'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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How does "would" work in "I would interpret...?"

A: What is meant by "Well, here's a do," in the following context from Angela Carter's "Nights at the Circus":

Well, here’s a do, Sybil.’ Colonel Kearney addressed his pig. ‘The madmen take over the lunatic asylum.’

Susi: I would interpret "do" here as meaning something like "predicament" or "situation."

Hello Plokonyo,

As we've said before, 'would' is often used to show a statement is more tentative in some way. You can think of it as implying an if-clause: If you asked me, I would...

The phrase 'a do' is a slightly old-fashioned term for a party or celebration. It's not used very much these days but I remember my mother using it when I was a child.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks Peter M for the explanation. My confusion is why not use "will" in the sentence? How does "will" actually work?

I will interpret "do" as meaning...

Hello again Plokonyo,

'Will' implies a choice in this context. You could imagine people playing a game in which everyone has to interpret a statement in some way and a player says 'I will interpret it like this...' - meaning 'I choose to interpret it like this...'

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello teachers,

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

In this office, there are 20 staff members. Among them are Tom, Harry and Wilfred. Wilfred is looking for his stapler and realises someone has borrowed his stapler without permission. The below is the dialogue that followed:

Wilfred: Someone has borrowed my stapler without asking me. I wonder who took it.

Tom: It could be Harry.

(a) He takes other people's things without permission.

(b) He will take other people's things without ppermission.

In the above context, are options (a), (b) and (c) all ccorrect?

Thank you.

Hello Yornis,

Yes, all of those are possible.

(a) describes Harry's typical behaviour

(b) describes what you expect from Harry based on what you know of him and his past behaviour

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks

Hello Peter and Yornis,

If the dialogue went the following way, what would be considered correct?:

Tom: It can't be Harry.
(a) He doesn't take other people's things without permission.
(b) He will not/would not take other people's things without permission.

Sentence (a), obviously, expresses typical behaviour, that's to say a general truth about Harry's behaviour. Alternatives in sentence (b) are confusing. If either of you could help me, please.

Hello ShetuYogme,

The sentence is the same as in Yornis's question but with negative verbs. The answer is the same:

All of those are possible.

(a) describes Harry's typical behaviour

(b) will not describes what you expect from Harry based on what you know of him and his past behaviour; would not is similar but suggests something more hypothetical: he's the kind of person who would do this

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Shetu Yogme,

I am glad that like me, you're also very interested in the modal auxiliary "would".

Hello LearnEnglish Team,

I have the following sentence from BBC News:

Hamas has formally rejected Israel's latest ceasefire offer, saying it is prepared to immediately negotiate a deal that would see the release of all remaining hostages in return for an end to the war and the release of Palestinian prisoners. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8gzm0p1y8

I don't know why "would" has been used here. Could give a little insight into the usage of "would" here?

Hello ShetuYogme,

Would is used here because the deal is not (yet) agreed. The implied if-clause is 'if the deal were agreed'.a

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello teachers,

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

(1) Qualities such as diligence, a cheerful personality, patience and tactfulness WILL be needed to be an employee of KFC ( Kentucky Fried Chicken) chain of restaurants.

(2) (Let's say I own a small foodstall with only 5 workers)

Qualities such as diligence, a cheerful personality, patience and tactfulness WILL be needed to be a worker of my foodstall.

(3) What are things that WILL be needed for an expedition to the North Pole?

For no.1, 2 and 3 above, there are no plans, suggestions or rumours of KFC intending to recruit workers, or my foodstall looking for new workers, or anyone planning to go to the North Pole.

I know we can use "are" instead of "will" for all the above three in such a context. My question is: Can we use "will" for all the above three despite the fact that there are no plans or rumours to employ workers or anyone planning to go to the North Pole, and also despite the fact that no.3 is in question form?

Hello Yornis,

Yes, 'will' is fine in all these examples.

