# I will always



## nicole110

Hello, everyone. I have read such a sentence “Regardless of the time or place, you know that I will always love you”. The “will” here indicates that the author will love someone in the future or only indicates that the author just has the resolution and it does nothing to do with the tense?


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## Parla

"I will always love you" means what it says: I will continue to love you in the future.


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## taraa

Hi
What function does "will" have?
"Even in California the sun will sometimes vanish behind a cloud."


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## Uncle Jack

taraa said:


> Hi
> What function does "will" have?
> "Even in California the sun will sometimes vanish behind a cloud."


It is a modal verb which in this case means "may be expected to".

Of all the modal verbs in English, "will" is probably the hardest to grasp in meaning. Fortunately, except in its use to form the future tense, it is probably  the one you least need to use yourself. In this example, you could omit "will" and change "vanish" to the present tense "vanishes" with very little change in meaning.


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## taraa

Uncle Jack said:


> It is a modal verb which in this case means "may be expected to".
> 
> Of all the modal verbs in English, "will" is probably the hardest to grasp in meaning. Fortunately, except in its use to form the future tense, it is probably  the one you least need to use yourself. In this example, you could omit "will" and change "vanish" to the present tense "vanishes" with very little change in meaning.


Thank you so much
I thought it is used to refer to the future. Can't it refer to future in this sentence please?


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## Uncle Jack

taraa said:


> Thank you so much
> I thought it is used to refer to the future. Can't it refer to future in this sentence please?


No, not really. The sun must sometimes have vanished behind a cloud in the past as well, and there is no indicator that the writer is only thinking of the future. There are rather a lot of uses of "will" that don't refer to the future, and these can be difficult to understand when you encounter them. Fortunately, they don't appear very often.


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## taraa

Uncle Jack said:


> No, not really. The sun must sometimes have vanished behind a cloud in the past as well, and there is no indicator that the writer is only thinking of the future. There are rather a lot of uses of "will" that don't refer to the future, and these can be difficult to understand when you encounter them. Fortunately, they don't appear very often.


Thank you so much 

Can you please explain the function of "will" in the following sentence?
" Weathermen predict that with larger, more expensive helicopters they will be able to make the thickest fog vanish."


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## london calling

taraa said:


> Hi Uncle Jack
> Can you please explain the function of "will" in the following sentence?
> " Weathermen predict that with larger, more expensive helicopters they will be able to make the thickest fog vanish."


Will from the WR Dictionary:

auxiliary, modal verb. This word is used before the root form of the next verb

to indicate that the action of that verb is going to take place in the future: I will be there tomorrow.
to express willingness: Nobody will help us.
to express a command: You will report to the principal at once.
to mean "may be expected or supposed to'': You will not have forgotten him.
to express probability or to show what is likely: They will be asleep by this time, don't you think?
to express customary action: She will write for hours at a time. Boys will be boys.
to express capability: This couch will seat four.
I'd say it was no. 5.


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## taraa

london calling said:


> Will from the WR Dictionary:
> 
> auxiliary, modal verb. This word is used before the root form of the next verb
> 
> to indicate that the action of that verb is going to take place in the future: I will be there tomorrow.
> to express willingness: Nobody will help us.
> to express a command: You will report to the principal at once.
> to mean "may be expected or supposed to'': You will not have forgotten him.
> to express probability or to show what is likely: They will be asleep by this time, don't you think?
> to express customary action: She will write for hours at a time. Boys will be boys.
> to express capability: This couch will seat four.
> I'd say it was no. 5.


Thank you so much
How should I know it's no.5 please? Doesn't it speek about the future?


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## london calling

taraa said:


> Thank you so much
> How should I know it's no.5 please? Doesn't it speek about the future?


Yes, but it's a future possibility/probability, given that it's a prediction.


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## taraa

london calling said:


> Yes, but it's a future possibility/probability, given that it's a prediction.


Thanks again very much


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## SevenDays

taraa said:


> Thank you so much
> How should I know it's no.5 please? Doesn't it speek about the future?



All modal verbs can express two types of meaning: _deontic_ and _epistemic_.

_Deontic will_ most commonly has to do with "obligation," with some sort of command involved (_You will finish your dinner; You will call your mother; You will report to the principal's office_). _Deontic will_ also appears when there's _*will*ingness_ on the part of the subject (_If you will follow me, I will take you to our leader_).

_Epistemic will _relates to a "judgment" on the part of the speaker, so there's a sense of _prediction, likelihood, probability, possibility _involved, all based on some sort of evidence. _Epistemic will _represents the speaker's best guess. So, in:

_Even in California the sun *will* sometimes vanish behind a cloud_

There is no "obligation" or "willingness" on the part of the sun, so _deontic will_ is not involved. Rather, this is _epistemic will, _expressing a "judgment" by the speaker (a "prediction") based on the evidence of, for example, personal experience or simply science. In this sense, the prediction of _will _does not represent "100 percent certainty" (though it's close to it). For 100 percent certainty, we turn to the present tense: _Even in California the sun sometimes *vanishes* behind a cloud _(though keep in mind that "sometimes" _attenuates_ the certainty expressed in "vanishes").

But modal verbs are tricky, and sometimes the distinction between _deontic_ (obligation) and _epistemic_ (prediction) is not easy or perhaps even impossible to discern without knowing exactly what the speaker has in mind:

_Regardless of the time or place, you know that I *will *always love you_

Does "will" mean "deontic/obligation" (i.e. we are married, which means that I'm morally and legally bound to you) or does it mean "epistemic/judgment" (I have deep feelings for you, so of course I will always love you)? I suppose we are all romantics, so we see _epistemic will_ in this sentence, but _deontic will_ can't be ruled out.

And modal verbs do not express "tense," but they do refer to "time" in a specific sense (a point in the past, present, or future) or in an unbounded sense (any and all times).


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## taraa

Thank you very much SevenDays. You've explained very well.


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## taraa

Hi
What grammatical function does "will" have?
"As time goes on, we will eliminate traditions which are meaningless."


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## SevenDays

taraa said:


> Hi
> What grammatical function does "will" have?
> "As time goes on, we will eliminate traditions which are meaningless."



_As time goes on, we eliminate traditions which are meaningless. _(Without "will," the sentences means "habitual;" we _always _eliminate the traditions which are meaningless.)

_As time goes on, we *will *eliminate traditions which are meaningless. _
"Will" is a modal verb, and so we have to determine which of the two basic meanings that I mentioned in post #13 apply here. Is this "epistemic will" (suggestion "prediction/certainty/etc") or is this "deontic will" (suggesting "obligation/willingness/necessity")? We can't tell; isolated sentences are not helpful. What we do know is that "will eliminate" refers to the "future" (so it's not interpreted as "habitual").


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## taraa

SevenDays said:


> _As time goes on, we eliminate traditions which are meaningless. _(Without "will," the sentences means "habitual;" we _always _eliminate the traditions which are meaningless.)
> 
> _As time goes on, we *will *eliminate traditions which are meaningless. _
> "Will" is a modal verb, and so we have to determine which of the two basic meanings that I mentioned in post #13 apply here. Is this "epistemic will" (suggestion "prediction/certainty/etc") or is this "deontic will" (suggesting "obligation/willingness/necessity")? We can't tell; isolated sentences are not helpful. What we do know is that "will eliminate" refers to the "future" (so it's not interpreted as "habitual").


Thanks again sooooo much SevenDays 

Can you please explain "will" 's function in this sentence?

"They explore every part of the engine, body, and brakes; they do all kinds of tests with expensive machines. Best of alk, the comprehensive examination takes only about half an hour. With the clinic's report in your hand, no mechanic will0901 538 5900 be able to defraud you by telling you that you need major repairs when only a small repair is necessary."


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## DonnyB

taraa said:


> Can you please explain "will" 's function in this sentence?
> "They explore every part of the engine, body, and brakes; they do all kinds of tests with expensive machines. Best of all, the comprehensive examination takes only about half an hour. With the clinic's report in your hand, no mechanic will be able to defraud you by telling you that you need major repairs when only a small repair is necessary."


It's the standard use of the English future tense (see first example in post #9) 

To paraphrase, 'Once the test on your car has been completed, and you have the test report, no mechanic *will be able* (= _in the future_) to claim that there's something seriously wrong with it.


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## taraa

DonnyB said:


> It's the standard use of the English future tense (see first example in post #9)
> 
> To paraphrase, 'Once the test on your car has been completed, and you have the test report, no mechanic *will be able* (= _in the future_) to claim that there's something seriously wrong with it.


Thank you so much 
Isn't it for prediction or probability in the future?


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## london calling

taraa said:


> Thank you so much
> Isn't it for prediction or probability in the future?


No, it's a certainty.


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## taraa

london calling said:


> No, it's a certainty.


Thank you so much london calling
Is "will" sometimes for certainty and sometimes "probabity"?


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## Thomas Tompion

taraa said:


> Thank you so much london calling
> Is "will" sometimes for certainty and sometimes "probabity"?


Hello Taraa.

Do you think we can be certain about the future, then?


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## DonnyB

taraa said:


> Is "will" sometimes for certainty and sometimes "probability"?


I think that perhaps a better distinction to make would be _a statement of fact_ versus _a logical supposition_.


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## london calling

taraa said:


> Thank you so much london calling
> Is "will" sometimes for certainty and sometimes "probabity"?


As DonnyB says: To paraphrase, _'Once the test on your car has been completed, and you have the test report, no mechanic *will be able* (= in the future) to claim that there's something seriously wrong with it'._

Now, while I agree that the future can never truly be certain I do think that the person speaking was certain (or was persuaded that it was at least highly unlikely)  the no mechanic would ever be able to claim that there was something wrong with the car once a test report had been issued.


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## Thomas Tompion

london calling said:


> As DonnyB says: To paraphrase, _'Once the test on your car has been completed, and you have the test report, no mechanic *will be able* (= in the future) to claim that there's something seriously wrong with it'._


What if it breaks down almost immediately?  I think we must stay in a normal world.


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## london calling

Thomas Tompion said:


> What if it breaks down almost immediately?  I think we must stay in a normal world.


As I said: 

Now, while *I agree that the future can never truly be certain* *I do think that the person speaking was certain (or was persuaded that it was at least highly unlikely)* the no mechanic would ever be able to claim that there was something wrong with the car once a test report had been issued.


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## Thomas Tompion

nicole110 said:


> Hello, everyone. I have read such a sentence “Regardless of the time or place, you know that I will always love you”. The “will” here indicates that the author will love someone in the future or only indicates that the author just has the resolution and it does nothing to do with the tense?


The *will* indicates that he believes that as long as he lives this emotion will stay with him. 

It's not a matter of resolution, but of how he senses this feeling, and the tense is important in conveying his thought.


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## taraa

DonnyB said:


> I think that perhaps a better distinction to make would be _a statement of fact_ versus _a logical supposition_.


Thank you so much


london calling said:


> As I said:
> 
> Now, while *I agree that the future can never truly be certain* *I do think that the person speaking was certain (or was persuaded that it was at least highly unlikely)* the no mechanic would ever be able to claim that there was something wrong with the car once a test report had been issued.


Thank you so much


Thomas Tompion said:


> Hello Taraa.
> 
> Do you think we can be certain about the future, then?


Thank you so much
Aha, as london calling and Donnyb said "certainty" mean that "the speaker is certain" not "future is certain"?


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## PaulQ

If you think about the concept, the future cannot be certain, can it?


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## Thomas Tompion

taraa said:


> Thank you so much
> 
> Thank you so much
> 
> Thank you so much
> Aha, as london calling and Donnyb said "certainty" mean that "the speaker is certain" not "future is certain"?


Given that the future cannot be certain, how can the speaker be certain, other than about things like her present resolve or emotion?


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## taraa

PaulQ said:


> If you think about the concept, the future cannot be certain, can it?





Thomas Tompion said:


> Given that the future cannot be certain, how can the speaker be certain, other than about things like her present resolve or emotion?


Why do yo sometimes say this "will" is for certainty?


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## PaulQ

taraa said:


> Why do yo sometimes say this "will" is for certainty?


It is a normal/informal use that ignores the possibility of something that is highly unlikely to happen.


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## london calling

PaulQ said:


> It is a normal/informal use that ignores the possibility of something that is highly unlikely happening.


