Would vs will in English

This chapter will discuss the modal verb 'would' in English. In English this modal verb is used to talk about hypothetical situations.

Lesson outline

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1.Usage of would in English
2.How to form would in different sentences
3.Would vs will
3.1.When to use would
3.2.When to use will
4.Exercises
4.1.Choose 'would' or 'will' in English
4.2.Practice the difference between 'would' and 'will' in English

Usage of would in English

The table below will show the different situations 'would' can be used.

Use	Example
For unreal situations	I would love to go to New York. She would like to be a doctor.
As a past tense of 'will'	He said he would not come today. They would join, but didn't.
In conditional sentences	If I had a million dollar, I would buy a villa. If she had studied harder, she would have passed the test.
to refuse something using 'would not'	He would not let me borrow his jacket. She would not let me go to the club tonight.
For repeated actions in the past	When she was young she would go to soccer training every week. When we were young we would always go on vacation to France.

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How to form would in different sentences

Subject	Affirmatives	Negatives	Interrogatives
I	would ...	would not ...	Would I ...?
You	would ...	would not ...	Would you ...?
He, she, it	would ...	would not ...	Would he, she, it ...?
We	would ...	would not ...	Would we ...?
You	would ...	would not ...	Would you ...?
They	would ...	would not ...	Would they ...?

Examples

They would like to go out tonight.
She would not have gone to school, if you had not been there.
Would you like to have dinner with us?

Would vs will

Both 'would' and 'will' are modal verbs. As shown in the table above 'would' could be seen as the past tense of 'will'. Below you will find two tables explaining the difference between using 'would' and using 'will'.

When to use would

The table below shows the main differences between using 'would' compared to 'will'.

'Would'	Example
'Would' can only be used as the past tense of 'will' when it describes an event in the past talked about in the future.	"Mike said she would go to the library," said Joan. "He said he would help her," said Mike.
'Would' is used in the second and third conditionals.	If you went to bed earlier, you would not be so tired. If I had known you were coming I would have bought something to eat.
'Would' is used to talk about invitations, requests, permissions, preferences and making arragements.	I would prefer to eat soup tonight. Would I be able to leave early today?

When to use will

The table below shows the situations 'will' is used as a modal verb.

'Will'	Example
'Will' is used to talk about a future action.	I will go to the supermarket today. She will organise the party.
'Will' is used in the first conditional.	If you do not arrive on time, I will be very mad. If I have time, I will finish that final paper.
'Will' is used to talk about decisions, offers, promises and predictions.	I will do my homework after dinner. She will spend a lot of money at the store.