My knowledge of the English grammar is very limited. So please forgive if my question appears too trivial for you, but I can't help ask you what word, "will" or "would", is correct for each particular sentence given below.
Mr X. said to tell you he ... be here in a moment or two.
He said to tell you he ... be back.
This way, please. Mr X. said to tell you he ... be here shortly.
Mr.X said to tell you he ... be in later to speak with you.
Thank you for you time
Arthur
Oops... I wanted to say "Thank you for your time".
I'm sorry for my bad spelling skills.
Arthur:
"Would" is a word that inflicts the past. "Will" inflicts the present or the future.
For example:
"Would you have eaten that if I told you what was in it?" (past)
"Will you come with me please?" (present)
"Will you do me a favor tomorrow?" (future)
So your sentences can be:
Mr X. said to tell you he will be here in a moment or two.
He said to tell you he will be back.
This way, please. Mr X. said to tell you he will be here shortly.
Mr.X said to tell you he will be in later to speak with you.
Others:
Mr. X would have been here to meet you yesterday.
Mr. X said he would have liked to be here to meet you this morning.
"would" is conditional.
Mr. X would have come here to meet you yesterday had he not been tied up in traffic.
Mr. X will be here to meet you next week to discuss the new plans for the company.
Mr X. said to tell you he will be here in a moment or two.
He said to tell you he'll be back. (If you want an example using "would")....
He said to tell you he would have come back had their been a reason. (notice how this is conditional..."had their been a reason).
This way, please. Mr X. said to tell you he'll be here shortly.
Mr.X said to tell you he'll be in later to speak with you.
To use "would" in any of these you need to set up a conditional statement.
"Mr. X would tell you the price if you weren't so disagreeable."
"If" and "would" often set up a conditional statement.
Thank you for your replies. Actually I was asking because I was told that only "would" may be used there because of the "Sequence of Tenses" rule. Well, as I said early, I'm not good in the grammar rules, but it seems to me that both "will" and "would" could be used, and the right choice depends on context. Though I still can't describe formally how it depends. I guess it has something to do with the speaker altitude to it.
correction in my post....."had there been a reason" not "their"....sorry
Dear Natives,
Do you mean to say that
"He said to tell you he WOULD be back in 5 minutes"
is incorrect?
It might be correct according to grammar books, but I'd definitely say "will" is more commonly used in speech and makes more sense to me. "Would" implies a condition in my opinion...he may or may not be back in 5 minutes.
Tom,
Your sentence sounds fine.
i've heard myself use both "would" and "will" in similar sentences...it may not be good grammar but both words are used. don't overthink some of the english grammar rules, it's a pretty casual language and a lot of things are interchangeable.
hp20: you're right.
HOWEVER, every English teacher I know would demand that learners use "WOULD" in the sentences -- due to "indirect speech" rules.
The bottom line is, if I was taking an English test, I'd use "would". If I chose "will" the examiner would assume I don't know about "indirect speech" and give me 0 points. Rather than argue with the teacher after the test, I'd rather give him what he wants.
Besides, I wonder if mjd and others are not taking an American-centric view. In British English, indirect speech is probably used much more often.
How about the following sentences:
"She said she loves/loved me."
"He said he isn't/wasn't going."
"The man said he is/was a lawyer."
"They said they will/would stay."
I think some of the cofusion of the whole "will/would" thing arises because of the use of contractions. It's true, my analyses on this site come from an American point of view.
"He said he'd call you." (This sounds fine and is used often and is a contraction of "he would").
In everyday speech you can pretty much use either one and you'll be fine. If the grammars say to use "would," then those taking exams should opt for would.
Here's what I'd choose:
"She said she loved me." (past tense of "to say" and "to love")
"He said he wasn't going." (" " "to say" and "to be")
"The man said he was a lawyer." (same)
"They said they'd stay." (contraction of "they would")
How'd I do Tom?
"He said to tell you he WOULD be back in 5 minutes" -- is correct because of the ´Report Speech´ (formal sequence of tenses). I think I would use it even in informal speaking though.
He said, ´I will be back in 5 minutes´ ; He said (that) he would be back in 5 minutes.
Although I think the context would (will) decide which one I use. But I should probably use ´would´ more than ´will´.
Antonio,
You're probably right, but would definitely gets one thinking of the conditional as well. Look at a Portuguese example:
Se eu tivesse o dinheiro, eu compraria o seu carro.
If I had the money, I would buy your car.
Gramatically I'm sure it's different from the aforementioned examples, but it still conjures up images of conditional situations, whereas "will" does not.
"He said he'd go to the store." .....this sounds perfectly fine.
"John said he'll go to the store."....this also sounds okay to me.
mjd,
You chose the past form in every one of the sentences (according to the rules of indirect speech). The conclusion would be that in
"He said he ____ be back in 5 minutes"
"would" is the only correct option
But in
"He said to tell you he ____ be back in 5 minutes."
both "will" and "would" are acceptable.
