Will be Vs will

Question

What is the difference between "Will Jessica be coming with us to the movies?" and "Will Jessica  come with us to the movies?"Thanks.

GPY · Accepted Answer

All other things being equal, the second one sounds more as if Jessica's attendance has been in doubt and the addressee has tried to persuade her.

CalifJim · Answer

fatimah0786 What is the difference between "Will Jessica be coming with us to the movies?" and "Will Jessica come with us to the movies?"Thanks.

You may have different answers on this one. Different people may react differently. To me, it's like this:

Will Jessica be coming ...? ~ Has Jessica already accepted the invitation to come with us? Is everything set so that she'll be coming?

Will Jessica come ...? ~ I wonder if Jessica will come with us if we ask her. What do you think? Should we invite her?

CJ

GPY · Answer

CalifJim I wonder if Jessica will come with us if we ask her. What do you think? Should we invite her?

In this scenario I think I would more likely ask "Would Jessica come with us to the movies?" However, I agree that different people will probably have different impressions.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

fatimah0786"Will Jessica be coming with us to the movies?"

Do you know if Jessica has planned to go to the movies with us?

fatimah0786"Will Jessica come with us to the movies?"

If we ask Jessica, will she agree to come?

CalifJim · Answer

Alphecca,

Why didn't I say it like that? I always seem to use more words than necessary.

CJ

Henry74 · Answer

Hi,

May I also ask something about this? I've often wondered about the difference between the two constructions.
Here's how they sound to me:

1. Will she come?
Here "will" is close to "want". Or, as you guys put it, "if I ask her, will she agree?"

1. Will she be coming?
This sort of removes her will from the picture. It's like saying "Is she going to be there?" regardless of whether she agreed or was forced to go.

Is my interpretation incorrect?

Thank you
H.

CalifJim · Answer

Henry741. Will she come?Here "will" is close to "want".

Hmm. Hard to say exactly. To me it's more like "If I ask her, will she agree and follow through by coming?"

It's close, perhaps, but not the same because 1 and 2 below don't say the same thing.

1. Does she want to come?
2. Will she come?

Also, both 3 and 4, below, are possible. Both can be said without contradiction.

3. She wants to come, and she will come. She promises to be there.
4. She wants to come, but she won't be coming because she has already made other plans.

Other than this point, I agree with your interpretation, more or less. In modern English will has almost completely separated from want and gone its separate way.

CJ

GPY · Answer

Henry741. Will she come?Here "will" is close to "want". Or, as you guys put it, "if I ask her, will she agree?"1. Will she be coming?This sort of removes her will from the picture. It's like saying "Is she going to be there?" regardless of whether she agreed or was forced to go.

For me, all other things being equal, "Will she be coming?" is more factual or matter-of-fact, and "Will she come?" has more connotations that speaker is emotionally invested in the question of her coming or not coming, or her possible reluctance, or the possible need to ask or persuade her, etc.

I say "all other things being equal" because so much depends on context, tone of voice, etc. For example, you can say "Will she be coming?" in an emotional way that suggests you don't want that to happen. Many different scenarios for these statements can be concocted, and these may have varying nuances.

Will be Vs will

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