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There is this sentence from a video on Youtube ('GERMANY Collapses into Chaos'):

01:43 'Olaf Schultz has proposed that a vote of confidence will be taken on January the 15th.'

I am wondering what difference it makes if 'will' is omitted or replaced with 'should', i.e.

Olaf Schultz has proposed that a vote of confidence be taken on January the 15th.
Olaf Schultz has proposed that a vote of confidence should be taken on January the 15th.

And what about

Olaf Schultz has proposed that a vote of confidence would be taken on January the 15th.

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  • What do you suppose the difference is between will future and should modal? You really should tell us but I am not sure you will, will you? :)
    – Lambie
    Commented Nov 7 at 18:15
  • will looks like a literal translation from German. You could replace it with proposed that a vote of confidence should be taken, but imho it's much better to just have the bare infinitive / subjunctive: proposed that a vote of confidence be taken.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Nov 7 at 18:57

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"will" is not the best choice. This is usually used for something that is already planned or expected to happen. Once the proposal is approved, it would then be correct to say that the vote will be taken on that date.

We use "should" when expressing a desire, so "should be taken" is acceptable.

But the most idiomatic way to state a proposal is with a bare infinitive, as in your third version: "proposed that a vote be taken".

"would" is also not correct. While this modal verb is often used to express desires (often as part of "would like to"), it's not idiomatic to use it with proposals. In your example, it's being used as the past tense of "will", and shares the same problem I described above.

English speakers are don't always choose the best modal verbs in this case, so the casual use of "will" that you heard in the video is not unusual.

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  • What kind of native speakers make this kind of error in what 'casual' situations, and what does it indicate?
    – Wittyhaire
    Commented Nov 7 at 19:37
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    It doesn't mean anything. People are sloppy with casual language. Does everyone speak your native language perfectly all the time?
    – Barmar
    Commented Nov 7 at 20:12

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