As I said above: 

_Now, while I agree that the future can never truly be certain I do think that the person speaking was certain (or was persuaded that it was at least highly unlikely) the no mechanic would ever be able to claim that there was something wrong with the car once a test report had been issued._


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## taraa

london calling said:


> As I said above:
> 
> _Now, while I agree that the future can never truly be certain I do think that the person speaking was certain (or was persuaded that it was at least highly unlikely) the no mechanic would ever be able to claim that there was something wrong with the car once a test report had been issued._





PaulQ said:


> It is a normal/informal use that ignores the possibility of something that is highly unlikely to happen.


But the person is certain?


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## PaulQ

I am not sure what you are asking, but it should be clear from all the previous answers.

"If you drop that vase on the floor, it will break." The person seems to be saying that it is certain to break, but you and I know that there is a very small chance that it will not break.


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## DonnyB

taraa said:


> But the person is certain?


Sorry, but I feel you're over-thinking this question of being "certain".  If you look at my post #24, you'll see I used the expression "statement of fact".

To use the example about the car being serviced, the garage mechanic might say to the customer "We will test it for you this afternoon" and /or "We will phone you when it's ready".  They're normal everyday uses of the future tense to describe a _future event_.  They're simple statements of fact. There's no need for the mechanic to say _"... but of course I can't be absolutely certain because the garage might get struck by lightning"_.  He and the customer both assume that that's not going to happen.


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## taraa

PaulQ said:


> I am not sure what you are asking, but it should be clear from all the previous answers.
> 
> "If you drop that vase on the floor, it will break." The person seems to be saying that it is certain to break, but you and I know that there is a very small chance that it will not break.


Thank you very much


DonnyB said:


> Sorry, but I feel you're over-thinking this question of being "certain".  If you look at my post #24, you'll see I used the expression "statement of fact".
> 
> To use the example about the car being serviced, the garage mechanic might say to the customer "We will test it for you this afternoon" and /or "We will phone you when it's ready".  They're normal everyday uses of the future tense to describe a _future event_.  They're simple statements of fact. There's no need for the mechanic to say _"... but of course I can't be absolutely certain because the garage might get struck by lightning"_.  He and the customer both assume that that's not going to happen.


Thank you very much


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## Thomas Tompion

taraa said:


> Why do yo sometimes say this "will" is for certainty?


I never have said anything of the kind, and wouldn't, because one cannot be certain about the future.


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## taraa

Thomas Tompion said:


> I never have said anything of the kind, and wouldn't, because one cannot be certain about the future.


I mean by "certainty" is what PaulQ said in below.
Thank you so much


PaulQ said:


> It is a normal/informal use that ignores the possibility of something that is highly unlikely to happen.


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## taraa

Thomas Tompion said:


> I never have said anything of the kind, and wouldn't, because one cannot be certain about the future.


Hi 
I found a sentence in the book.

"In the first six lessons you were taught 72 important words. The following exercises will test how well you learned some of those words."

How cann't "will" be 100 sure?


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## Thomas Tompion

taraa said:


> Hi
> I found a sentence in the book.
> 
> "In the first six lessons you were taught 72 important words. The following exercises will test how well you learned some of those words."
> 
> How cann't "will" be 100 sure?


Can we be 100% sure of anything about the future?

_* Will*_, in the sense you've been talking about, Taraa, is concerned with suppositions about the future.


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## taraa

Thomas Tompion said:


> Can we be 100% sure of anything about the future?
> 
> _* Will*_, in the sense you've been talking about, Taraa, is concerned with suppositions about the future.


Thank you so much
But I can't understand in the last sentence what suppositions exist. Cab you please explain?


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## Thomas Tompion

taraa said:


> Thank you so much
> But I can't understand in the last sentence what suppositions exist. Cab you please explain?


*Will* originates in a statement of intent.

We can be sure of our intentions but not that we will be able to carry them out.

*I'll come to see you tomorrow* means that I intend now to come to see you tomorrow.  It does not mean that it's certain that I will visit you tomorrow, because I might die of a heart attack this evening.


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## taraa

Thomas Tompion said:


> *Will* originates in a statement of intent.
> 
> We can be sure of our intentions but not that we will be able to carry them out.
> 
> *I'll come to see you tomorrow* means that I intend now to come to see you tomorrow.  It does not mean that it's certain that I will visit you tomorrow, because I might die of a heart attack this evening.


Thanks again very much 
I hope you always are in good health


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