A1 · Beginner · Plans · 101 words · ~2 min read

🧺 Planning a Weekend Picnic

Language focus: Future · be going to · let’s

Before you read

This story is about the future, and it uses the form English speakers actually reach for when they have already decided something: be going to. Notice that every plan here is fixed before the sentence is spoken — that is the clue to why will would sound wrong.

It is Friday. Nia is planning a weekend picnic. She checks the weather forecast: lots of sunshine!

“Let’s go to the green meadow,” she says. “I am going to make sandwiches.” She packs up a soft blanket and the food.

She fills a big basket. Tomorrow, they are going to relax in the sun. It is going to be a lovely day.

Nia is going to invite three friends. She is going to text them tonight.

On Saturday morning the sky is blue. “We are not going to need umbrellas today,” Nia laughs. They are going to leave at eleven o’clock.

Key vocabulary (8 words)

blanketnoun: A large soft cloth you sit or lie on.
basketnoun: A container with a handle for carrying things.
forecastnoun: A report that says what the weather will be.
weathernoun: The sun, rain, wind and temperature outside.
sandwichnoun: Two pieces of bread with food inside.
meadownoun: A wide field of grass and flowers.
sunshinenoun: Bright, warm light from the sun.
picnicnoun: A meal you eat outdoors for pleasure.

Phrasal verbs in this story

pack up — To pack up means to put things into bags or boxes, ready to go.

The grammar in this story

be going to for a decision already made

“I am going to make sandwiches.” “They are going to relax in the sun.” Use be going to when the plan exists before you speak. Nia has thought about the picnic, so going to fits. If she decided at the moment of speaking, English would prefer will: I’ll make sandwiches then.

The three parts you must not drop

The structure is am/is/are + going to + base verb. All three parts are needed: I am going to make, never I going to make or I am going to making. Getting the middle part right is what most learners have to practise.

going to for predictions with evidence

“It is going to be a lovely day.” Nia has seen the forecast, so this is a prediction based on something she can point to. That is exactly when English chooses going to over will — you have a reason in front of you.

Let’s for a suggestion

“Let’s go to the green meadow.” Let’s plus base verb proposes something you and the listener do together. It is short for let us, but nobody says the long form in speech any more.

Phrases you can reuse today

I am going to make sandwiches.: A plan you have already decided on.
Let’s go to the park.: A suggestion including yourself and the listener.
It is going to rain.: A prediction with visible evidence — dark clouds.
What are you going to do at the weekend?: The most useful future question at A1.

Comprehension quiz

What is Nia planning?
- A picnic
- A party
- A flight
Show answer
A picnic
What does she check?
- The weather forecast
- The timetable
- The menu
Show answer
The weather forecast
She is going to make…
- sandwiches
- a cake
- coffee
Show answer
sandwiches
“Let’s go to the meadow” is a…
- suggestion
- complaint
- price
Show answer
suggestion
“Pack up” means to…
- put things into bags
- open a door
- run fast
Show answer
put things into bags

Now use it yourself

Reading builds recognition; writing your own sentences is what turns it into something you can actually say. Three short tasks:

Write four things you are going to do next weekend.
Look out of the window and make one going to prediction about the weather.
Suggest three activities to a friend using Let’s.