Level: beginner
We use will:
- to express beliefs about the present or future
- to talk about what people want to do or are willing to do
- to make promises, offers and requests.
would is the past tense form of will. Because it is a past tense, it is used:
- to talk about the past
- to talk about hypotheses (when we imagine something)
- for politeness.
Beliefs
We use will to express beliefs about the present or future:
John will be in his office. (present)
We'll be late. (future)
We will have to take the train. (future)
We use would as the past of will, to describe past beliefs about the future:
I thought we would be late, so we would have to take the train.
Willingness
We use will:
- to talk about what people want to do or are willing to do:
We'll see you tomorrow.
Perhaps Dad will lend me the car.
- to talk about typical behaviour, things that we often do (because we are willing to do them):
We always spend our holidays at our favourite hotel at the seaside. We'll get up early every morning and have a quick breakfast then we'll go across the road to the beach.
We use would as the past tense of will:
- to talk about what people wanted to do or were willing to do in the past:
We had a terrible night. The baby wouldn't go to sleep.
Dad wouldn't lend me the car, so we had to take the train.
- to talk about typical behaviour, things that we often did (because we were willing to do them) in the past:
When they were children they used to spend their holidays at their grandmother's at the seaside. They'd get up early every morning and have a quick breakfast. Then they'd run across the road to the beach.
Promises, offers and requests
We use I will or We will to make promises and offers:
I'll give you a lift home after the party.
We'll come and see you next week.
We use Will you … ? or Would you … ? to make requests:
Will you carry this for me, please?
Would you please be quiet?
- will and would 1
- will and would 2
- will and would 3
Level: intermediate
Hypotheses and conditionals
We use will in conditionals to say what we think will happen in the present or future:
I'll give her a call if I can find her number.
You won't get in unless you have a ticket.
We use would to make hypotheses:
- when we imagine a situation:
It would be very expensive to stay in a hotel.
I would give you a lift, but my wife has the car today.
- in conditionals:
I would give her a call if I could find her number.
If I had the money, I'd buy a new car.
You would lose weight if you took more exercise.
If he got a new job, he would probably make more money.
What if he lost his job? What would happen then?
We also use conditionals to give advice :
Dan will help you if you ask him.
Past tenses are more polite:
Dan would help you if you asked him.
- will and would: hypotheses and conditionals
See also: Verbs in time clauses and conditionals
Level: beginner
Expressions with would
We use:
- would you…, would you mind (not) -ing for requests:
Would you carry this for me, please?
Would you mind carrying this?
Would you mind not telling him until tomorrow?
- would you like ..., would you like to ... for offers and invitations:
Would you like another drink?
Would you like to come round tomorrow?
- I would like …, I'd like … (you)(to) ... to say what we want or what we want to do:
I'd like that one, please.
I'd like to go home now.
- I'd rather… (= I would rather) to say what we prefer:
I'd rather have the new one, not the old one.
I don't want another drink. I'd rather go home.
- I would think, I would imagine, I'd guess to give an opinion when we are not sure or when we want to be polite:
It's very difficult, I would imagine.
I would think that's the right answer.
- Expressions with would 1
- Expressions with would 2
Hello Crokong,
What do you think the differences could be? I'd encourage you to try to explain what you think the differences are, and then I can comment on your explanation.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Selet,
Yes, this is a commonly asked question! Have a look at this explanation and the full comment thread. I hope it helps to answer your question :)
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Dwishiren,
Yes, you can use conditional forms in this way.
The first example is more direct; the second more tentative and possibly more polite, depending on the situation.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Jembut,
Yes, that's correct. The implication in the second sentence in particular is that you might still do the task, so the statement is really functioning as a polite suggestion or request (Please fill out...).
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello whitekrystal,
It's not about whether or not a goal has been scored: in both situations there has not been a goal. Rather, it's about how the speaker sees the situation. Using would suggests that a second goal is unlikely. Using will suggests that it is a genuine possibility.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi again whitekrystal,
It's not that the second goal is or is not unlikely as a matter of fact; it's how the speaker sees it. If the speaker believes that a second goal is likely then they will use 'will'. If the speaker believes that a second goal is unlikely then they will use 'would'. Both are grammatically correct; the speaker chooses according to how they see the situation.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Selet,
We use would to describe a hypothetical or imaginary situation. It's very common when a person is giving advice about a hypothetical situation, as opposed to a real situation which has occurred.
