'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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Average

Hi Jembut,

The speaker of answer B uses 'would' because the correction (i.e. 'I/we tied the knot 42 years ago') is not what person A actually said. That is, 'would' shows what the person hypothetically should have said at that time, but did not say in reality.

It would be less common to use 'is'. If you say 'in your sentence it is "I/we tied the knot ..."'), it's a bit confusing because actually, person A's sentence is NOT that. Person A's sentence is the original sentence (i.e., the incorrect version), not the corrected version.

But you could use 'is' if you rephrase the sentence a bit to clarify this, e.g. '... so in your sentence, the correct form is ...'. This is a more direct correction, compared to the 'would' version. It states the correct form in a clear and factual way. But because of this, it may seem too forceful or uncompromising (i.e. it sounds like the person is saying 'You must say this instead - this is the only acceptable answer'). The 'would' version makes the correction less direct, and may seem more polite for that reason.

I hope that helps :)

Jonathan

Thanks,Jonathan. I see you use "would" in your sentence "It would be less commom to use "is". Could you explain why you use "would"?

Hi Jembut,

It's for the same reason that I mentioned above. I want to advise you not to use 'is' in that context, and I want to give my advice in a polite way (i.e., less directly than saying, for example, "Do not use 'is'" or "It is wrong to use 'is'" or "It is less common to use 'is'". These may sound too forceful or prescriptive). :)

Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks, Jonathan. I'm beginning to understand now. How about this sentence? Here is an explanation of my English grammar book about the word "rouse".

To rouse somebody is to wake them up, make them interested, make them excited etc.

It is extremely difficult to rouse my father in the mornings. (In an informal style, ... to wake my father up... <strong>would</strong> be much more natural.

There is a 'would' here. So why does the writer use it rather than "is"? Hypothetical or advise?

Hi Jembut,

Yes, it could be hypothetical. The actual sentence is "It is extremely difficult to rouse my father in the mornings". The version with "wake my father up" was not actually said in this example sentence, so we are just imagining it (i.e., it is hypothetical).

The use of "would" could also be to give advice. The writer is advising the reader not to use "rouse" in informal situations, and perhaps wants to avoid sounding too forceful or dogmatic.

These two meanings are not mutually exclusive, and in fact they often occur together.

Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks, Jonathan. But it's also correct to use "is", isn't it? In an informal situation "...to wake my father up..." is much more natural. It's difficul for me to decide whether I should use "is" or "would" since both is interchangeable. So, could you explan in what situation I should use "is" or "would"?

In an informal situation, "...to wake my father up..." is much more natural.
In an informal situation, "...to wake my father up..." would be much more natural.

Hi Jembut,

Yes, it is also grammatically correct, and people do say that! It depends on the situation.

An important thing to understand here is that what is grammatically correct and what is acceptable or appropriate in a situation are two different things. Something can be grammatically correct but not appropriate in the particular situation. So, we need to understand the social norms of the situation (i.e., the purpose of the conversation, and the relationship between the speaker and listener) in order to decide which word is more appropriate. And, many times, both will be appropriate.

Your first sentence ("... is much more natural") uses the present tense, which is often used for rules or facts. If a speaker says this, he/she is presenting a rule of the language to the listener, and telling the listener to follow it. This may be totally fine in some situations (e.g., a teacher explaining rules to a class, or a parent teaching a child). But it may be inappropriate in other situations. If I don't know you well, for example, I might not want to tell you what to do directly. That might show you that I consider myself to be superior to you (i.e., I am right and you are wrong; you must do what I say). It may be embarrassing and impolite. That's what I meant in my previous messages when I wrote about sounding too forceful. Somebody may choose "would" in order to avoid this effect.

Also, to say "... is much more natural" is an absolute statement. It does not admit any possibility of a different opinion about what sounds natural - it simply states a rule that the listener must follow. However, different opinions are possible. People disagree about what is more natural - it involves subjective judgement. And there is a lot of variety in English usage around the world. Also, in reality, grammatical correctness is not the only factor in what we choose say. For example, people sometimes break grammar rules in order to make creative new expressions. If I simply give you a rule and tell you to follow it, it may oversimplify how people actually use language in real life.

Added to these reasons, in this particular example, as I mentioned before, the version with "wake my father up" was not actually said in the example sentence (i.e., it's a hypothetical version of the example). This also shows that the choice of "would" or "is" also depends on things said in the rest of the conversation (which is another aspect of the situation).

