What is the difference between will and would?
will | would |
(archaic) Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.)
One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention.
One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands.
(archaic) That which is desired; one's wish.
* 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , III.ii:
The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition.
* {{quote-news
, year=2012
, date=May 27
, author=Nathan Rabin
, title=TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992)
, work=The Onion AV Club
A formal declaration of one's intent concerning the disposal of one's property and holdings after death; the legal document stating such wishes.
* {{quote-book, year=1928, author=Lawrence R. Bourne
, title=Well Tackled!
, chapter=1 (archaic) To wish, desire.
* Bible, Matthew viii. 2
(intransitive) To instruct (that something be done) in one's will.
To try to make (something) happen by using one's will (intention).
* Shakespeare
* Beaumont and Fletcher
To bequeath (something) to someone in one's will (legal document).
(rare) To wish, desire (something).
* 1944 , FJ Sheed, translating St. Augustine, Confessions :
(rare) To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that).
* 1526 , William Tyndale, trans. Bible , Matthew XXVI:
*:
(auxiliary) To habitually do (a given action).
* 1994 , Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom , Abacus 2010, p. 28:
* 2009 , Stephen Bayley, The Telegraph , 24 Sep 09:
* 2011 , "Connubial bliss in America", The Economist :
(auxiliary) To choose to (do something), used to express intention but without any temporal connotations (+ bare infinitive).
(auxiliary) Used to express the future tense, formerly with some implication of volition when used in first person. Compare (shall).
* (rfdate) William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night Or What You Will , act IV:
* (rfdate) Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo , chapter LXXIII:
(auxiliary) To be able to, to have the capacity to.
(lb) As a past-tense form of (will).
#(lb) Wished, desired (something).
#(lb) Wanted to ( + bare infinitive).
#*1852 , James Murdock, trans. Johann Lorenz Mosheim, Institutes of Ecclesiastical History , II.7.iii:
#*:The Greeks, especially those who would be thought adepts in mystic theology, ran after fantastic allegories.
#Used to; was or were habitually accustomed to ( + bare infinitive); indicating an action in the past that happened repeatedly or commonly.
#*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4
, passage=No matter how early I came down, I would' find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man ' would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.}}
#*2009 , "Soundtrack of my life", The Guardian , 15 March:
#*:When we were kids we would sit by the radio with a tape recorder on a Sunday, listening out for the chart songs we wanted to have.
#Used with bare infinitive to form the "anterior future", indicating a futurity relative to a past time.
#*1867 , (Anthony Trollope), (w) , Ch.28:
#*:That her Lily should have been won and not worn, had been, and would be, a trouble to her for ever.
#*
#*:Thanks to that penny he had just spent so recklessly [on a newspaper] he would pass a happy hour, taken, for once, out of his anxious, despondent, miserable self. It irritated him shrewdly to know that these moments of respite from carking care would not be shared with his poor wife, with careworn, troubled Ellen.
#*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 5, author=Phil Dawkes, work=BBC Sport
, title= #(lb) Used with ellipsis of the infinitive verb, or postponement to a relative clause, in various senses.
#*1724 , (Daniel Defoe), , Penguin p.107:
#*:He sat as one astonish'd, a good-while, looking at me, without speaking a Word, till I came quite up to him, kneel'd on one Knee to him, and almost whether he would or no, kiss'd his Hand.
#*1846 , "A New Sentimental Journey", Blackwoods Magazine , vol.LX, no.372:
#*:If I could fly, I would away to those realms of light and warmth – far, far away in the southern clime.
#Was determined to; loosely, could naturally have been expected to (given the tendencies of someone's character etc.).
#*1835 , (Charles Dickens), (Sketches by Boz) , V:
#*:Then he took to breeding silk-worms, which he would bring in two or three times a day, in little paper boxes, to show the old lady.
#*2009 , "Is the era of free news over?", The Observer ,
#*:The free access model, the media magnate said last week, was "malfunctioning". Well he would , wouldn't he?
(lb) As a modal verb, the subjunctive of will.
#Used to give a conditional or potential "softening" to the present; might, might wish.
#*2008 , Mark Cocker, "Country Diary", The Guardian , 3 November:
#*:It's a piece of old folklore for which I would love to find hard proof.
#Used as the auxiliary of the simple conditional modality (with a bare infinitive); indicating an action or state that is conditional on another.
#*2010 , The Guardian , 26 February:
#*:Warnock admitted it would be the ideal scenario if he received a Carling Cup winners' medal as well as an England call-up.
#
#*1859 , (John Bunyan), (w, The Pilgrim's Progress) ,
#*:I presently wished, would' that I had been in their clothes! '''would''' that I had been born Peter! ' would that I had been born John!
#*1868 , Sir (Walter Scott), (Ivanhoe) , Ch.23:
#*:I would she had retained her original haughtiness of disposition, or that I had a larger share of Front-de-Bœuf's thrice-tempered hardness of heart!
