 | > Other English exercises on the same topics: BE, HAVE, DO, DID, WAS... | Frequent mistakes | Idioms [Change theme] |
| > Similar tests: - Placement test beginners: Check your spelling - Past simple or present perfect - Questions : how to ask them - Although / in spite of / despite - Differences between Like and As - Again/ back - FOR and its use - Do or Make? | |
| > Double-click on words you don't understand |
Will/ would for beginners - English lesson
1) WILL et WOULD : auxiliaries of the FUTURE and the CONDITIONAL.
Sequence ot tenses: simple present => future// preterite+> conditional.
a) In the affirmative form (Auxiliary) WILL => Subject + WILL ('ll)/ WOULD + Base form of the Verb.
- If Jim doesn't obey, I'll punish him.
- Mum hoped her kid would win the match.
b) In the interrogative form: in the future = Subject and Auxiliary inversion. ( no contractions)
WILL/ WOULD + Subject + Base Verb?
- Will you lend him your car if he asks you to?
- Would she be angry if he lied to her ?
c) In the negative form: insert NOT between the auxiliary and the Base Verb:
Subject + WILL + not + base Verb. Contracted form = 'won't'.
- He won't come here, though he promised to.
- I knew he wouldn't be on time as he left home too late.
2) WILL ET WOULD : WILLPOWER, CHOICE, CONSENT, INTENTION.
Affirmative Form = willpower: Of course, I'll win the match! (= because I want it).
Negative Form = refusal: I knew he was stubborn and wouldn't yield! (= He refused to yield)
The refusal is even extended to objects which may oppose human beings and seem to have a will of their own.
- My car won't start! = My car refuses to start! and the door won't open : It's stuck! and the door refuses to open, it's stuck!
3) The FREQUENTATIVE FORM: 
This third form of will/would corresponds to an attitude or to a repetitive behaviour: it's the frequentative form...
a) In the future, it corresponds to a regular attitude: frequent in proverbs:
'Blood will tell'! ; 'Boys will be boys!' ; 'When the cat's away, the mice will play!'
b) In the affirmative form of the future, "will" often corresponds to an obstination (it is stressed) and in the interrogative form, it sounds like an 'order':
- He will come in without knocking! What a lack of education...
- Will you be quiet, please?
c) In the past (conditional), it often expresses the repetition of some facts which seem to characterise a person:
- Granny would cook delicious cookies!
- She would cuddle us and tell us stories every night before we went to sleep.
To conclude... Before starting studying a text, or translating a text, you should wonder whether will/would are:
* expressions of the future/ conditional= 'SIMPLE FUTURE' OR 'FUTURE IN THE PAST'
* expressions of a person's willpower= 'WILL POWER'
* expressions of a habit= frequentative form! = 'CHARACTERISTIC HABIT'
BE CAREFUL! In the following exercise, for the first three sentences, FIRST, you'll be asked to choose the right verbal form of WILL/WOULD, THEN to find the value (meaning) of the modal (as it is formulated in the conclusion above! ) Then, for the rest of the exercise, simply choose "the right answer"!
Good luck for the exercise ... I give you the FORCE
Twitter ShareEnglish exercise "Will/ would for beginners" created by here4u with The test builder. [More lessons & exercises from here4u]
Click here to see the current stats of this English test
Please log in to save your progress.End of the free exercise to learn English: Will/ would for beginners
A free English exercise to learn English.
Other English exercises on the same topics : BE, HAVE, DO, DID, WAS... | Frequent mistakes | Idioms | All our lessons and exercises
