'will' and 'would'

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?

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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.

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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.

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Hello teachers,

I would be grateful if you could help me with the below.

Lets say I am in a hall with 30 people. A few of them are slightly below the age of 18. I walk up to the stage and say:

"Ladies and Gentlemen,

May I have your attention, please. I am going to give you free gifts/ a free gift now. But recipients of the free gift have/will have to be at least 18 years of age. This is because the free gift is a bottle of beer. ( As you know, in some countries, those below the age of 18 are not allowed to drink or discouraged from consuming hard drinks)

My question is;

(a) Should it be "free gifts" or "a free gift"?

(b) I know that "have to be at least 18 years of age" is correct. My question for this part is:

Is "will have to be at least 18 years of age" also correct?

Thanks

Hello Yornis,

(a) Should it be "free gifts" or "a free gift"?

Both are fine. You can see it as a lot of gifts to be given out individually or one gift for each person.

(b) I know that "have to be at least 18 years of age" is correct. My question for this part is:

Is "will have to be at least 18 years of age" also correct?

Yes, that's fine. You could also use present simple here. Again, it's a question of how the speaker sees it: receiving the gift is in the future, but it's so close to the present that it makes no difference.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you

Hello LearnEnglish team,

I want to know whether the use of 'would' in the bold sentence below is correct:

Bhishma once took a solemn vow to his father that he would never marry. Later, when Amba insisted that Bhishma marry her, he firmly refused, as it WOULD violate the vow he had taken.

I think the sentence could be better with 'would have', as Bhishma didn't violate the vow.

I need your guidance.

Shetu Yogme

Hello ShetuYogme,

I agree. I think would have is better here as the action is clearly in the past and did not happen.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello teacher,

Regarding your answer to Shetu Yogme's question above, do you mean that "would violate" is ALSO correct, but not as good as "would have violated"?

Thanks

Hello Yornis,

Yes. The word 'it' can be read as referring to a specific act in the past (marrying Amba) or as a reference to marriage in general. In the former case we use would have, in the latter would.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you

Hello teachers,

I would be grateful if you could help me with the below.

Lets say I own a company. I tell people the below:

There will be job vacancies in my company next month.

(a) Applicants for the jobs have to be physically fit.

(b) Applicants for the jobs will have to be physically fit.

I have no doubt that option (a) is correct. As for option (b), it sounds wrong to me. In the case of option (c), my guess is that "would" can be used in this context because "would" is used to express a hypothetical situation. So, option (c) is correct. Am I right in my opinion regarding all three?

Thanks

Hello Yornis,

(a) Applicants for the jobs have to be physically fit.
(b) Applicants for the jobs will have to be physically fit.
(c) Applicants for the jobs would have to be physically fit.
I have no doubt that option (a) is correct. As for option (b), it sounds wrong to me. In the case of option (c), my guess is that "would" can be used in this context because "would" is used to express a hypothetical situation. So, option (c) is correct. Am I right in my opinion regarding all three?

As you say, (a) is fine. Option (b) is possible as the recruitment is in the future you could imagine a person improving their fitness before applying, even if a month is a short time. Option (c) sounds rather odd as we are talking about a definite situation rather than a hypothetical one. You might use 'would' if it were still not sure whether or not recruitment would take place, but that does not seem to be the case here.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you

Hello Yornis,

I think Option (b) is the most appropriate option here, as the context is dealing with the definite future.

Shetu Yogme

Hi Shetu,

Glad to see you back! It feels great having you and others learning together with me. Seems you got your answer right regarding my question. About your most recent question about Bishmi refusing to marry Amba, I was surprised your guess was right. Looks like I have more to learn. Goodbye.

Thank you, Yornis for showing interest in what questions I have and for possible answers I think for many questions including yours. Yes, we will learn together, grow together and rise together.

Shetu Yogme

Which should I say before the game begins - "will" or "would"?

A draw will/would be a better result for Manchester City than for Liverpool.

Hello kontol abo,

Both forms are possible here. If you think a draw is likely then will is the best choice. If you think it is unlikely then would is better.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello kontol abo,

Both forms are possible, as Peter has already stated. But I think "would" should be a better option, give the hidden context I can understand here.

We don't know whether Manchester City will end up with a draw. We are making a general, so as to say a hypothetical reference regarding what could be the better result. So, I think the better sentence would read:

A draw would be a better result for Manchester City than for Liverpool.

What do have to say about this? Please let me know.

Shetu Yogme

Hi teachers,

I recently texted a Customer Service Representative telling her that I would like to deposit a sum of money into a certain bank account. Her reply was:

"Would you be transferring the money via online banking or a bank counter?"

I cannot see the reason for her using "would" above, because

(i) It is not a hypothetical situation. I really intend to deposit money into the account.

(ii) It is not a request.

(ii) It is not an invitation or offer.

Do you agree with me that she should have said: "Will you be transferring the money via......." instead?

Thanks.

