I was reading an article about changes in the English language, and I stumbled upon an example the author used to make an argument, referring to these subtleties that English native speakers learn when they are kids, but to me, they all sound the same, haha
So, colloquially, what are the differences between the expressions
- I turn 31 tomorrow
- I’m going to turn 31 tomorrow
- I’ll turn 31 tomorrow
The context of the comparison is this
Somehow, by about the age of 6, we all master the subtleties of how to use the versus a; what the difference is between I turn 31 tomorrow, I’m going to turn 31 tomorrow, and I’ll turn 31 tomorrow; and much, much more–but have to be bopped on the head about Billy and me went to the store.
And the full article is here: Call Them What They Wants By John McWhorter
Best Answer
As I'm guessing you already know, the present tense can refer to the future.
English present tense
Doing a Google search of the variations, I get:
There's another one I would tend to use:
As to what the differences are, well I think any differences, other than that they use different words and sound different, are unremarkable or even non-existent. There are the very slightest of differences between "will" and "going to", and the following links try to explain some of them.
Will vs going
Will vs going to
Check out this chart
These aren't hard and fast rules.
The nuances among each version mentioned in the The Atlantic article may be referring to nuances of meaning, in which case I don't consciously know what they are, or it could simply be referring to the nuances of speaking different words and the resultant effect it has on a listener.
I really do think they all mean the same thing, and if there are any nuances among them, I'm not really aware of what they are.