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a. This man will have you believe that the moon doesn't exist.

b. This man would have you believe that the moon doesn't exist.

Which of the above mean

  1. This man wants you to believe that the moon doesn't exist.

?

I think (a) doesn't mean (1), but (b) does.

Many thanks

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a. This man will have you believe that the moon doesn't exist.
b. This man would have you believe that the moon doesn't exist.

You are absolutely right. The first sentence is wrong. The second sentence is right and it means that this man wants you to believe that the moon doesn't exist.

The idiom would have one believe means want/expect someone to believe (something).

The following example is from Merriam-Webster 1:

They would have us believe that all these problems can be fixed by raising taxes.

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  • 2
    (a) isn't grammatically wrong, it's just not the idiomatic way to say it.
    – Kate Bunting
    Aug 16 at 8:02

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