Will - usage

Question

Where does courage come from? Courage is the commitment to do what you know is right.

Courage arises when your honesty will not allow any other choice. It comes from following a purpose

that goes beyond your own petty concerns

=
As far as I know, we can not use future tense in the adverbial clause and we have to use present tense.

Why is "will" used in the sentence ??

Pls let me know.

Terry

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,
Where does courage come from? Courage is the commitment to do what you know is right.

Courage arises when your honesty will not allow any other choice. It comes from following a purpose

that goes beyond your own petty concerns

==
As far as I know, we can not use future tense in the adverbial clause and we have to use present tense.You could cetainly say 'does', but there is nothing wrong with 'will'.

Why is "will" used in the sentence ?? 'Will' here stresses logical deduction, or possibly determination.

Best wishes, Clive

Nddad · Answer

Hi Clive,

Thanks for your comments.
However, I don't understand your explanation as below exactly.

Can you explain more easily please ??

As far as I know, we can not use future tense in the adverbial clause and we have to use present tense.

" You could cetainly say 'does', but there is nothing wrong with 'will'. "

Thanks

Terry

Clive · Answer

Hi,
It's OK to say this.
Courage arises when your honesty will not allow any other choice. It comes from following a purpose.

It's also OK to say this.
Courage arises when your honesty does not allow any other choice. It comes from following a purpose.

Clive

Nddad · Answer

Hi,

" we don't go there if it will rain tomorrow. "

Can I use " will " in this sentence ??

As far as we know, we can not use " will " in the adverb phrase explaining " time & condition ".

This is my knowledge I learned from school.

If I am wrong, pls let me know your explanation.

Thanks

Terry

CalifJim · Answer

NddadCourage arises when your honesty will not allow any other choice....Why is "will" used in the sentence ??

First, will not, more often won't, is used idiomatically to denote refusal. (This usage goes back to the original meaning of will: to want, to be willing, to consent. The negation is not to want, not to be willing, to refuse.)

The car won't start. [The car refuses to start.]
I've called the dog three times, but he won't come. [The dog refuses to come.]
I don't know why, but her children just will not obey her. [The children refuse to obey her.]
____

Second, this when is more like whenever. It connotes a correspondence between two situations: courage arising and honesty not allowing another choice, or, in view of the role of will here, a correspondence between courage arising and honesty refusing to allow another choice.

Your face gets all red when you get angry. [One thing happens whenever the other happens.]
The surface of water bubbles when you boil it. [One thing happens whenever the other happens.]
Things go wrong when you try to do them too fast. [One thing happens whenever the other happens.]

The sentences above are about a relationship which always holds between two situations. Both clauses are in the present tense. This is not the same as the case where when points out a situation that will only happen once, as shown below. Here when cannot be taken as whenever:

You'll be surprised when you open that package. [Not when you will open.]
The water will bubble when it gets to boiling temperature. [Not when it will get.]
The wind will blow these papers onto the floor when Alice opens the door. [Not when Alice will open.]
____

Note the following, all of which have the whenever ... refuses meaning, and all are grammatically correct:

Mark gets frustrated when his wife won't talk to him.
Professor Smith throws chalk at students when they won't listen quietly in class.
Ellen's son screams and stamps his feet when she won't let him wear his favorite baseball cap.

The negation may be carried by another word in the sentence:

Robert goes to the movies alone when nobody will go with him. [everybody refuses; nobody consents]
____

Your sentence is basically this:

Courage arises whenever your honesty refuses to allow any other choice.
____

So, in short, the rule you quoted -- we cannot use future tense in an adverbial clause of time -- is correct, but the scope in which it is applied is narrower than you may think. In other words, there are exceptions, and one of these is the when ... won't ... pattern discussed above. Think of the idiom won't (meaning refuse) as an honorary member of "the present tense club".

CJ

Nddad · Answer

Hi CJ,

Thank you so much.

Now, I can understand your explanation completely.

Thanks & Regards

Terry

Will - usage

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