybody.

Originally Posted by sperk

Originally Posted by sergey.k

OK thank you. I see, it is possible. But is it ok to say e.g. "It is quite late. I am going to go home." If I said this, would you think that my English has odd style?

I would call that stilted; overly formal,

Absolutely not. "Going to go" is perfectly normal conversation. "I am going to go" means "I will go." The "am going to" part is a conversational equivalent of the more ordinary "will."

The OP asked about "It is quite late. I am going to go home." Yes, you can say that and it's perfectly correct. The problem is nobody talks like that. More plausible possibilities:
It's late, I gotta go
Look what time it is, I better be going.
Wow, it's really late, I'm gonna head home.

Originally Posted by sperk

The OP asked about "It is quite late. I am going to go home." Yes, you can say that and it's perfectly correct. The problem is nobody talks like that. More plausible possibilities:
It's late, I gotta go
Look what time it is, I better be going.
Wow, it's really late, I'm gonna head home.

That's fine, but that wasn't his question, and you confuse the issue when you talk about things that aren't relevant.

Originally Posted by sperk

The OP asked about "It is quite late. I am going to go home." Yes, you can say that and it's perfectly correct. The problem is nobody talks like that.

Неправда. В США по крайне мере это говорится часто.

Originally Posted by doninphxaz

"Going to go" is perfectly normal conversation. "I am going to go" means "I will go." The "am going to" part is a conversational equivalent of the more ordinary "will."

Well, first off, I dare to notice, that the expression "to be going to" is not exactly the conversational equivalent of the "will". There are some shades of the meanings, I believe. Classically speaking, we use "to be going to" if we are not quite certain about our own intentions and plans. The "will" sounds more determined, more adamant. More formal, I'd say. (So, yes, less conversational as well.)

But, generally speaking.... The Doninphxaz says, they often talk like that in the USA... Perhaps, in the area where he lives, yes, I easily believe this. Because one of the amazing specialties of the USA is that people speak completely differently in diferent places. The Californians may have trouble to understand Texans; people from North Carolina don't use the same words as people from Oregon.... Say, only Southerners say "I reckon I'm fixin' to go." Or, "Y'all alright here?" The words usage around the USA varies, this is my point.

As far as the expression "I am going to go" is concerned, I agree, there is nothing wrong with it, gramatically, but I, personally, would avoid it. It's just sound awkward, guys, can you not hear that???

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Originally Posted by doninphxaz

"Going to go" is perfectly normal conversation. "I am going to go" means "I will go." The "am going to" part is a conversational equivalent of the more ordinary "will."

Well, first off, I dare to notice, that the expression "to be going to" is not exactly the conversational equivalent of the "will". There are some shades of the meanings, I believe. Classically speaking, we use "to be going to" if we are not quite certain about our own intentions and plans. The "will" sounds more determined, more adamant. More formal, I'd say. (So, yes, less conversational as well.)

But, generally speaking.... The Doninphxaz says, they often talk like that in the USA... Perhaps, in the area where he lives, yes, I easily believe this. Because one of the amazing specialties of the USA is that people speak completely differently in diferent places. The Californians may have trouble to understand Texans; people from North Carolina don't use the same words as people from Oregon.... Say, only Southerners say "I reckon I'm fixin' to go." Or, "Y'all alright here?" The words usage around the USA varies, this is my point.

As far as the expression "I am going to go" is concerned, I agree, there is nothing wrong with it, gramatically, but I, personally, would avoid it. It's just sound awkward, guys, can you not hear that???

It's not a USA thing. It's perfectly normal, standard English, of the kind spoken anywhere in any English speaking country. Feel free to avoid it if you like, but I don't see any reason to. In fact, I'm not sure what you would replace it with.

As for your second paragraph, I have to disagree somewhat. Yes, there are slight dialectical differences from region to region, and certainly different accents (same in the U.K.-- it's not unique to the USA). However, people understand each other without really any difficulty at all. Some people make a big deal out of it, but they are exaggerating.

Originally Posted by Matroskin Kot

It's not a USA thing. It's perfectly normal, standard English, of the kind spoken anywhere in any English speaking country. Feel free to avoid it if you like, but I don't see any reason to. In fact, I'm not sure what you would replace it with.

As for your second paragraph, I have to disagree somewhat. Yes, there are slight dialectical differences from region to region....

Hi, Кот Матроскин!

Thanks for the respond. Nice to have someone talking to me actually. Until now, I've been feeingl sort of like I am talking to myself on here, and it makes me sulk somewhat...

And oh, I can tell you what to replace it with! With the Present Progressive Tense! To be + an infinitive+ing. Remember, it can be used for the future tense? So, I can say, "I am going out for dinner tomorrow." It''s just that I don't like the repeatition of the same word so piled up together -- "going" and "go". Do you understand?

Of course, people understand each other in the same country! I was trying to emphasize that the dialectical differences are rather significant in the USA, or so is my impression anyway.

Cheers!