0

"I'll order from you if It will be in stock"

Gotube gave me this example here to show me that "will" was possible with if sentences, he said that in this case the condition was not a really future event and the rule of not using "will" did not apply there.

He then gave me another example "we'll move the party inside if it rains" where you couldn't use "will" because here the "will" described a really future event.

But when you say "We'll move the party inside if it rains" it is also because there is a present evidence of future state. May be there are some dark clouds in the sky or may be you've heard the weather report so the condition is not a future event like in the first example.
I am completly lost I don't understand the difference gotube tried to explain me.

3
  • 1
    What is your question? I don't see one.
    – EllieK
    Commented Nov 30, 2022 at 20:17
  • It's best to ask questions by putting comments on the answer, rather than asking a whole new question.
    – gotube
    Commented Nov 30, 2022 at 22:42
  • "if it will be in stock" is not grammatical.
    – Lambie
    Commented Sep 6, 2023 at 15:55

2 Answers 2

0

The difference I was trying to explain in that other question (link now added to question above) is between the condition happening in the future, or the condition being the knowledge (now) of a future event.

Let's compare these two sentences:

  1. I'll move the party indoors if it is going to rain.

  2. I'll move the party indoors if it rains.

In the first, the decision to move the party indoors will happen when we get a report that it is going to rain, like from our weather app or the news. For instance, if someone at that moment confirmed that it was going to rain, the plan for the party would change at that moment.

In the second, the decision to move the party indoors won't happen until rain drops begin to fall during the party. Sentence 2 cannot describe a situation where the party will move inside if a weather report says it's going to rain in the future.

-1

OP's question turns on the fact that in the "order" example, speaker is saying I will place my order right now.

It doesn't work for me with, say, I'll order from you tomorrow if it will be in stock then. In that slightly shifted context, it would have to be ...if it is in stock then

I assume that in the "party" example, nobody would think speaker is suggesting they should take steps right now to relocate the future party simply because someone has just told them it will rain tomorrow.

The general idea here is that we only explicitly indicate true "future tense" once in any given utterance. But I'll in the "order" example doesn't really reference "future" - it's more of a "currently conditional consequence" usage.

5
  • 1
    "I'll order from you tomorrow if it will be in stock then." <-- This sounds fine to me. In fact, I think it sounds a bit better than the original (without "tomorrow" and "then"). (DV not mine, though.) Commented Nov 30, 2022 at 20:17
  • 1
    It is quite possible that in the example the speaker is saying, I will order from you [at an undefined future time] if the item will be in stock [when I need it]. I can't see anything that suggests otherwise.
    – EllieK
    Commented Nov 30, 2022 at 20:19
  • why not" if it is in stock " when I need it
    – Yves Lefol
    Commented Nov 30, 2022 at 21:35
  • is it because the buyer takes his decision to buy now that it is not considerated as future that we can use the future for the condition
    – Yves Lefol
    Commented Nov 30, 2022 at 21:46
  • I'll see you in the pub if you will be there at 6 implies speaker is making a conditional current commitment - assumption being that the other person undertakes to meet that condition within the current conversation. That's not the same as I'll see you in the pub if you are there at 6 - where speaker isn't making any kind of commitment (it's really just a "prediction"). Commented Dec 1, 2022 at 3:11

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .