Common mistakes | Correct version | Why? |
---|---|---|
- The phone's ringing.
- |
Ok - I'll answerOption it. | If the action is decided at the moment of speaking, we use 'will' / 'will not'. |
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I'm sure he will help you. | When we say what we think or expect, we use 'will'. |
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I probably won't be there.
I'll probably be there. |
The adverbs 'definitely' and 'probably' comes before 'won't' but after 'will'. |
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I promise I'll help. | After 'promise' we usually use 'will', not the 'going to' future. |
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I'll call you when I come to my office. | When we refer to the future in adverbial clauses, we normally use the present simple (after 'when', 'as soon as' and 'until'). |
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If you give me your address, I'll send you a postcard. | When we refer to the future in conditional clauses, we normally use the present simple. |
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I can't see you next week. I am returning/am going to return to Paris. | To show that the decision was made in the past, we use the present continuous or the 'going to' future. |
Positive | Negative | Question |
---|---|---|
I will help. | I will not help. | WillI help? |
You will help. | You will not help. | Will you help? |
We will help. | We will not help. | Will we help? |
They will help. | They will not help. | Will they help? |
He will help. | He will not help. | Will he help? |
She will help. | She will not help. | Will she help? |
It will help. | It will not help. | Willit help? |
I'll (I will) be there tomorrow. |
I won't (will not) be there tomorrow. | Will you be there tomorrow? |
Positive | Negative | Question |
---|---|---|
I am going to leave. | I am not going to leave. | Am I going to leave? |
You are going to leave. | You are not going to leave. | Are you going to leave? |
We are going to leave. | We are not going to leave. | Are we going to leave? |
They are going to leave. | They are not going to leave. | Are they going to leave? |
He is going to leave. | He is not going to leave. | Is he going to leave? |
She is going to leave. | She is not going to leave. | Is she going to leave? |
It is going to leave. | It is not going to leave. | Is it going to leave? |
"Will" often suggests that a speaker will do something voluntarily. A voluntary action is one the speaker offers to do for someone else. Often, we use "will" to respond to someone else's complaint or request for help. We also use "will" when we request that someone help us or volunteer to do something for us. Similarly, we use "will not" or "won't" when we refuse to voluntarily do something.
"Will" is usually used in promises.
"Be going to" expresses that something is a plan. It expresses the idea that a person intends to do something in the future. It does not matter whether the plan is realistic or not.
Both "will" and "be going to" can express the idea of a general prediction about the future. Predictions are guesses about what might happen in the future. In "prediction" sentences, the subject usually has little control over the future and therefore USES 1-3 do not apply. In the following examples, there is no difference in meaning.
In the Simple Future, it is not always clear which USE the speaker has in mind. Often, there is more than one way to interpret a sentence's meaning.
Like all future forms, the Simple Future cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of Simple Future,Simple Present is used.
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.