So in summary, I don't think it is possible to make a simple statement about when to use "is" or "would". The reason is that these words are not used only for their meaning or grammatical function. They are often chosen for a social function. So, when you choose which word to use, you should consider what level of politeness and directness is appropriate in the situation ("is" is more direct and possibly less polite; "would" is less direct and more polite). To decide this, you will need to consider the reason why you are communicating, what was said in the rest of the conversation, and your relationship with the other person.

Sorry to write so much but I hope it somehow helps :)

Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team

Wow, thanks very much for the explanation, Jonathan. What a briliant expalanation. I really get it now. Very clear.

Does "would" mean "could be" in this sentence? To register a shot on target means to have a shot on target. In this example, United have not troubled the keeper - they have not had any shots on target. Another way of saying 'on target' would be 'on goal' - the team did not register a shot on goal.

The game is today, but why is the speaker talking about an uneal situation? Shouldn't it use "will"? Why is "would" used? Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live commentary of the Premier League encounter between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United. The clash is crucial at both ends of the table, with Wolves currently sitting in the bottom three, while victory for United would move Sir Alex Ferguson's side four points clear of Manchester City at the summit.

Hello Crokong,

It's certainly possible to use 'will' here but commentators are expected to be neutral and fair to both sides of a game, and 'will' would give the impression that the commentator is not strictly neutral. A fan would be more likely to use 'will' as they would want to express their faith in their team.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi team, I am wondering about the meaning of “would be” in the below sentence, is this “would be= past tense of will” or it is “would be = guessing like ‘could be’”? “Do you ever think it would be a good idea to allow exceptions to rules? Then the adjective good would have an adverb goodly.” Regards, Kiran

Hi kiranpn,

I think would here is used because the speaker is not asking about a real situation but rather a hypothetical one. No-one has the power to allow or not allow exceptions in this way, so the question is not about a real possibility.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you, Peter. So, the “would” on above sentence is more likely conditional and like the past tense of will, where the first clause is implied (if I had to make a decision). Not like this definition of “would” by Cambridge dictionary: used to refer to what is very likely: would modal verb(probability) "The guy on the phone had a Southern accent." "That would be Tom. Regards, Kiran

Hello Kiran,

Yes, I think that's correct. The Cambridge Dictionary explanation refers to the use of would to draw a logical conclusion, not to refer to possible futures.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I would like to know the use of would in this sentence. "Trezeguet rocket bursts Gunners’ bubble and lifts Villa out of drop zone.’ Well, a rocket in football is usually associated with a really hard shot – an unstoppable shot – and so here the sentence means that the Aston Villa player Trezeguet has scored against Arsenal (The Gunners) with an unstoppable shot. By the way, to shatter or break their dreams and of course his goal meant that Aston Villa moved out of the bottom three – the relegation zone. By the way, other words for a really hard shot in football include thunderbolt, screamer or a sweet strike.

Hello Plokonyo,

I don't see 'would' in any of the sentences there.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, this sentence uses "would", then what's the difference by just saying without woud To operate in football mean where a player ‘works’ or plays on the pitch. To operate in football would mean where a player ‘works’ or plays on the pitch. So, in this example, Pepe is stationed or positioned on the right – that is where he will do most of his work – we would expect to see Pepe on the right hand side.

Hello Gendeng,

I think we've given you qute a few explanations of why we use would in sentences similar to this, so perhaps you can try to explain it yourself and we'll tell you if you are correct or not.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

What is the use of "would" in the following conversation? American English: Excuse me. Could you open the window? British English: Excuse me. Could you please open the window? In American English, please in that context would be an expression of impatience.) Is it wrong if I replace it with "is"? In American English, please in that context is be an expression of impatience.)

Hi Jembut,

In this example, the American English speaker says Excuse me. Could you open the window?, and we understand this as reflecting what American English speakers normally say in real life. Please is not included in that sentence (because, as it points out, using please in that context may seem rude to American English speakers).

So, if we imagine the American English speaker saying please in that context, we are imagining a hypothetical situation (i.e., it's unlikely that an American English speaker would actually say that; it's not normal or usual in real life), because it sounds rude, and people normally try to avoid that. That's why would is used. It shows us that speakers are unlikely to actually use please in that context.

It's grammatically correct if you use is instead of would be, but using is may give the idea that using please in that situation is more common than it actually is.

Does that make sense?

