happen

[kutu_suci]

what happens next ?
what will happen next ?

can someone explain to me the differences between those two ?

umh with some examples pliz

thx thx

[Delmobile]

"What will happen next" --- straightforward question. The speaker is asking what will happen, and the person spoken to may or may not know.

"What happens next"--- this implies that the situation is one which is familiar to the person being questioned. The speaker thinks that the person he's asking will know what USUALLY happens next.

"Good Lord, now the phones for the entire dispatch division are out of order. What in the world will happen next?"

"If I tell him no, what do you think will happen next?"

but

"Okay, so every Thursday the delivery truck comes. What happens next?"

"So, class, we add a zero and carry the four. What happens next?"

"If you give a mouse a cookie, you know what happens next, don't you?"

[native speaker, not a teacher]

[riverkid]

Originally Posted by kutu_suci

what happens next ?
what will happen next ?

can someone explain to me the differences between those two ?

umh with some examples pliz

thx thx

Imagine a scale, Kutu, where the present simple exists on one end and 'will + present simple verb FORM' exists on the other.

HAPPENS ----------------------------------------------------WILL HAPPEN

At each end, only the form that describes that end can exist and that is the only form that can be used.

Now imagine language/life situations that happen to exist not at the extremes but somewhere in the middle, actually, let's take an example that exists at the dead middle point.

Here, either form can be used.

When someone says, "What happens next?", they are seeking the habitual truth/the routine truth/ the normal truth/the advice that would be the best for this situation/the general truth for this situation.

When someone says, "What will happen next?", they aren't necessarily thinking of the best common sense advice, they are leaning towards what 'will' says, that of allowing that anything can occur.

The important point of all this is that there are situations in life and therefore, in language where either form can exist and though they both can be used and in essence, have the same net effect, the nuances are different.

These are the most confusing for ESLs but you have to realize that actual language choice, actual language situation can either rule out or be inclusive of either form.

This same "scalar" thing happens with other "similar" forms in English; 'will' vs 'be going to'; must vs have to; may vs might; can vs could; will vs would'; need to vs have to; ...

Now let's try to think of a "rule out" situation, where only one or the other would/will [can/could] work. There's two already. Note well that either 'will' or 'would' would/will work here. Though they both have the same net effect, there are slightly different nuances expressed.

{I can't think of a specific "rule out" situation right now; I'm too tired. Maybe someone else will be able to come up with one. I'll give this a once over tomorrow}


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{note: a thought related to another thread on the use of 'can' vs could/may/ might}

Now let's try to think of a "rule out" situation, where only one or the other would/will [can/could] work. There's two already. Note well that either 'will' or 'would' would/will [can??/could] work here. They both have the same net effect, but still, there are nuances expressed that are different.

[riverkid]

Thanks Delmobile.