'Will' expresses many things including predictions and expectations, known truths about the world/situations and guesses or beliefs. It's generally not used for plans - going to or present continuous is more common for these.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you.

I think "would" also would be okay in these sentences, even more preferred.

Dear team,

I just want to say I'm grateful to read your detailed answers to many questions here on this page. It definitely helps a lot.

"if I'm talking to a non-native I would probably just use the word forgive". Would instead of will in this sentence sounds good to me.

My question: Why would they use WOULD here? is that grammatically correct? Is that mixed conditionals?

How about would in this example:

If I go to a native speaker and I say can you give me an example of like the past simple and most people would not be able to do that.

Hello sarah_us,

This is a non-standard form which mixes a real condition (If I"m talking) with a hypothetical result (I would... use). This combination is not one which we would consider standard/correct though, of course, non-standard forms do occur in everyday language use.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

What is the difference between will and would in the following?

Egypt wants to build a new city that will/would create new jobs.

Hello Arsya,

Will indicates that the speaker believes the city is likely to be created; would indicates that the speaker is skeptical as to whether or not the plan is realistic.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello team,

I would be grateful if you could help me with the below,which is from an article explaining the use of "on" for boats.

The phrase "on the boat" can be used when we think about larger boats. A boat that transports large amounts of cargo or people at one time WOULD need the phrase, "on the boat." For example, if you ................................................... Another example WOULD be, "My shipment still hasn't arrived and I think it's on the boat that's stuck in the middle of the Mediterranean."

What is the function of the two "would" in capital letters above?

My guess is the "would" in "WOULD need the phrase" is to express it as a hypothetical situation. Am I right?

As for the "would" in "Another example WOULD be" is to make instructions or opinions sound less forceful. Am I right?

By the way, in the article, for the phrase "on the boat" just before the words "For example", shouldn't the full stop be after the inverted commas of "on the boat"?

Thanks

Hello Yornis,

My guess is the "would" in "WOULD need the phrase" is to express it as a hypothetical situation. Am I right?

Yes, I agree. The author is imagining 'if there was a boat that... then it would need...'. It's a choice on the part of the author and the sentence could be phrased in different ways, including the present simple.

As for the "would" in "Another example WOULD be" is to make instructions or opinions sound less forceful. Am I right?

Again, other forms are possible here but I think 'would' here indicates politeness, as you say.

for the phrase "on the boat" just before the words "For example", shouldn't the full stop be after the inverted commas of "on the boat"?

This is a debated issue. Here's a good summary of the two schools of thought:

Finally, there remains the problem of whether to put other punctuation marks inside or outside the quotation marks. There are two schools of thought on this, which I shall call the logical view and the conventional view.
The logical view holds that the only punctuation marks which should be placed inside the quotation marks are those that form part of the quotation, while all others should be placed outside. The conventional view, in contrast, insists on placing most other punctuation marks inside a closing quote, regardless of whether they form part of the quotation. Here are two sentences punctuated according to the logical view:
"The only thing we have to fear", said Franklin Roosevelt, "is fear itself."
The Prime Minister condemned what he called "simple-minded solutions".
And here they are punctuated according to the conventional view:
"The only thing we have to fear," said Franklin Roosevelt, "is fear itself."
The Prime Minister condemned what he called "simple-minded solutions."
Note the placing of the comma after fear in the first example and of the final full stop in the second. These are not part of their quotations, and so the logical view places them outside the quote marks, while the conventional view places them inside, on the theory that a closing quote should always follow another punctuation mark.

https://www.sussex.ac.uk/informatics/punctuation/quotes/marks

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks for giving an answer. Oh, sorry, one more short question if you do not mind:

Should exam candidates follow the logical or conventional view when it comes to punctuation?

Hello again Yornis,

Different examining bodies may have different guidelines but in general as long as you are consistent I don't think it matters.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

What is the difference between I will say, I would say and I say in this dialogue?

Me: Is the phrase "give someone some lip" common in the US?

