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I'm going to be having...

hirashin

Sempai
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8 Apr 2004
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I sometimes see this pattern of sentences.
(a) I'm going to be having a baby.

But is it different in meaning from (b) or (c)?
(b) I'm going to have a baby.
(c) I'm having a baby.

Pattern (a) seems to be redundant to me.

Hirashin
 
There are a number of explanations for this pattern on the internet, but not all of them agree with each other. Generally they are similar, if not exactly the same in meaning, but the present continuous tends to imply a definite action that is coming in the near future.

I'm having a baby.
I'm getting married.
I'm taking a vacation.

The pattern going + to + be + verb + ing expresses a plan or intent to do something.

I'm going to be going on holiday.
I'm going to be visiting my mother.
I'm going to be holding a meeting.

Using the above examples they become
I'm going to be having a baby.
I'm going to be getting married.
I'm going to be taking a vacation.

So ultimately the meanings are quite similar, its just that the adding "going to" somehow softens the sentence. And in spoken English, Americans are very fond of using "going to", except its generally shortened to "gonna", which is one of those things that should be avoided in written English.


"be going to verb", "be going to be -ing", what is the difference between those? | Lang-8: For learning foreign languages
Be going to be+verb -ing / Will be+verb-ing (Future continuous)
 
Thank you so much for the detailed explanation, Majestic. I appreciate it.
 
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