1. Anne McDonald Scotland Study Centre
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Academic & Business Training Centre
Edinburgh, Scotland

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

3. 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!

4. English Language in Use
How to use ‘will’

5. IMPORTANT
‘will’ does not equal the future!

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

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

8. 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.

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

10. 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 _______________.

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

12. 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”.

13. 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
“ I’ll manage it myself” Decision

14. 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
“ I’ll manage it myself” Decision

15. 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.

16. 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.

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

19. 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!

20. Anne McDonald Scotland Study Centre Academic & Business English Training Edinburgh, Scotland
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