Anne McDonald Scotland Study Centre www.ScotlandStudyCentre.com info@scotlandstudycentre.com +44 (0)131 241 60 99 Academic & Business Training Centre Edinburgh, Scotland

English language teaching: Focus on function - not tense Use of ‘will’

You are talking to a friend: fill in the blanks: I __________ (go) to Spain on holiday next Saturday. My plane ____________ (leave) at 7.30 on Saturday morning. The travel agent says that a driver _________ (meet) me at the airport and _________ me to my hotel. When I get there, I ___________ (have) a short rest and the I ___________ (just/relax) on the beach all afternoon. In the evening I ___________ (probably /go) out with some Spanish friends. It _____ (be) wonderful! I ________ (forget) about work and just have a great time lazing on the beach and going out with friends!

English Language in Use How to use ‘will’

IMPORTANT ‘will’ does not equal the future!

Tense and Aspect/Viewpoint English is NOT a tense-based language English grammar usually signals aspect/ viewpoint and feelings not tense.

To ‘mean’… Example: The famous Arnold Schwarzenegger movie quote: “I’ll be back” What does this mean?

Literal meaning: “I’ll be back”means that at some point in the future Schwarzeneger’s character in the movie will return to the same place. It is a statement of fact.

Metaphorical meaning What does he (Schwarzenegger’s character) mean by this?

By “I’ll be back” he means… … that the person he is speaking to should be afraid, as he (Schwarzenegger’s character) will return to harm him/get revenge. In this example, the future time is not important. What is important is that “I’ll be back” is a _______________.

Functions of ‘will’ - You can use ‘WILL’ to... state a fact decide offer request promise reassure predict

The suitcase story When I was 20 years old I was at Waverley station in Edinburgh. I was carrying a very big, heavy suitcase, because I was going to work in Beijing for a year. A man saw me carrying the heavy case. “I’ll (1) help her”, thought the man, and he said to me, “I’ll (2) carry that for you”. I thanked the man, but I thought to myself, “It’s too heavy for him. He’ll (3) never carry it!” The man lifted the suitcase and struggled along the platform for a few steps. He then put the case down and said, “I’m really sorry, but it’s too heavy for me”. “Don’t worry”, I replied. “ I’ll (4) manage it myself. Thanks anyway”.

Match ‘will’ to its different functions: Example Function “I’ll help her” Prediction “I’ll carry that for you” Offer ”He’ll never carry it!” Reassurance 4. “ I’ll manage it myself” Decision

Answers to mini-test Example Function/Use “I’ll help her” Prediction “I’ll carry that for you” Offer ”He’ll never carry it!” Opinion 4. “ I’ll manage it myself” Decision

Different uses/functions at the same time - 1 Note that “I’ll manage it myself” can have different meanings at the same time: It’s an opinion; that is, I that I could manage to carry the case myself. It’s a prediction; I predicted that I could manage to carry the case myself.

Different uses/functions at the same time - 2 “I’ll manage to carry it myself” can also be a reassurance. This is clear when I said: “Don’t worry. I’ll manage to carry it myself”. Note: you understand the meaing from the context.

Functions of ‘will’ - Remember: you use ‘WILL’ to... state a fact decide offer request promise reassure predict

Did you use ‘will’ correctly? Remember – you are talking to a friend I __________ (go) to Spain on holiday next Saturday. My plane ____________ (leave) at 7.30 on Saturday morning. The travel agent says that a driver _________ (meet) me at the airport and _________ (take) me to my hotel. When I get there, I ___________ (have) a short rest and the I ___________ (just/relax) on the beach all afternoon. In the evening I ___________ (probably /go) out with some Spanish friends. It _____ (be) wonderful! I ________ (forget) about work and just have a great time lazing on the beach and going out with friends!

Anne McDonald Scotland Study Centre Academic & Business English Training Edinburgh, Scotland www.ScotlandStudyCentre.com Scotlandstudycentre@gmail.com +44 (0) 131 241 60 99 Mob: +44 (0) 7752573946