Example: He gave me some lip but I ignored it.

Jack: I say/will say/would say it's outdated.

Hello cokro,

To express an opinion in a context like this 'I would say...' is the most common option.

'I will say...' and 'I say...' are unlikely here but could be used in a longer discussion where various opinions are offered.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Well, can you give an example sentence or context when the "I will say" form can be used?

Hello cokro,

In this sentence, I would say, "I will say" form can be used:

I will say goodbye to my friends in the evening.

I think it helps.

Yogesh Thakur.

Hello again cokro,

'Will' can have the meaning 'be willing to' or 'accept the need to'. It can be used when the speaker wants to suggest that they won't say certain things but will say something else:

Do you think he's nasty?
I won't say he's nasty, but I will say that he's not always the nicest person around.

What's your opinion on this?
I don't want to say too much but I will say that it seems like a risky option.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello team,

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

which is from an American detective series.

Enrico abducted a girl and the police are now trying to find him.

Detectives Stabler and Benson think Enrico's girlfriend, Helen ( a single mother ) knows where he is. So, they hold her in the interrogation room and try to force her to reveal where her boyfriend Enrico is.

Detective Stabler: Where WOULD he take her?

Helen: I don't know.

Detective Benson: Why should we believe you?

Helen: I WOULDN'T lie. My being here is putting my children at risk. Let me go home.

(1) My first question is: What is the function of "would" in Detective Stabler's sentence?

(2) My second question is: What is the function of "wouldn't" in

Helen's sentence.

Thanks.

Hello Yornis,

At this point I feel we are repeating the same explanations with different examples rather than explaining anything different. Perhaps you can look back at the many explanations we've given on this topic and try to answer your own question. We'll be happy to give feedback on your answer.

Remember that the detectives and their suspect have goals and are using language to elicit certain feelings and behaviour with those goals in mind.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

OK, I will try.

Let's start with no. 2 first, because I do not really have an answer for no. 1.

For no. 2, my guess is that it is like my post about "It cannot be Tom. Tom wouldn't play drums at 3 a.m." Here, Helen is trying to give the impression that she telling a lie is not the reality. So she uses "wouldn't lie" to express it in hypothetical terms. Am I right?

As for no. 1, I have looked back over and over again at past answers and could not find anything similar. There is no hypothetical element here, because Enrico abducting the girl is a fact. So why did Detective Stabler use "would"? I would appreciate it if you could explain.

Thanks

Hello Yornis,

The whole situation is hypothetical in the sense that the detectives are following a hunch. They do not have proof that Enrico took anyone but are following a hypothesis that they have come up with. If they had hard evidence of Enrico taking the victim then they might use will, but they do no and so would is appropriate.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello teacher,

First of all, thank you for answering. Your answer above is for no. 1( i.e the reason for Detective Stabler using "would"). You did not mention anything about no. 2 ( i.e my guess for Helen using "wouldn't"). Since you did not mention anything about no. 2, I am assuming you agree with my reasoning there, right?

Thank you

Hello Yornis,

My answer refers to the whole situation. There is no proof that Enrico took anyone so it is a hypothesis, not a fact. All participants are using would for this reason.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

My question is about "would" and "will" in the following dialogue. I'm confused as to why speaker B doesn't use "will" instead. Why not "it will sound odd", we will normally say ...","it will be best to say?" Can you explain?

A: My birthday party is on Saturday, April 4th this week.

Can I insert "of" before "this week"?

B: It would sound odd. We would normally say 'Saturday of this week' without specifying the date. It would be best to say 'My birthday party is this week, on Saturday April 4th'

Hello Plokonyo,

As we have said before in a number of replies, will is used when the situation is likely or certain to happen and would is used when the person is speculating about something which is unlikely to happen or certain to not happen. Here, B is not actually going to use these words but is imagining what they would say if they did need to say this.