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks, Jonathan. How about the following? How does "would" work? Question A: Can we ask: Are you well? when we mean Are you OK? For example: You see someone who might need help or has gone pale. Answer B: In that context it would be natural to ask "Are you unwell?", but "Are you OK?" is more colloquial.

Hi Jembut,

Would is used because the situation they are talking about is hypothetical. As A says Can we ask ...? and for example, it shows that this situation is one that he/she is imagining, and not one that really or necessarily happened.

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks, Jonathan. I read my grammar book and see such a plain would be disastrous. What does "would actually mean?

Hello Jembut,

I think the word should be 'plan' rather than 'plain' here.

Without knowing the full context in which the sentence is used it's hard to be sure. However, perhaps you can answer your own question! You can see the context and we've given you a lot of explanations of the various uses of would in answers to various questions. Perhaps you can suggest how you think would is being used here and we'll tell you if we agree.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I think would is used to sound less direct or a past form of will. In other words, the speaker is not sure about the plan. I suppose that "is" and "will" is also corrrect here. Is my understanding right?

Hello again Jembul,

I think that's a good analysis. The speaker does not expect the plan to become reality and is effectively saying 'If we did this, it would be disastrous'.

As you say, you could use 'will' here. This would signify that the speaker expects the plan to become reality. You could also use 'is'. This would signify that the plan is already reality and the speaker is assessing its effects.

Well done!

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

The following sentence is from my grammar book. What is meant by "definite enquiry" and "less difinite, more hesitant enquiry" in the use "will" and "would"? Will you be able to babysit tomorrow night (definite enquiry) Would you be able to babysit tomorrow night (less definite, more hesitant enquiry)

Hello whitekrystal,

These are both requests. Will in requests is more direct than would. When we use would we are telling the other person that we understand that there is a chance they will refuse, so it is more tentative and generally more polite. Effectively would tells the other person that you will understand if they cannot help us.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello all. What is the meaning of would here? The verb "to float" in football is used to describe a ball in the air that is not moving so fast. To float a ball into the penalty area would be to cross the ball in the air – but maybe without much power behind it. If the ball floats wide of the post it means that the attempt (a header) missed as it lacked direction and power. Tuesday would suit me very well for a meeting

Hello Jembut,

It's possible to define a word using facts from the real world (breaking the speed limit is driving faster than the law allows) or by imagining a situation (breaking the speed limit would be driving 110 km/h in a place where the law allows only 90 km/h). Your first example is a hypothetical situation of this type.

In your second example 'would' is used to add a degree of politeness. You could use 'will' insread, but the sentence would be more direct then.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks, Peter M. You used "would" in your sentence, what does it mean? If I use "is", is it wrong? You could use 'will' instead, but the sentence would be more direct then. You could use 'will' insread, but the sentence is more direct then.

Hello again Jembut,

Would here has a hypothetical meaning - I am talking about a sentence which you did not say.

I don't think I would use 'is' here but that's not to say that it is not possible. Using 'is' would suggest that you see the sentence as a real sentence which exists (in your 'mental box' of sentences, say) but which you have chosen not to deploy. It's really a question of how the speaker wishes to present the language.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I'm sure "would" in your sentence is hypothetical.

Using 'is' would suggest that you see the sentence as a real sentence which exists...

But I think it's not wrong to say without "would": "using 'is' suggest that you see the sentence as real sentence whicb exists".

But the choise is difficult as to whether I should "is" or "would".

Hello all. I'm sure that "would" in this context means the same thing as "might". Am I right? This week’s English for football phrase is to score a brace. A brace means two of the same thing and comes from hunting – a brace of guns might be two pistols, a brace of birds would be two birds that had been shot for food. In football, you can score a brace, two goals (We use this phrase to describe one player scoring two goals – they scored a brace).

Hello Selet,

I think it's better to say that 'would' indicates a hypothetical situation in this case. In other words, if you were in a hunting context, a brace of birds would be two birds that someone had hunted.

'hypothetical' means something like 'imaginary'. 'might' refers to a possibility, which in a way is also imaginary, but in English we make a distinction between an imagined (hypothetical) situation and possibility.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Kirk. In an example sentences of my book explain as follows: It is a cat. (Fact). It will be a cat. (Probability) It would/might be a cat. (Possibility)

Hi Dwishiren,

I'm just replying for Kirk :)

It's a bit tricky to see the meaning of these modal verbs in isolated sentences like the ones you mentioned. As you probably know, modal verbs have several different meanings, and some uses are more common than others. Even if would and might can both mean possibility, I think might is more typically used for this meaning.