Hello Yornis,

Yes, I agree with you. Since you are discussing a real situation and not a hypothetical or imaginary situation, will makes sense here.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you

Context: suppose that I'm a moderator in a forum. A nonnative English speaker has written a paragraph in English but
he has not capitalized the letter "I." Accordingly I want to say to him one of these two. I don't know which one is grammatically ok:

It would be better if we capitalized the letter "I".
It will be better if we capitalize the letter "I".

What's the difference? Which should I use?

Hello kontoi abo,

I think 'you' is preferable to 'we' here as you are talking about an individual student, not making a general statement about people's behaviour.

It would be better if you capitalized the pronoun "I".
It will be better if you capitalize the pronoun "I".

In terms of will vs would, the most common option here is would as it comes across as a little more polite. Generally, we prefer a more polite tone when we are offering correction. However, both are acceptable. I've also changed 'the letter' to 'the pronoun'. It's a little pedantic of me, for which I apologise, but I think it's good to be precise when offering correction.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello teacher,

(1) I am surprised that you said the sentence with "will" is also acceptable. This is because there is no indication that the person who wrote that paragraph will write again. I would be grateful if you are willing to explain.

(2) About your apologising for correcting the unsuitable use of the word "letter", I think that is very nice of you. Actually, you do not have to apologise. I am sure all of us appreciate the fact that you are willing to correct something that is not our main question.

Thanks.

Hello Yornis,

Will is an expression of the speaker's expectation or belief. I don't know if the other will apply my advice in the future to this or similar sentences, but if I believe it is likely then 'will' is fine.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks.

Hi teacher, I would be grateful if you could help me with the below. (a) Qualities such as courage, intelligence and a decent level of physical fitness are needed to be a good policeman. (b) Qualities such as courage, intelligence and a decent level of physical fitness will be needed to be a good policeman. (c) Qualities such as courage, intelligence and a decent level of physical fitness would be needed to be a good policeman. In my opinion, the use of "are" in (a) is correct because sentence (a) is stating a fact. As for the use of "will" in (b), despite the fact that the speaker is NOT particularly referring to the future, sentence (b) is still correct, because he is expressing it as a fact. Do you agree with me? As for (c), the use of "would" is wrong, unless we are referring to the past, which the speaker is not. Is "would" used in (c) because speaker wants to express a hypothetical situation? No, I cannot think of a situation where we can use this sentence as a hypothetical situation. There is one more possibility : the "would" in (c) is used because the speaker wants to make his opinion less forceful. This makes sense. What do you think? I would be grateful if you could tell me what you think of all my opinions above. Thank you.

Hello Yornis,

(a) Qualities such as courage, intelligence and a decent level of physical fitness are needed to be a good policeman.
(b) Qualities such as courage, intelligence and a decent level of physical fitness will be needed to be a good policeman.
(c) Qualities such as courage, intelligence and a decent level of physical fitness would be needed to be a good policeman.

In my opinion, the use of "are" in (a) is correct because sentence (a) is stating a fact.

Yes, I agree.

As for the use of "will" in (b), despite the fact that the speaker is NOT particularly referring to the future, sentence (b) is still correct, because he is expressing it as a fact. Do you agree with me?

Yes, the sentence is correct. The speaker uses will because they are expressing a belief or expectation.

As for (c), the use of "would" is wrong, unless we are referring to the past, which the speaker is not. Is "would" used in (c) because speaker wants to express a hypothetical situation? No, I cannot think of a situation where we can use this sentence as a hypothetical situation. There is one more possibility : the "would" in (c) is used because the speaker wants to make his opinion less forceful.

This sentence is also correct. It's hard to say the reason the speaker uses would without knowing the context, but it could be that the speaker sees the situation as hypothetical in the sense that the person they are speaking to is not going to apply to be a police officer, or it could be that they want to make their opinion less forceful, as you say.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you

Hi teachers,

I hope you could help me with the below.

It is from an episode of an American crime-documentry programme.

In this episode, Jane's daughter was abducted. After a few days, her daughter was rescued. Needless to say, it was a horrifying few days for Jane. At the end of the programme, Jane tells the narrator:

"This event was terrifying. I wouldn't want anybody else to go through this."

What is the function of "wouldn't" above?

Thank you.

Hello Yornis,

Would is very common when talking about desires and preferences. Just as we say I would like... to express a desire, here I wouldn't want... is used to describe something the speaker does not want to happen.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you

What about using it with "thought" in the beginning of a topic. Like sometimes I see sentences as: "I thought we would talk about something fun today, so I'm gonna introduce ... to you ...."

Is it used here to politely address the agenda or the plan for some talk?

Hello youssef.fd,

In this sentence 'thought' is a past form, so it is naturally followed by a past form in 'would'. If you change it to think then the 'would' changes to 'will':

I think we will talk about....

As you say, this is a form of social distancing for politeness rather than a chronological past time. The sentence with 'would' is more tentative and polite; it sounds like a proposal rather than an instruction. The sentence with 'will', on the other hand, is more direct and sounds like an instruction.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi teacher,

I would be grateful if you could help me with the below, which is from an episode of Law and Order : SVU.

Recently a house was burnt down. Dectectives are not sure whether it is an accident or arson. One of the detectives goes to an expert on fire, Mr Smith, to get his opinion.

