Will and Would for intermediate learners

These two modals are often confusing for learners, because they are used in quite similar situations. But they're different.

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"Will and Would" in English Grammar

What Are Will and Would?

'Will' and 'would' are modal verbs that are followed by an infinitive without to. They are used to express different subjects.

Why Do We Use Will?

'Will' is mainly used to:

  • Predict the future
  • Express plans and decisions

Predicting the Future

'Will' is followed by an infinitive without to and is used to tell what happens in the future. When we use 'will', we are just making a guess with no evidence. Here are the examples:

It will rain tomorrow.

They will get married.

Expressing Plans

'Will' is used to talk about future plans, but when we use 'will', there is no exact plan or exact time or date to do something. Here are the examples:

I will go to Tokyo one day.

She will take the exams in this semester.

using "will" in a sentence

Why Do We Use Would?

'Would' is used to:

  • Predict the future but in the past tense

Past Predictions

We can use the modal verb would with the same rules as 'will' but with a past meaning. Here are the examples:

She would go to China.

He would call me.

How to Use Will and Would

Will and would are both modal verbs, So they are followed by an infinitive without to. Here are a few examples.

They will speak French.

He would drink a cup of tea.

Negative Form

To make 'will' and 'would' negative, all you need to do is add 'not' to them. Here are the examples:

I will not take care of it.

They would not escape from the cell.

Contraction

The contracted form of 'will not' is 'won't' but the contracted form of 'would not' is 'wouldn't'. For example:

They won't run away.

He wouldn't speak to her.

Question Form

To make a question with 'will' and 'would', all you have to do is change the place of the modal verb and put it at the beginning of the question.

Will you come to the party?

Would he forgive me?

Review

'Will' and 'would' are modal verbs that are used to:

  • Future predictions
  • Past predictions
  • Future plans

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