Will vs would

[Walt Whitman]

“He is certain that they will become firm friends and hopes they will find a lot to talk about.”
“He is certain that they would become firm friends and hopes they would find a lot to talk about.”

I was wondering if the sentences above carry a subtle difference in meaning or if their meaning is more or less the same.

Thanks.
WW

 

[leruiz]

Hi!

They do have a difference in meaning! "Will" shows a certainty, something that he believes will happen in the future.

"Would" is more used to talk about imagined situations, so it gives me the impression that, in the second sentence, they meant to say in a different scenario they would be friends. I think the sentence should also be in the simple past, such as:
“He was certain that they would become firm friends and hoped they would find a lot to talk about.”

In this case, it would be more clear that the situation didn't happen (yet), he only wished for it at the time. The way it's originally written is confusing, but I am curious to know if anyone else has a different interpretation or if I am missing something.
I hope it helped!

 

[jutfrank]

Yes, there's an important difference in meaning: If you use would, you're hypothesising. If you use will, you're predicting.

Another way to say this is that in the would sentence, the outcome is 'unreal'. There's a kind of implied conditionality there: They would become friends under a certain circumstance or set of circumstances.

Think about how you'd teach second conditionals:

If Alessandro and Daniele met, they would find a lot in common and become friends.

 

[teechar]

Hi!

They do have a difference in meaning! "Will" shows a certainty, something that he believes will happen in the future.

Right.

"Would" is more used to talk about imagined situations,

Or any tentative scenario.

I think the sentence should also be in the simple past, such as:
“He was certain that they would become firm friends and hoped they would find a lot to talk about.”

That is possible, but it needn't be the case. The sentence works perfectly well in the present simple. For example:
He thinks they would become great friends once they put that unfortunate argument behind them.
In that case, it is talking about a potential future situation.