#Used to impart a sense of hesitancy or uncertainty to the present; might be inclined to. Now sometimes colloquially with ironic effect.
#*2009 , Nick Snow, The Rocket's Trail , p.112:
#*:“Those trials are being run by the American army so surely you must have access to the documents?” “Well, yeah, you’d think.”
#*2010 , (Terry Pratchett), "My case for a euthanasia tribunal", The Guardian ,
#*:Departing on schedule with the help of a friendly doctor was quite usual. Does that still apply? It would seem so.
#Used interrogatively to express a polite request; are (you) willing to …?
#:
#
#*1608 , (William Shakespeare), (King Lear) , I.4:
#*:What dost thou professe? What would’st thou with vs?
Would is a related term of will.
In archaic terms the difference between will and would
is that will is to wish, desire while would is used with ellipsis of the infinitive verb, or postponement to a relative clause, in various senses.As a noun will
is desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses..As a proper noun Will
is a diminutive=William given name. Also used as a formal given name.will
English
(wikipedia will)Etymology 1
From (etyl) wille, from (etyl) . Cognate with Dutch wil, German Wille, Swedish vilja. The verb is not always distinguishable from Etymology 2, below.Noun
(en noun)- He felt a great will to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
- Of course, man's will is often regulated by his reason.
- Eventually I submitted to my parents' will .
- I auow by this most sacred head / Of my deare foster child, to ease thy griefe, / And win thy will [...].
- Most creatures have a will to live.
citation, page= , passage=The episode’s unwillingness to fully commit to the pathos of the Bart-and-Laura subplot is all the more frustrating considering its laugh quota is more than filled by a rollicking B-story that finds Homer, he of the iron stomach and insatiable appetite, filing a lawsuit against The Frying Dutchman when he’s hauled out of the eatery against his will after consuming all of the restaurant’s shrimp (plus two plastic lobsters).}}
citation, passage=“Uncle Barnaby was always father and mother to me,” Benson broke in; then after a pause his mind flew off at a tangent. “Is old Hannah all right—in the will , I mean?”}}
Usage notes
* Can be said to be strong, free, independent, etc.Derived terms
* at will * wilful, willful * willpower * with a willVerb
- And behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord if thou wilt , thou canst make me clean.
- All the fans were willing their team to win the game.
- They willed me say so, madam.
- Send for music, / And will the cooks to use their best of cunning / To please the palate.
- He willed his stamp collection to the local museum.
Synonyms
* (bequeath) bequeath, leaveSee also
* bequeath * going to * modal verb * testament * volition * voluntaryEtymology 2
From (etyl) willen, wullen, wollen, from (etyl) willan, .It is not always distinguishable from Etymology 1, above.Verb
- Grant what Thou dost command, and command what Thou wilt .
- the disciples cam to Jesus sayinge unto hym: where wylt thou that we prepare for the to eate the ester lambe?
- see God's goodwill toward men, hear how generally his grace is proposed, to him, and him, and them, each man in particular, and to all. 1 Tim. ii. 4. "God will that all men be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth."
- As young men will , I did my best to appear suave and sophisticated.
- How telling is it that many women will volunteer for temporary disablement by wearing high heeled shoes that hobble them?
- So far neither side has scored a decisive victory, though each will occasionally claim one.
- Good fool, as ever thou wilt deserve well at my hand, help me to a candle, and pen, ink and paper : as I am a gentleman, I will live to be thankful to thee for’t.
- “I will' rejoin you, and we ' will fly ; but from this moment until then, let us not tempt Providence, Morrel; let us not see each other; it is a miracle, it is a providence that we have not been discovered; if we were surprised, if it were known that we met thus, we should have no further resource.”
- Unfortunately, only one of these gloves will actually fit over my hand.
Usage notes
* Historically, will' was used in the simple future sense only in the second and third person, while ''shall'' was used in the first person. Today, that distinction is almost entirely lost, and the verb takes the same form in all persons and both numbers. Similarly, in the intent sense, '''will was historically used with the second and third person, while ''shall was reserved for the first person. * Historically, the present tense is will' and the past tense is '''would'''. Early Modern English had a past participle ' would which is now obsolete. :: Malory, ‘Many tymes he myghte haue had her and he had wold’ ; John Done, ‘If hee had would, hee might easily [...] occupied the Monarchy.’ * Formerly, will could be used elliptically for "will go" — e.g. "I'll to her lodgings" (Marlowe). * See the usage note at shall . * The present participle does not apply to the uses of will as an auxiliary verb.See also
*would
English
Alternative forms
* (obsolete)Verb
(head)QPR 2-3 Man City, passage=Toure would have the decisive say though, rising high to power a header past Kenny from Aleksandar Kolarov's cross.}}