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What Is Their Main Difference?
Modal Verb Could
'Could' is one of the most commonly known modal verbs. It is used to show past abilities, possibilities, requests, etc. To put it simply, 'could' is the past tense of modal verb 'can.' For instance:
Here, we are requesting something.
I
Here, we are talking about past abilities.
Modal Verb Will
'Will' is a modal verb that mainly talks about future events. It is used to talk about future plans, habits, assumptions, and predictions. For example:
It
Here, we are predicting a future event.
I
Here, we are talking about a future plan.
Similarities
Making Offers
We use 'could' and 'will' to make offers. Offers are statements that indicate our willingness to do something for someone.
'Could' is more formal than 'will.' Both modals are not definite offers, meaning that we are uncertain if the listener would accept our offer or not.
I
Making Requests
We also use 'will' and 'could' to ask for favors or ask someone to do something for us at the present time. Requests that are made with 'could' are more formal.
Negation and Question
We can use modal verbs to create negative sentences and questions.
When we want to make a sentence negative, we add 'not' to the modal verb as illustrated below:
- Could → Could not → Couldn't
- Will → Will not → Won't
Take a look at the following examples for clarity:
I
I
I
I
With Other Modals
We use only one modal verb in a sentencee. We cannot use modal verbs with other modal verbs. Take a look at these incorrect sentences:
I
He
Differences
Prediction
'Will' is used to make predictions about the future. These predictions might become true or they may fail to happen. This future may be close or years away. For example:
The event
Flying cars
Past Abilities
We use 'could' to talk about past abilities, skills, and talents. These abilities and skills were used in the past and perhaps we stopped using them or we lost them. Sometimes the person who had the ability or talent may be deceased. Have a look:
I
My aunt
Willingness
We use the modal verb 'will' to express that we are ready to do something. For instance:
I
I
With Conditionals
As shown in the table below, 'could' and 'will' are used as conditional verbs. conditionals are used to show that the occurrence of an event depends on another event or action to happen.
| Could | Will | |
|---|---|---|
| Conditional Type 1 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Conditional Type 2 | ✓ | ✗ |
| Conditional Type 3 | ✓ | ✗ |
| Zero Conditional | ✗ | ✗ |
Conditional Type 1
The first type of conditional is used to talk about real situations with a high chance of becoming real. 'Will' and 'could' are both used in this type. Have a look:
They
They
Conditional Type 2
Conditional type 2 talks about hypothetical situations in the present and future that are imaginary and perhaps will never come true and their chance of occurrence are low. We use 'could' in this type and we cannot use 'will.' For example:
If I were rich, I
If I were an Olympic athlete, I
Conditional Type 3
The third type of conditional talks about an imaginary past and what could be. This past could have happened but it never did and we are just imagining a different past. We use 'could' in this type. Consider the following examples:
If I were older, I
I
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