The correct form is 'May I know who you are?'
This is an example of an indirect question. You can read more about these here:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/questions-and-negatives
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Basheer Ahmed,
We can use 'will' when we're certain or confident about a present situation. If I say 'John will be in his office', it means I'm quite sure that he is in his office. This could be because he is normally there at this time and I expect today to be normal, it could be that he told me he would be there, it could be that I've just spoken with him -- there are many different reasons I might be sure. Note that it's the speaker who decides if they are sure.
I could also say 'John must be in his office' or 'He has to be in his office' or 'I'm sure he's in his office' and they all mean much the same thing.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish team
Hell Jembut,
Your first sentence has several errors, but as far as would goes, both sentences describe hypothetical situations in the future. You can think of them as having impled if-clauses: if we did it.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Gendeng,
Yes, that's the idea.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Jembut,
I wouldn't use the term 'tentative' to describe the meaning here. Instead, I'd say 'hypothetical' -- it shows that I'm speaking about a hypothetical situation, i.e. a situation that is not real at the moment (American English instead of British English). It might help to imagine that the sentence as a kind of second conditional: 'If we were speaking American English, singular verbs would be the correct form.'
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Ashkan0_0,
Good question! Yes, the speaker could also say: Normally she would text me as soon as she arrived in Thailand. 'Text' in this sentence is the infinitive verb form (not the simple present tense).
If the speaker says Normally she would have texted me ..., there's a difference. It means not only that she would normally do that action (texting me), but emphasises that the action would have been completed on this occasion (or not completed, in this example), i.e. the speaker would have received her message by now (which it seems didn't happen).
You can find some more examples and exercises on our 'will have' and 'would have' page.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello whitekrystal,
Both the sentence about the address and the sentence about the vase speak about a hypothetical or imaginary situation. In the first one, I don't have the address, but speak about what I would do if I did have it. In the second one, the man imagines having the vase in their living room and speaks about that imaginary situation.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Crokong,
The author uses 'would mean' here as they are seeing the situation as an imaginary situation. They say that 'could' is the correct answer so this is the 'real' (likely) choice. 'Can' is incorrect so it is not the likely choice, assuming the student wishes to avoid errors. Thus 'would' is used.
You can imagine a hidden if-clause in the sentence: if you were to use 'can', it would mean...
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello again Crokong,
I'm not sure what you mean. Please post the original sentence and your alternative and we'll be happy to comment.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello again Crokong,
'If you were to use...' describes a hypothetical or unlikely situation. It has a similar meaning to 'If you used...'
The reason I used this form is that I don't think you will use 'can' since it is incorrect. It's not impossible, but you would only do it if you want to make a mistake, which is unlikely.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Plokonyo,
Both sentences refer to the present and future. The difference is that the first first sentence (know - will) describes a real or possible situation and the second (knew - would) describes a situation which is purely hypothetical or extremely unlikely in the speaker's view.
You can read more about these constructions on this page:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/intermediate-to-upper-intermediate/conditionals-1
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/verbs-in-time-clauses-and-if-clauses
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Gendeng,
Would is used here because the writer is talking about an imagined situation - a situation when somebody wants to refer to a football team. It's not discussing any particular real sentence that somebody said or will say on a real occasion.
Using would is not the only way the speaker can frame this information. The speaker could, for example, also use the present simple: you refer to them as ... it's the equivalent of ... . The present simple is used for factual statements. But, it may sound like the writer is being bossy by telling the reader what they must do. So, the writer may use would here to avoid sounding bossy (i.e. to give the reader advice, in a less direct way).
Does that make sense?
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Gendeng,
Yes :) Exactly.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Gendeng,
Compare these two sentences:
The writer of this sentence seems to be answering a question from somebody else.
In the first sentence, the present simple states the misunderstanding clearly and factually. But that might be too direct because it clearly shows that the person who said 'The United' was wrong. It could be embarrassing.
In the second sentence, using would is less direct because using would frames the situation of saying this as just an imagined (not real) situation, i.e. the mistake of saying 'The United' is not necessarily one that happened or happens in real life.
Best regards,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Gendeng,
Yes, that's right, and yes - we can also say it using the if clause, as you suggested (but in your example the clause is stated, not implied). That also makes the suggestion less direct and more polite.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team