Will: form
Affirmative form
Willcomes first in the verb phrase in a statement (after the subject and before another verb). It is often contracted to’llin informal situations:
The next Olympic Gameswillbe in London.
I’llgive you a call at about 6 o’clock.
Willcannot be used with another modal verb:
Youwillbe obliged to sign a contract before starting employment.
Not:You will must sign a contract… orYou must will sign a contract…
Willcan be followed byhave toorbe able to:
You’ll havetolet me know when it arrives.
Shewillbe able tolive nearer her parents if she gets the job.
See also:
Mustandhave(got)to?
Negative form
The negative form ofwilliswon’t. We don’t usedon’t,doesn’t, didn’twithwill:
Theywon’ttell us very much until January.
Not:They don’t will tell us very much until January.
We use the full formwill notin formal contexts or when we want to emphasise something:
I’ll carry her but Iwill notpush a pram.
See also:
Modality: forms
Question form
The subject andwillchange position to form questions. We don’t usedo, does, did:
Willyou be home earlier tomorrow?
WillI be able to take this brochure home with me?
Willthe number be in the phone book?
Not:Does the number will be in the phone book?
We can usewillandwon’tin question tags:
You won’t forget to take the cake out of the oven,willyou?
It’ll take quite a long time to get there,won’tit?
Willor’ll?
We commonly use’llas the short form ofwillandshall. In speaking,willandshallare usually contracted to’ll, especially after subject pronouns (I,we,you,they,he,she,it):
We’llmeet you outside the coffee shop.(more common in speaking thanWe will meet you …)
However, in some contexts’llis normally the only choice. In such cases,’llis best not seen as a contraction of eitherwillorshall, but as an independent form.
As an independent form,’llis often used to indicate a personal decision:
There’s the cinema. We’llget out here and you can park the car over there.
Not:We shall/will get out…
A:Anyone want a drink?
B:I’llhave a tomato juice, please.
’llis also used for indicating decisions or arrangements wherewillorshallwould sound too direct and too formal:
OK. My diary says I’m free on Wednesday. So we’llmeet next Wednesday.
We’llget the train to Paris and then the Metro to the hotel. Naoe and Dave and the boys’lljoin us as soon as they’ve finished their meetings.
A noun phrase +’llis not normally acceptable in writing:
Jan’s fatherwillfetch you from the station.
Not:Jan’s father’ll fetch you…
’llis not used in a tag or a short answer:
[talking about the offer of a cheap hotel room]
A:But you’ll have to be quick. Everyone will be after it, won’t they?
B:Yeah, theywill.
Not:Yeah, they’ll.
See also:
Future:willandshall
Will: uses
Certainty in the future
One of the main uses ofwillis to refer to things in the future that we think are certain:
The roomswillbe redecorated but all the facilitieswillbe the same.
A:He’s still there at the moment.
B:He’llbe there until the new guy starts.
[talking to a child]
Willyou be 5 in September?
See also:
Modal verbs in past, present and future time
Making predictions
Willis used to make predictionsabout the future:
A:Have you decided what you are going to do with the car?
B:No. Father thinks it’llcost a lot of money to fix.
I think they’llbe off in January again.(they’ll be away, possibly on holiday)
Some predictions are about facts – things that we know always happen:
It’s all wool. It’llshrink if you wash it in hot water.
Some predictions are about the present:
That’llbe Katie shouting.(The speaker is certain. He or she makes a deduction because of what they know about the situation.)
Conditional sentences
We often usewill(or the contracted form’ll) in the main clauseof a conditional sentence when we talk about possible situations in the future:
If she gets the job, shewillhave to move to Germany.
I’lltake a day off if the weather’s fine next week.
See also:
Conditionals
Intentions and decisions
We usewillfor immediate intentions and decisions. We usually use’ll, notwill, afterI think:
When I go and see Marie, I think I’lltake her some flowers.
Whatwillyou do with that soup?Willyou just put it in the fridge or will you freeze it?
I think I’llhave some orange juice, actually.
We usewillandbe going tofor decisions, intentions and plans. We usewillwhen the decision is immediate andbe going towhen we have already made a plan:
A:It’s too expensive to fly on the Friday. Look it’s nearly £200. It’s only £25 to fly on Thursday.
B:We’llfly on Thursday then.
A:Great. That’llsave us lots of money.
We’regoingtodrive to Birmingham on Friday, and Saturday morning we’regoingtodrive to Edinburgh.
See also:
Future
Willingness and offers
Willis often used to express someone’s willingness to do something or to make offers. It is often used withIin this context:
I’llshow you where to go.
A:It’s just a leaflet that I’ve got.
B:Just the leaflet. Right,I’llgo and get you a brochure too.
I’llgive you a lift to the hotel.
Promises
We usewillto make promises:
I’llbe there for you. Don’t worry.
We’llalways love you.
See also:
Promise
Requests and invitations
We often make requests or invitations withwill:
Willyou pass me the salt?
This tastes good.Willyou give me the recipe?
Willyou come for dinner on Saturday?
Commands
We sometimes give commands or orders usingwill:
Willyou be quiet, please!
Willyou stop picking your nails!
It is also used to insist that someone does something:
But youwillhave to do it. You’ll have no choice.
[parent to child]
Youwillwear it whether you like it or not.
See also:
Commands and instructions
General truths
Willis used to describe something the speaker thinks is generally true:
[talking about making complaints at hospitals]
A:Do you think they should try and make it easier for people to complain?
B:No, cos some peoplewillalways complain. (cos=becausein informal speech)
Habitual events
Weusewillto refer to events that happen often:
[talking about a younger sister, Celia, who doesn’t eat properly;sherefers to Celia]
Celiawillstart to get upset if she has to eat cabbage or meat like chicken breast. My mumwillsay, ‘Just try it’. And she’llstart shaking her head and going, ‘No. I don’t want to’. Mumwillput it near her mouth and she’llstart to cough.
Disapproval
Willis also used to talk about repeated behaviour which the speaker does not like or approve of.Willis normally stressed here:
Hewillleave his clothes all over the floor. It drives me mad.(stronger thanHe leaves his clothes all over the floor.)
Inanimate objects (things)
Willmay be used to refer to inanimate objects and how they respond to humans, most typically in the negative formwon’t:
The carwon’tstart.
The doorwon’topen. It’s stuck.
Willandshall
We usewillfor all persons, but we often useshallwithIandwe.Will(’ll) isgenerally less formalthanshallwhen used withIandwe:
Simply complete the form and return it to me, and Ishallpersonally reserve your hotel room for you.
Weshalllook at a full report from the centre.
We’llsee you in the morning.
Shallalso has a special legal use for talking about rules and laws. In these cases, we often use it with third-person subjects:
According to the basic principle of human rights, peopleshallnot be discriminated against because of their nationality, race, age, sex, religion, occupation and social status.
Shallandwillare both used to talk about intentions and decisions.Shallis more formal thanwill.
| informal |
| formal |
In speaking’llis much more common thanwillandshall.
Willis much more common thanshallin both speaking and writing.
See also:
Wouldorwill?
Will: typical error
We usewillor’llto express intentions or decisions, or to make offers, not the present simple:
I’llnever go to her house again.
Not:I never go to her house again.
I’llhelp you with that suitcase.
Not:I help you with that suitcase.