The tense usage in a descriptive clause

Question

Hello!

Could you explain to me, please, why the Present Simple is used in the sentence below:

"All the money we raise will go to three charities."

Is there any rule that forces the Present Simple in sentences like this?

And why can't this be used:

"All the money (that) we will raise will go to three charities."

Thanks for any help.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Anonymous"All the money we raise will go to three charities."Is there any rule that forces the Present Simple in sentences like this?

There is no grammatical rule, no, but the simple present is more idiomatic than the future in such contexts. It's probably surprising to you how seldom we English speakers use 'will' in subordinate clauses.

From a semantic point of view, 'we will raise' sounds too definite, as if the speaker knows that we will certainly raise money. 'we raise' makes it less a fact that we will raise any money at all. Maybe we'll end up empty-handed.

all the money we raise ~ all the money we raise (if there is any money to count after our attempt to raise it)

More examples:

American citizens will get all the information they need to make democracy work.
The show will feature all the songs from my repertoire that people want to hear.
As new updates become available, we will get all the updates that Microsoft offers.
The scientists will scan the starlight that passes through the air.
These problems, unless addressed, will substantially diminish the benefits that future generations obtain from the program.

CJ

The tense usage in a descriptive clause

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