Learn English – Is “would” the past future tense of “will” or just a modal verb

differencesmodal-verbspast-tense

What's the difference between the following sentences?

  1. Would you give me some advice?

  2. Will you give me some advices?

Best Answer

Would can be either conditional or subjunctive, but it is often used (as your examples demonstrate) interchangeably with will.

Will is an inquiry after the consent of the respondent, whose inclinations comprise the sole issue at hand. "Will you give me some advice?" literally means it is up to "your" discretion either to give or withhold the advice.

"Would you give me some advice?" on the other hand implies some other conditions may affect your decision. Unstated but implied in this sentence may be some other information. Or there may be a contextual linkage or even a direct statement. I think of Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham:

Would you eat them in a box? Would you eat them with a fox?

The terms of the conditional are clearly set forth. The questioner is proffering various inducements to sweeten the deal for the recalcitrant hater of "Sam-I-Am".

In any case, asking either question in conversation will, in the vast majority of cases, be understood simply as a request for advice, without all the grammatical analysis.

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