will vs would(absolute rules)

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will vs would(absolute rules)

by pramitmishra0607 » Tue Nov 29, 2016 9:46 am
According to what I have got till now after extensive research:

There are three situations where "would" is used:

1. Future with respect to past.
2. Hypothetical subjunctive.
3. If-else clause.

Can anyone clarify my following doubts:

1. In "if clause" if we use 2nd or 3rd form of the verb, then in else clause "would" should come and with first form "will" should come. Is vice-versa of this rule always wrong?
Eg. If he eats, he would fall sick. (right or wrong)
If he ate tomorrow, he will fall sick. (right or wrong)

2. Is will always wrong in future with respect to past?

3. Is there any other situation where we could use "would"? If I want to predict future with respect to present can I use "would"?

4. In hypothetical subjunctive is "will" always wrong?

could any Gmat instructor clarify on this please. It would help a lot of gmat students worldwide.
Thanks!!

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by elias.latour.apex » Fri May 12, 2017 4:35 am
It's an interesting question, and I'm surprised that you haven't gotten an answer yet.

The first conditional follows the form: if + subject + present, subject + will + verb. For example: If the weather is sunny, I will go to the beach. This form is used to talk about something that might happen now or in the future and the consequences of that action. We can also say: I will go to the beach if the weather is sunny. If the "if" comes at the beginning, you must use a comma whereas if the if is in the middle, no comma is necessary.

We cannot use would. For example, "If the weather is sunny, I would go to the beach" is wrong.

The second conditional follows the form: if + subject + past subjunctive, subject + would + verb. For example: If I were Superman, I would end terrorism today. Were seems like the past, but no one would say "I were at the bank yesterday." However, were is the correct form to use when speaking about hypothetical situations.

You cannot use will. For example, "If I ate too much, I will feel sick" is wrong.

Here is an official question that tests this knowledge:

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had long been expected to announce a reduction in output to bolster sagging oil prices, but officials of the organization just recently announced that the group will pare daily production by 1.5 million barrels by the beginning of next year, but only if non-OPEC nations, including Norway, Mexico, and Russia, were to trim output by a total of 500,000 barrels a day.

A.year, but only if non-OPEC nations, including Norway, Mexico, and Russia, were to trim output
B.year, but only if the output of non-OPEC nations, which includes Norway, Mexico, and Russia, is trimmed
C.year only if the output of non-OPEC nations, including Norway, Mexico, and Russia, would be trimmed
D.year only if non-OPEC nations, which includes Norway, Mexico, and Russia, were trimming output
E.year only if non-OPEC nations, including Norway, Mexico, and Russia, trim output
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The key to solving this question is to note the phrase "will pare." Since this phrase is not underlined, we must accept it and change the underlined part to match it. Answer choice (A) is wrong because it says: "If non-OPEC nations...were..." and this does not match with will. Only (B) and (E) offer the right conditional form: if + subject + present, subject + will. However, (B) is not the right answer because of the clause "non-OPEC nations, which includes Norway" (should be include not includes).

As for your second question, it is possible to say something like "I was going to travel to Mexico, but..." to speak about something that was future in the past. However, this form is not tested on the GMAT. The GMAT deals not with people announcing their plans but with newspaper-like sentences that use will to predict the actions of companies and important events. So the difference between going to and will has (at least so far, knock on wood) never been tested on the GMAT.

As for your third question, would is the past of will, so it is not used to predict future events. For example someone might say:

I think that Candidate X will win the election. OR
I thought that Candidate X would win the election.

So in the second sentence, the speaker thought (in the past) that something would happen (something that was, at that time, a future event).

Here's an official question that uses would in terms of reported speech.

Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel, the seven-store retailer said it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores.

(A) its many problems had been the recent
(B) its many problems has been the recently
(C) its many problems is the recently
(D) their many problems is the recent
(E) their many problems had been the recent
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This problem can be solved without paying attention to the part in blue, but for our purposes this is illustrative of a correct way to use the past tense with would in a reported speech context.

As for question 4, in a hypothetical scenario, will is always wrong.

If I had been on the Titanic, I will be dead now. WRONG
If I were president of the United States, I will change many laws. WRONG
If I won the lottery, I will buy a Ferrari. WRONG
If I had more time, I will spent it with my family. WRONG

I hope I have answered your question.
Elias Latour
Verbal Specialist @ ApexGMAT
blog.apexgmat.com
+1 (646) 736-7622