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Is it okay to say:

He will be going to get engaged to his ex-girl friend.

Is there a better of saying this?

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    The constructions will be and going to both put things into the future. Using them both is redundant and ungrammatical, except if you have a time machine. Use "He will be getting engaged" or "He is going to get engaged". It's possible that you mean something other than "he will be getting engaged". If you do, the sentence above does not convey your intended meaning.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Apr 11, 2012 at 19:11
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    @PeterShor- What do you mean by time machine? Could you explain it a little bit?
    – Noah
    Commented Apr 11, 2012 at 19:30
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    @Noah: I'm going to go back in time and put right my typo. When the machine stops moving, I will just be going to type the word (see the little thinks-bubble saying "I am just going to type the wrod"?)
    – Tim Lymington
    Commented Apr 11, 2012 at 20:16
  • Take your time machine to the point in the future when they will be getting engaged at some point further into the future, then your sentence makes sense. Otherwise, as Peter Shor says, it is redundant to use two future constructions together like this.
    – Shoe
    Commented Apr 11, 2012 at 20:18
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    We're all going to Vegas this weekend. And John's going too! Really? Why? We told John that Andrea will also be there, so John will be going to get engaged to his ex-girlfriend.
    – Jim
    Commented Apr 12, 2012 at 2:02

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A better way would be

He will be getting engaged to his ex-girlfriend.

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    Alternately, "He is going to get engaged."
    – zpletan
    Commented Apr 11, 2012 at 19:30
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First, no. What you have said is not correct.

As for the right way to say it, I'm assuming you mean that they are not engaged yet, but they will be soon. Maybe he's already bought the ring, but hasn't proposed. If that's the case, any of these would work:

He is getting engaged to his ex-girlfriend.
Soon, he will be engaged to his ex-girlfriend.
He and his ex-girlfriend are soon to be engaged.
He and his ex-girlfriend will be engaged soon.
He and his ex-girlfriend will be getting engaged.
He and his ex-girlfriend are getting engaged.
That last one may imply the engagement is more imminent than the previous example.

However you choose to say it, good luck to the couple. Tell them we wish them the best.

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  • I will. But can we use the 'will be going to' construction at all?
    – Noah
    Commented Apr 11, 2012 at 19:29
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    @Noah, Yes, but only when going derives from the verb to go (somewhere) and not from the verb to be going to (do something). I will be going to the wedding; She will be going to university; They will be going to New York, etc. are all fine.
    – Shoe
    Commented Apr 11, 2012 at 20:26

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