Will is the main way to talk about the future in English. It works the same for every person — no endings, no changes. Just will plus the base form of the verb.
Form
The structure is straightforward: subject + will + base verb.
| SUBJECT | WILL | BASE VERB |
|---|---|---|
| I | will | help |
| she | will | arrive |
| we | will | leave |
There is no -s on the verb after will, even with he, she, or it. The base form stays unchanged regardless of the subject.
Contractions
In speech and informal writing, will shortens to 'll.
The contraction attaches to the subject: I'll, you'll, he'll, she'll, it'll, we'll, they'll. The form it'll exists but is less common in writing.
Negative
The negative is will not, which contracts to won't.
Both will not and won't are correct. In everyday English, won't is far more common.
Questions
Move will before the subject: Will + subject + base verb?
Short answers follow the pattern Yes, I will / No, I won't. There is no short form with 'll — only the full will works in short answers.
Predictions
Use will for predictions based on opinion, belief, or general expectation — things you think or assume about the future, without direct evidence in front of you.
Predictions with will often appear alongside think, believe, probably, maybe, perhaps. These signal words show that the speaker is guessing, not stating a confirmed plan.
Spontaneous decisions
When you decide something at the moment of speaking — not planned in advance — use will.
This is one of the most distinctive uses of will. The decision happens right now, in the conversation, not before it. If the decision was made earlier, English uses a different structure — going to or the present continuous — which are covered separately.
Promises
Will and won't naturally express commitments about the future.
The line between a promise and a spontaneous decision is sometimes blurry, and that is fine. In both cases, the speaker is declaring their intention in the moment.
Offers and requests
Will in offers means the speaker is volunteering. In questions with you, it becomes a request.
Offers:
Requests:
Facts about the future
Some things are certain — they are not opinions, plans, or promises, just facts that haven't happened yet. Will works naturally here.
These sentences feel close to predictions, but the difference is certainty. No one is guessing — these are known in advance.
A note on shall
In British English, shall appears in questions with I and we to make offers or suggestions.
Shall I ...? means roughly Do you want me to ...? and Shall we ...? means How about we ...?. Outside of these question forms, shall is rare in modern English and sounds formal. In American English, it is almost never used in conversation.
Shall is not a separate tense — it is simply an alternative to will in a narrow set of questions.
Common mistakes
Adding -s after will
Using to after will
Wrong contraction in negatives
Missing will in questions
Using 'll in short answers