The Future with
 going to

When you use “going to” in negative sentences (like saying “not”), it’s about stuff you decided you won’t do.

Imagine you thought about something, like eating candy or playing a game, but you said, “Nope, I’m not doing that!”

Examples:

It’s your plan to NOT do something.
If you decide, “I don’t want to eat broccoli tonight,” you say,

“I’m not going to eat broccoli tonight!”

You thought about it, and you chose not to do it.

or

It’s like saying “I made up my mind to skip it!”
If you don’t want to play soccer tomorrow, you say,

“I’m not going to play soccer tomorrow.”

It’s your decision to say “no way” to that plan.

A prediction is when you see something happening now and guess what’s next because of it. You use “not going to” when you’re really sure because you see clues.

Examples:

If the sky is clear with no clouds, you might say,

“It’s not going to rain.”

No clouds, no rain!

or

If your friend puts the ball down, you say,

“They’re not going to throw it.”

The clue is they stopped.

So, “going to” for predictions is like saying,

“I see clues, so I know what’s coming!”

And “not going to” is like,

“I see clues that it won’t happen!”

A fixed future event is something you know will happen because it’s already planned or set. You use “going to” to talk about it in a fun, casual way, like chatting with your friends.

Examples:

If you know there’s no school, no work or no meeting next Monday because of a holiday, you say,

“We’re not going to have school/work/meeting!”

It’s fixed, no school.

or

If your sports game got canceled, you say,

“We’re not going to play the game tomorrow.”

It’s set, no game.

So,  “not going to” is like,

“This is definitely not happening because it’s set that way!”

It’s informal, so it’s how you’d talk to your friends or family, not like a super official schedule (like a bus timetable).