going to go

Veron   Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:43 am GMT
Is it correct to use verbs of movement with "to be going to..." structrure?
Lazar   Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:28 am GMT
Verbs like "go", "come", "return"? Yes, you can use "to be going to..." with those, although it would probably be pronounced "gonna" in colloquial speech.
MollyB   Thu Jan 17, 2008 12:34 pm GMT
<although it would probably be pronounced "gonna" in colloquial speech. >

Not in Nigerian English (NigE).
Humble   Fri Jan 18, 2008 7:02 am GMT
I think things like "He is going to go/come..." are not a very good style. Why not just say "He is going/ coming" ?
MollyB   Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:26 am GMT
<I think things like "He is going to go/come..." are not a very good style. >

I don't.

GOING TO GO - 595 per million words in the BNC.

http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/
Lo   Sat Jan 19, 2008 3:14 am GMT
I agree that "He is going to go to X" sounds a bit weird to me, but it doesn't if you say gonna "He's gonna go to X." "He's gonna to X" sounds extremely wrong and it probably is wrong cause I've never heard such thing.
Guest   Sat Jan 19, 2008 3:18 am GMT
What is the most natural way of saying he is going to go to X without using gonna? I don't want to use vulgar words like gonna.
Richard   Sat Jan 19, 2008 4:12 am GMT
<<What is the most natural way of saying he is going to go to X without using gonna? I don't want to use vulgar words like gonna.>>

"He will go to X"

"He'll go to X"

There's nothing vulgar about "gonna" however.
Guest   Mon Jan 21, 2008 3:14 am GMT
'He's going to go' suggests that he has not left yet but he will, while 'He's going' suggest that he is curently on the way.
Humble   Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:29 am GMT
Hi guest,
'He's going' can also refer to sth planned: He's going to Amsterdam next week.
As far as I understand, the problem discussed is which is better in style
a) He's going to Amsterdam next week.
b) He's going to go to Amsterdam next week.
MollyB   Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:17 am GMT
If you don't see the subtle difference here, you don't need the "going to + verb" form. I do, and I use it when necessary.

I'm going to speak to the boss about a raise.
I'm going to go and speak to the boss about a raise.