future or present

Question

Hi teacherShall I say"We will see what happens tomorrow  "or "we will see what will happen tomorrow" and why?I think the first one iis correct , don't know for the second one, do these sentences mean the same "There will be a day when all men will be free". Is it possible to say"There will be a day when all men are free" I don't think so but don't know why . Could you explain it to me ? I think it is because of " day "it is more precised

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

You don't always need the future tense to express future action:

I have to do it tomorrow.
I will have to do it tomorrow.

Anonymous"We will see what happens tomorrow "or "we will see what will happen tomorrow"

Both are possible. The first sentence is shorter and that may be the reason it is very common. English is a language of idiomaticism — they won't like that word

— and consequently things don't always have to follow grammatical rules and usage. There has never been a Language Academy in any English-speaking country, which is one reason why English has developed and evolved to be the grammatical monster it is.

Anonymous"There will be a day when all men will be free". Is it possible to say"There will be a day when all men are free"

It is definitely possible. In fact, it is in keeping with the fundamental grammar rule that the future tense (will/shall) should not be used in temporal subordinate clauses.

When he comes home, we'll play some chess.
After I do my homework, I'll watch TV.
Don't go out before it stops raining.

People don't always follow all rules, though. Besides, will may have some of its old meaning to want and in those cases it is quite likely to occur when we don't expect it.

CB

AlpheccaStars · Answer

What will happen tomorrow? This is a perfectly good question, but we use "would" or the present tense in a dependent noun clause.

He asked what would happen tomorrow. (Indirect question, note the back-shifting to the past form of will..)
We will see what happens tomorrow. (noun clause.)

Anonymous"There will be a day when all men are free" I don't think so but don't know why . Could you explain it to me ?

Yes. The present tense is used for a state, which can be used as a condition.
All men are free. (present state or condition).
Everyone has enough to eat. (present state or condition)

We can use these kinds of statements to describe a future condition in a clause beginning with "when" or "if"

There will be a time when (everyone has enough to eat. )
We will rejoice when (all men are free.)
His parents will be happy if (he marries a beautiful rich girl. )
I will be ecstatic if and when (my father quits smoking. )

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousWe will see what happens tomorrow

As you can see from the previous replies, "will" is used a lot less in English than its counterpart in other languages.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Hello

I know the rule with when , as soon as,....
but what is not when, so why should I say " we will see what happens tomorrow ", is it because what happens tomorrow is a dependant noun clause and as the first verb" see " is already employed with will, there is no need to use will in the dependent clause.How can I know if one clause is dependant or not to another?
Can I say that" I hope you will like it " or "I hope you like it"? I think the first is better because it refers to something precisely;

I give you that book, I hope you will like it

Thanks for your explaination

AlpheccaStars · Answer

I have thought a bit on some cases when I use the future vs the present. The present is used more often.

1) I give a gift to my friend. It is two tickets to a concert for next Sunday.
I hope you will like it. (it = the concert). The concert is in the future, so I might use the future tense.
But I might also use the present tense.

2) I give a gift to my friend. It the newest book by JK Rawling and it is very hard to get.

I hope you like it. (it = the book) You can read it immediately.
I use the present tense when the gift can be enjoyed immediately, without any time delay.

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