I think these will/would questions are rather going around in circles at this point with examples only eliciting the same responses from our team rather than adding anything new to the discussion.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Can you explain what the difference? Do I use "will" or "would" when asnwering a question from A?

A: Do you write "millennials' generation" or "millennials generation"?
B: I would / will write "millennials". If I was forced to add "generation", it would be "the millennial generation", just as I would write "the baby-boomer generation".

Hello Plokonyo,

'Would' is the best choice here. 'Will' suggests that you are really going to say this, so you might use 'will' if you are talking about a presentation you have to give in a few moments and are thinking about how to phrase something. Here, B is clearly speaking in hypothetical terms, so 'would' is appropriate.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks, Peter M. What about the following?

Your helping me with my homework would be a good idea.

Can I use "will" as well?

Your helping me with my homework will be a good idea.

Hello again Plokonyo,

Yes, you can. I think 'will' suggests that this is a real situation - you are going to do the homework and the other person may help you. If you use 'would' is may be purely hypothetical (If I had homework, your helping me would be a good idea), but it may just be the use of 'would' as a politeness marker in the same way we use 'could' as a more polite option than 'can' in requests.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello sir. I think "will" is not idiomatic at all. Can you explain why it's not idiomatic, sir?

Hello Plokonyo,

I'm not sure what you mean here. 'Will' is a modal verb with various meanings and it can be used in some idiomatic expressions but it is not in itself idiomatic.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I want to understand the use of "would" in this sentence. Can you explain how it works? If I use "will", what's the difference?

In the UK we would say the lift, not the elevator.

In the UK, we will say the lift, not the elevator.

Hello Arsya,

Would is very common in this type of statement. It can be thought of as a kind of hypothetical conditional in which the if-clause is omitted: If we needed to say this, we would say...

In sentences like this the present simple is also possible: this is what we normally do in this situation as an alternative to this is what we would do if we were in this situation.

Will is similar in that it also describes expected or predictable behaviour, but it is more commonly used for concrete situations rather than general ones, and for situations which are real or which might happen rather than abstract or imaginary situations. For example, you might use will to predict what how a particular person might react in a given situation, or where a particular person might be at a particular moment. In your example I think would is much better for this reason

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks a lot, Peter M. If so, what's the difference between the following sentences? The choice for using "will" and "would" is confusing me.

It will be very expensive to stay in a hotel.

It would be very expensive to stay in a hotel.

Hello Arsya,

In this case I think it is a question of whether the speaker is talking about something that is really happening/very likely (will) or is imaginary/hypothetical (would). For example, if the trip is certain to happen and the only question is one of accommodation, then the first example is most likely. If the trip is not certain to happen (perhaps because of the cost) then the second example is more likely.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks, Peter M. Can you give a dialogue for "will" and "would" so that it's clear to me?

Hello Arsya,

In the comments we try to provide answers to the questions our users have but it's not a place for us to teach lessons. We are a small team and we have many comments and questions every day so there is a limit to what we can do.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello team, I would be grateful if you could help me with the below. At first glance the below question looks like my previous question about "playing drums". On closer look it is not the same because the below is based on a past action whereas the "play drums" question is based on sth currently happening. Besides that, the below has a "would + past participle" as a possible answer. Mr and Mrs A hold a buffer style feast for the whole neighbourhood. Rice will be served and every guests will have to bring their own plates. Half an hour after all the guests have gone home, Mr and Mrs A clear up the tables. Mr A: Look! One guest has forgotten to take home his plate. There is not a single rice left on the plate. This guest ate every rice. I wonder who's plate it is. Mrs A: It must be Joe's plate; (a) Joe WILL eat every rice of his meal. (b) Joe WOULD eat every rice of his meal. (c) Joe WOULD HAVE eaten every rice his meal. Are (a), (b) and (c) all correct? Thank you.

'will' and 'would'

Beliefs

Willingness

Promises, offers and requests

Hypotheses and conditionals

Expressions with would

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