Grammar: 6 ways to use WILL

Hey, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on the many uses

of "will". "Will" is one of the most difficult English grammar words to master because there

is a lot of confusion about whether or not it can be used to talk about future plans.

Now, number 1, if you are going to talk about a plan that you have for the future, "be going

to" or the present continuous are much more common in English. So you won't say -- if

someone asks you," "What are you doing this weekend?" -- you don't say, "I will visit

my grandma" or, "I'm visit is my grandma." "I'm going to see a movie"; not, "I will see

a movie." So now that we have that out of the way. Let's look at the other ways -- and

there are many -- that we can use "will". Number one, you can state your intention with

"will". Now, this isn't a plan; it's an intention. So for example, if someone asks you, "What

are you doing this weekend?", you usually modify "will" with "I will probably", "I will

maybe", "I will likely", "I will definitely be at the show." So this is similar to making

a promise, which you can also use with "will", and we'll talk about later. And you can say,

"Yeah, I will be at the show" or, "I will probably be at the show this weekend." Okay?

Now, you can use it to confirm plans and to confirm orders of events. So if you and your

friends made plans and you want to get the plans straight in your mind, you can say,

"Okay, wait. Wait. So first, I will call you. And then, we will meet at the theater." So

if you have a future order of events and you want to get it clear, you can say, "Okay.

Number one, you will do this. Number two, I will do this. Number three, we'll do this.

Yeah? Okay." So this means -- again, you're confirming plans. You're confirming the orders

of events. You're not actually saying "I'm doing this". You're saying, "This is what

will happen. I just want to have it clear in my mind."

Number three, decisions made in the moment. So if you're at a restaurant, at a store -- if

you're buying shoes, and you make a decision in the moment, you use "will". So for example,

you're making a decision. "Do I want the red shoes or the blue shoes? I'll take the blue

ones." Okay? So, "I will take the blue ones." You can also say, you know -- if you're ordering

at a restaurant, "I will have the chicken and fries", for example. So for decisions

in the moment, use "will".

Next, predictions. Now, again, predictions, you can use "be going to" as well, if you

have evidence. "Be going to" is stronger for predictions. Or you can use "will" where you

can give your opinions, your thoughts. For example, you're talking about your friend

who's doing a test. Your friend has one hour to do the test. He didn't study. He's very

nervous. And you say, "There is no way he will finish on time." So you can say, "He

won't finish on time. This is my prediction." Okay? So you can make a prediction using "will".

You can also use it, like I mentioned, to make a promise. So, "I will never disappoint

you" or, "I will always love you." Think of the Whitney Houston song from the 1990s, The

Bodyguard. Depending on what year you're watching this, that is already very dated, and you

have no idea what I'm talking about. But that's okay.

The Bodyguard -- "I will always love you", Whitney Houston.

And number six, you can confirm a future time or place. So you can say, "Okay. I will be

there at eight". "Where are you going to be at eight o'clock?" "I will be at home. I will

be at the mall. I'll be having dinner" -- in that situation. So if you want to talk about

what you will be doing at a future time or future place, you can use "will" in this context.

And finally, you can also use "will" for goodbyes. So, "Yeah. I will see you later. We will get

together soon." This is similar to making a promise, right? Like, "I will see you later.

I promise you." But a specific context of promise because it's goodbyes.

So all these are related in some way. "Will" is essentially from intentions, decisions

in the moment, promises, things that you intend to do. Okay?

So one more time, intentions, confirmation of plans, orders of events, decisions made

in the moment, predictions, promises, confirming future times or places, and finally, goodbyes.

So goodbyes are sad, but here we were at the end of the video. If you'd like to test your

understanding of this material, as always, you can check out the quiz on www.engvid.com.

And don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I will see you later. Bye.