Detective: Mr Smith, everybody says when it comes to fire, you are the best independent investigator in the business.

Mr Smith: They would be right.

May I know what is the function of "would" here?

My guess is that "would" here is used to make what he says sounds less forceful. Am I right?

Hello Yornis,

I don't think analysing this in terms of grammatical function is particularly helpful, to be honest. It would just treat it as an expression for commenting on situations. There are several such expressions:

They would be right.

That would be correct.

That would make sense.

They would say that, wouldn't they?

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you

Dear Peter, Can the idiosyncratic usages of ‘would’ (hypothetical, imaginary or polite) be connected, or even aligned with the more generic rule on using the past tense (such as ‘I was wondering …’ or ‘I wanted to tell you …’ ) to make a current action (request, offer,etc) more polite? In other words, have all these aspects of ‘would’ actually developed from the use of ‘distancing tenses’ to show politeness? Separately, why could this tense manipulation create a sense of politeness? and why haven’t other words developed the same nuanced uses as ‘would’ has?

Hello shleo,

Certainly the uses of would for politeness and hypothetical meaning are examples of distancing, as you say. I think it is a quite a general phenomenon, however. For example, could has a similar function (contrasted with can), as does should (shall). Past forms used in conditional (hypothetical) sentences are another example.

As to why distancing is a way of showing politeness, obviously it is an expression of culture. Generally, directness shows more familiarity and indirectness (distancing being one way to achieve this) shows less familiarity and more respect and formality. You can see a similar thing in many languages, where some form related to past tense can be used in similar ways, or where a third-person form or plural you pronoun can express social distance.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello teacher,

I would be grateful if you could help me with the below which is from an episode of a rerun of the the TV series T.J Hooker.

Tom, the suspect, is a coach of a tennis club. Policewoman Stacy goes undercover as a new tennis club member to get to know Tom and get evidence that is needed to charge Tom. After tennis lessons, Tom and Stacy sat in the same car to go for a meal. In the car, Tom noticed there were wires on the inside of Stacy's shirt, which indicates that she is trying to record the conversation between her and Tom. An angry Tom pulled out the wires and said: "I would never have have guessed you are a policewoman."

(1) Shouldn't the 3rd last word above be "were" rather than "are"?

(2) The phrase "would never have" is always used to express a hypothetical situation in the past. But the above is not a hypothetical situation because Tom was with Stacy at the tennis club before they got into the car. Why the use of "would never have"?

Thanks.

Hello Yornis,

'Would have' is used here as there is an implied if-clause:

If I had tried / If someone had asked / If I had thought about it (etc)...

'Are' is used because she is still a policewoman. 'Were' is also possible.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you

Hello Yornis,

I think Tom said this sentence with an hidden and implied 'if-clause', which may have following sentence style:

I would never have have guessed you are a policewoman if I haven't seen wires under your shirt.

Do you agree?

Shetu Yogme

Hello Shetu,

Sorry for a late reply. Looks like our teacher has answered the question, although I cannot say for sure the reason you gave is the same as our teacher's explanation. Thanks for showing an interest.

Hello LearnEnglish Team,

I have the following piece of news from a social media post of a prominent English daily:

Denmark’s government on Friday (November 7, 2025) announced a political agreement to ban access to social media for anyone aged under 15.
The move, led by the Ministry of Digitalization, would set the age limit for access to social media but give some parents — after a specific assessment — the right to give consent to let their children access social media from age 13.
📹Reuters

Why 'would' is used above?

I would consider the use of 'would' incorrect here. Because the move to ban access to social media for anyone aged under 15 has already been anounced, I can't see any air of uncertainty, speculation or hypothesis about what impact the move is going to have. That's why the correct modal verb here would be 'will'.

Do you agree? I would like to know how you interpret this.

With many thanks,

Shetu Yogme

Hello Shetu Yogme,

As with many similar examples you've asked about in the past, both will and would are possible here. Will suggests that the ban is sure to be implemented. Would suggests that its implementation is not so certain. Why the author chose to use that particular form is a question for her or him.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Since the match hasn't happened yet, the result is not known. Which should I use "will" or " would" in the following sentence?

Hearts host Celtic on Sunday. Victory will / would put them eight points clear in the Scottish Premiership title race.

Hello kontol abo,

Both will and would are possible here. Will suggests that the outcome (victory) is likely in the speaker's view, while would suggests it is less likely.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I'm still confused. Does "likely" mean certain to win? And does "less likely" mean to lose in this context? I'm still confused by the point of "will" and "would" here.

Hello again kontol abo,

Likely means you think a Hearts win is probable; less likely means you think they will probably not win. In other words, the choice of will or would is not based on a grammatical rule but rather is an expression of how you see the situation.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello kontal abo,

Since the match has not taken place yet and we can't make a prediction about the result of the match, I would consider the victory as hypothetical for the time being. We can't say before the start of the match whether victory is likely or unlikely. So, where there is this kind of uncertainty, I would prefer the use of 'would' rather than 'will'.

What do you think, kontal abo? Do you agree? Will you let me know? Will any other user let me know?

If the LearnEnglish Team could comment, please?

Shetu Yogme