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Anonymous Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
Omitting "will".
"1. I am a carnivore and a predator though sometimes I will scavenge. I live in the Arctic where I stay by myself most of my life. I am well camouflaged in the snow, though my skin is actually black to absorb the heat of the sun. I will kill and eat seals and walruses, but I will also eat carrion, such as a dead whale. I love water and am such a strong swimmer that I can swim miles at a time. Who am I?"
http://www.rogerwilliamsparkzoo.org/education/hunt.cfm
How would the removal of "will" affect the meaning of the above passage? Would the writer's intended effect still be fully appreciated?
And how about here?
She smokes thirty a day.
She will smoke thirty a day.
http://www.rogerwilliamsparkzoo.org/education/hunt.cfm
How would the removal of "will" affect the meaning of the above passage? Would the writer's intended effect still be fully appreciated?
And how about here?
She smokes thirty a day.
She will smoke thirty a day.
Top answer
Most of the passage is simple present, and the 'will's, as in the first sentence ('I am a predator.. though I will scavenge) indicate a future probability-- thus indicating that it normally attacks living prey and only irregularly scavenges. As the passage stands, it implies that it does not usually eat seals or walruses or carrion.
- Most of the passage is simple present, and the 'will's, as in the first sentence ('I am a predator..
- though I will scavenge) indicate a future probability-- thus indicating that it normally attacks living prey and only irregularly scavenges.
- As the passage stands, it implies that it does not usually eat seals or walruses or carrion.
- Deleting the 'will' would make the ingestion of pinnipeds a normal activity.
- Which is fact will require more zoologist than I am.
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2 Answers
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Most of the passage is simple present, and the 'will's, as in the first sentence ('I am a predator.. though I will scavenge) indicate a future probability-- thus indicating that it normally attacks living prey and only irregularly scavenges. As the passage stands, it implies that it does not usually eat seals or walruses or carrion. Deleting the 'will' would make the ingestion of pinniped
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The use of "will" to suggest something habitual usually adds a sort of conditionality to the meaning, i.e., if the appropriate conditions are present. This gives less the sense of "always" than the corresponding simple present tense.
I will scavenge (under the right conditions / if, when, and as the occasion presents itself).
She will smoke thirty in a day (under the right conditi
I will scavenge (under the right conditions / if, when, and as the occasion presents itself).
She will smoke thirty in a day (under the right conditi
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