Page 228 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford

The tense can be used to make polite enquiries about people's plans. (By using the future progressive to ask 'What have you already decided?', the speaker shows that he/she does not want to influence the listener's intentions.) Compare:
Will you be staying in this evening? (very polite enquiry, suggesting 'I simply want to know your plans')
Are you going to stay in this evening? (pressing for a decision)
This usage is possible with verbs that do not normally have progressive forms
(see 471).
Will you be wanting lunch tomorrow?
4 progressive form with going to
A progressive form of the going to structure is also possible.
I'm going to be working all day tomorrow, so 1 won't have time to shop. For will be . . .ing used to express certainty about the present (e.g. Don't phone now - they'll be
having milch), see 218.5, 629.
221 future (11): future in the past
Sometimes when we are talking about the past, we want to talk about something which was in the future at that time - which had not yet happened. To express this idea, we use the structures that are normally used to talk about the future (see 211-220), but we make the verb forms past. For example, instead of is going to we use was going to; instead of the present progressive we use the past progressive; instead of will we use would; instead of is to we use was to.
Last time 1 saw you, you were going to start a new job.
1 had no time to shop because 1 was leaving for Germany in two hours. In 1988 1arrived in the town where I would spend ten years ofmy life. I went to have a look at the room where I was to talk that afternoon.
Perfect forms of be going to are also possible.
I've been going to write to you for ages, but I've only just found time.
For was to have + past participle (e.g. She was to have taken over myjob, but shefoll ill), see 91.1.
222 gender (references to males and females)
English does not have many problems of grammatical gender. Usually, people
are he or she and things are it. Note the following points.
1 animals. cars. ships and countries
People sometimes call animals he or she, especially when they are thought of as having personality, intelligence or feelings. This is common with pets and domestic animals like cats, dogs and horses.
Once upon a time there was a rabbit called Joe. He lived . ..
Go and find the cat and put her out.
In these cases, who is often used instead of which. She had an old dog who always slept in her bed.
future (11): future in the past 221
page 196