never 'would', always 'will'?

Question

Hi,If you have an action or a situation that will become realized in the future, whether it be an immediate future or long-after future, would you always use the modal 'will' and never 'would'?Two hours later, I will/will be (never -would??) meeting him at a restaurant.Two hours later, if he confirms my time and place, I will/will be (not 'would', IMO) meeting him at a restaurant.Upon getting my confirmation, I will/will be (not 'would or would be'??) meeting him at a restaurant.When he arrives two laters, I will be (not 'would or would be'??) meeting him at a restaurant.What will changing of 'will' with 'will be' do to sentences like above?

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Except for the third one, these sound like narratives. That is, you're describing what has already happened, but from a present perspective. "Would" is often used in these cases. "In two more years John would suffer a violent accident which would leave him paralized."

If you say instead, "In two hours I will be meeting him in a restaurant," "would" is not appropriate. The event has not yet happened, and in fact may not.

- A.

Mr Wordy · Answer

Assuming you don't intend any future-in-the-past interpretations, these sentences should all use "will", not "would". But some of them are ambiguous or may not mean what you want. For example, "two hours later" means either two hours from some point in the past or two hours from some point in the future -- not two hours from now. This affects the choice of will/would:

I will arrive in London at three o'clock. Two hours later I will meet him at a restaurant. -- ordinary future tense

I arrived in London at three o'clock. Two hours later I would meet him at a restaurant. -- future in the past (or you could just say "... I met him ...")

But:

Two hours from now I will meet him at a restaurant. -- ordinary future tense

In conditional sentences, "would" may be used for future actions if the condition is something that definitely isn't true (and isn't going to be true). For example:

My friend's going on holiday next week. If I could afford it then I would go too.

But in your conditional sentence ("if he confirms"), the condition is something that might be true, so you should use "will" and not "would".

"I will meet him" and "I will be meeting him" are pretty much interchangeable in my usage, but the latter is more conversational in many contexts (though you'd usually say "I'll" rather than "I will").

never 'would', always 'will'?

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