Wednesday, September 22, 2004, 07:22 GMT
What does the word "will" do? My student wrote "What will you do after school today". It sounds a bit funny to me. I would prefer "...going to do" or "are doing".
TQ
TQ
when/how do you use "will"
Thursday, September 23, 2004, 19:26 GMT
Will is a modal verb used typically to situate actions in future time.
"What will you do after school today?" usually means "Decide or speculate on what you plan to do after school right now and tell me what you decide."
"What are you going to do after school today?" usually means "What are your firm intentions after school today?"
"What are you doing after school today?" usually means "What do you plan to do after school today?"
The use of "will" in the first example implies that the speaker believes that his interlocutor is not sure or has not decided what he wants to do after school.
"What will you do after school today?" usually means "Decide or speculate on what you plan to do after school right now and tell me what you decide."
"What are you going to do after school today?" usually means "What are your firm intentions after school today?"
"What are you doing after school today?" usually means "What do you plan to do after school today?"
The use of "will" in the first example implies that the speaker believes that his interlocutor is not sure or has not decided what he wants to do after school.