Re: Prevli: more "mood" names?

On 10/28/07, Eldin Raigmore <eldin_raigmore@...> wrote:
> In English, at least, "I'm going to ..." carries a more immediate (tense-wise) or
> more realis (mood-wise) connotation than "I will ...".
>
> The "I'm going to X" construction comes from a biclausal construction in
> which "I am going" was the main clause and "to X" was the purpose-clause
> (whether an adjunct clause or a complement clause).
>
> The "I will X" construction comes from a biclausal construction in which "I will",
> meaning "I want", was the main clause, and something meaning "to X" was the
> complement clause.
>
> The difference is in "I'm going to X" I am already in motion, preparing to do X;
> while in "I will X", I merely express my desire and intent to do X -- eventually.
Maybe IYL, but for me, "I'm going to" has no connotation whatsoever of
immediacy.  Roger's example would sound perfectly natural with that
form:

"You've got to clean up this house!"
"I'm going to!" (someday)





--
Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>