present tense right after future tense

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lycen

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They will see how qualified you are.

We will see how it goes.

We will see how stupid you are.

We will see how stupid you can be?

May I know whether in these examples, the present tense is referring to the future or the present?

Thank you.
 

mmasny

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They will see how qualified you are.

We will see how it goes.

We will see how stupid you are.

We will see how stupid you can be?

May I know whether in these examples, the present tense is referring to the future or the present?

Thank you.
It's referring to general truths. They will see how qualified you are generally (now and then).

I am not a teacher.
 

lycen

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It's referring to general truths. They will see how qualified you are generally (now and then).

I am not a teacher.

We will see how it goes. (Doesn't sound like a general truth, we still don't know how it will go)

We will see how stupid you can be. ("Stupid" here is something like acting silly; doesn't sound like a general truth again; Can we say "We will see how silly you will be" since it is okay to say "will see what you will be"?).
 

mmasny

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We will see how it goes. (Doesn't sound like a general truth, we still don't know how it will go) If we did't know how it would go and wanted to make it clear that it didn't have to go the same way it does now, we would say 'We will see how it will go'. Your sentence says something about (usually near) future when we don't expect drastic changes. It goes as it goes all the time and we will check how it goes.

We will see how stupid you can be. ("Stupid" here is something like acting silly; doesn't sound like a general truth again; Can we say "We will see how silly you will be" since it is okay to say "will see what you will be"?).
Again, it's
We will see how stupid you can be (generally).
The person can be stupid to a certain degree, and we will check what the degree is.
That's my opinion.
 

xenoplant

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well to me it seems like the stuff with "in case", "unless" etc.
Take your umbrella in case it rains
They'll win unless smth happens
present tense looks natural, in fact.
 

lycen

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well to me it seems like the stuff with "in case", "unless" etc.
Take your umbrella in case it rains
They'll win unless smth happens (not a general truth like what mmasny claims)
present tense looks natural, in fact.

Yes, I know it sounds natural. I use them all the time. It's just that I'm wondering about the grammar behind it.
 
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lycen

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If we did't know how it would go and wanted to make it clear that it didn't have to go the same way it does now, we would say 'We will see how it will go'. Your sentence says something about (usually near) future when we don't expect drastic changes. It goes as it goes all the time and we will check how it goes.

Let's say it's about a current project at hand and we've just started on it. It does not "go as it goes all the time"(it has just begun) nor it is a universal truth/fact. But in the future we would like to check on it and that's why we would say "we'll see how our project goes (then)".
 
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mmasny

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If we did't know how it would go and wanted to make it clear that it didn't have to go the same way it does now, we would say 'We will see how it will go'. Your sentence says something about (usually near) future when we don't expect drastic changes. It goes as it goes all the time and we will check how it goes.

Let's say it's about a current project at hand and we've just started on it. It does not "go as it goes all the time"(it has just begun) nor it is a universal truth/fact. But in the future we would like to check on it and that's why we would say "we'll see how our project goes (then)".
I would say 'will go' in this case. But I can be wrong.
 

Raymott

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If we did't know how it would go and wanted to make it clear that it didn't have to go the same way it does now, we would say 'We will see how it will go'. Your sentence says something about (usually near) future when we don't expect drastic changes. It goes as it goes all the time and we will check how it goes.

Let's say it's about a current project at hand and we've just started on it. It does not "go as it goes all the time"(it has just begun) nor it is a universal truth/fact. But in the future we would like to check on it and that's why we would say "we'll see how our project goes (then)".
All of your original sentences are correct.
"We will see how it will go" is not a good English sentence.
We say, "We'll see how it goes."
For the second clause, we use the present tense. Whether it refers to the present, or the future depends on the context.

I don't think you can swim across this river, but try it and we'll see how you go.
The first half obviously refers to the speaker's opinion of his current ability, and the second half obviously refers to an indefinite time in the future - perhaps immediately, perhaps not.

I don't think he can pass this test. But he has four weeks to study for it, so we'll see how he goes.
It should be readily apparent what time sequence is being referred to. The speaker is basing an opinion on the present (and past), but the test of this opinion will not occur for another four weeks.
After the test:
I don't think he would/will have passed the test, but after it's marked, we'll see how he went.
 
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