Going back to Selet's original example, I agree with Kirk that would indicates a hypothetical situation. Notice a slight difference between these phrases.

a brace of guns might be two pistols - A pistol is one type of gun. But, other types of gun exist (e.g. rifles). That may be the reason why the speaker used 'might'. 'Two pistols' is an example of what 'a brace of guns' may mean - but it's not the only possibility.
a brace of birds would be two birds that had been shot for food - in the context of hunting, that is certainly what 'a brace of birds' means. There's no other possible interpretation (as there was with 'a brace of guns'). This may be why the speaker uses 'would' - to show what 'a brace of birds' means in this hypothetical situation (i.e. we are imagining a situation in which somebody says 'a brace of birds').

I hope that helps.

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Does "would" show possiblity here? To rouse somebody is to wake them up, make them interested, make them excited etc. It is extremely difficult to rouse my father in the mornings. (In an informal style, ... to wake my father up... would be much more natural)

Hello Jembut,

If I understand the context correctly, I'd say it's talking about hypothetical situation. In other words, the speaker is imagining an informal situation and is imagining what it would be like.

Hope this helps. If I've misunderstood, please explain in more detail.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

I know how busy you must be and naturally I wouldn't want to take up too much of your time Why there is Wouldn’t instead of Don’t or Won’t? Could you please give me some examples of it?

Hello amit_ck,

All three of those forms are possible here; each suggests that the speaker is thinking about the situation in a slightly different way. 'wouldn't', for example, being more hypothetical, could suggest the speaker sees it as unlikely, but in many cases it could also simply be a more polite way of making the request. (One way in which we express politeness in English is to speak about a hypothetical situation, which is considered to be less of an imposition.)

The other two forms, being more immediate, are generally less polite, though not necessarily rude.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Could you explain the use of "would" in this sentence? The adjective ‘textbook‘ is used when you want to describe something done well, and done in the correct way. Usually, textbook is a noun, and it is a manual that you learn from – a ‘how to’ book. Coaches will learn their jobs by suing textbooks on football tactics and son on. When used as an adjective it means something is done in an orthodox way, as described in a textbook. So, a textbook tackle is a tackle that you learn to do when you are training; it is a perfect example of how to make a tackle. A textbook penalty would be a penalty that coaches teach you to take – probably low and hard ion the corner.

Hello Crokong,

Would is used because the speaker is not talking about a particular penalty in reality but rather an imagined perfect penalty.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks Peter M. So, does the "would" mean imagined? A textbook penalty is imagined a penalty...

Hello again Crokong,

Yes, it is imagined. You are not describing a real penalty but rather an imagined perfect penalty.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I sometimes find "would" used in this sentence, what does it actually mean? And if I change it with "is", is it wrong? A: Which is correct? They reached the oasis, walking / having been walking across the desert all day. B: 'Having been walking' would be OK, but more likely, I think, would be 'having walked

Hello Plokonyo,

It's difficult to talk about sentences without knowing what situation they're supposed to be used in and particularly when they're just made up, but I'll try to make a few points that I think will help you. Please know, however, that we just don't have the time to do this very often for our users.

A. This sounds a little unnatural to me. If the idea is they reached the oasis by walking, I'd say 'They reached the oasis by walking across the desert' or perhaps 'They walked through the desert all day to reach the oasis'. It depends on how the sentence fits in with the rest of the narrative.

B. Yes, 'having been walking' is a grammatical form, but is quite unusual and doesn't really work here. You could say 'Having walked across the desert all day, they reached the oasis'. You can read more about this structure on our participle clauses page.

If in B you were asking about the word 'would', here it's used to express a hypothetical situation, i.e. 'If I said this, it would be OK'.

Hope this helps.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

What is the usage of "would" here? When we say 'I need to go to the bathroom' we are talking about the physical need, not the room. You could say 'I need to go to the bathroom' in the middle of a field or a forest, for example! If we want to talk about the room then we would use 'a' or 'the' depending on the situation

Hello Gendeng,

Would is often used to express preferences or choices in phrases like I'd like (I would like), I'd say, I'd choose, I'd want, I'd prefer etc.

Grammatically speaking, you could argue that the if-clause should have a past form (If we wanted...) but I think the best way to look at would here is in the context of expressing an opinion or preference.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

'will' and 'would'

Beliefs

Willingness

Promises, offers and requests

Hypotheses and conditionals

Expressions with would

Online courses