Definition
A prospective is a grammaticalization of the relationship of a present state to a future situation. It indicates that one is in a present state of being about to do something.
Examples
(English)
Bill is going to throw himself off the cliff.
The item going to is a statement of Bill’s present state and is true irrespective of whether he is stopped or not.
Sources 2
- Comrie 1985b, 111–112
- Dahl 1985, 64–65, 106