Correct grammar – Is it – “I WOULD be happy to…” OR “I WILL be happy to…”?

Both versions are correct. I shall explain why:

1. “I would be happy to …” This implies that there is, or may be, some uncertainty about whether the speaker could actually do whatever it is. Example: “I would be happy to paint your house, if the weather improves.” Example: “I would be happy to lend you the money, providing that I get a good price for my car.”

2. “I will be happy to …” This implies that the speaker sees no obstacle to his doing whatever it is that he promises to do. Example: “I will be happy to act as master of ceremonies on Saturday.” In other words, I shall certainly act as master of ceremonies on Saturday. Example: “I will be happy to give you a lift into town.” In other words, I shall certainly give you lift into town, and there is no doubt about it.

As I said above, both versions are correct, and it does not really matter which one is used. Most English speakers who heard either phrase spoken would know that the other person would do what he/she had been asked to do. There is the subtle difference between “would” and “will”, but, again, it really is subtle and only picky people (such as me!) would notice it.

I hope that this has been of some help.

WILL YOU OR WOULD YOU?

by GUY PERRING

The use of the modal “will” is a major problem for users of English. Here are a few examples:

a) It will rain today.

b) The CEO will visit us tomorrow.

c) I will send you the proposal tomorrow.

d) The meeting will be starting in a few minutes.

e) They left three hours ago, so they will have arrived by now.

Before you have a look at the answers explained below, have a think about the usage of “will” in these cases. Some reflect the time, but often modals reflect the attitude of the speaker.

a) Here there is a simple prediction about the future.

b) This concerns an event that has been planned for the future.

c) This represents a promise.

d) This represents a future event that will be in progress.

e) This represents a certainty that something happened in the past.

With predictions about the future that have been made in the past, we use “would” as in the following example:

We cashed the cheque yesterday, since we knew the bank would be closed today.

“Would” is often viewed as simply the past of “will”, which is true to some extent, but it has other purposes. Take a look at the two examples below:

1. Will you call me a taxi?

2. Would you call me a taxi?

Both are examples of requests and serve the same function of getting a taxi called.

Example (1) is more informal and probably used when we know the person well.

Example (2) is more polite and used if you do not know the person so well.

Since “would” is the past tense of “will”, a request using “would” pushes the time further from the present and makes the request less direct. If you want to make a stronger request, then you can use a question tag.

Call me a taxi, will you?

You wouldn’t expect a negative answer to this request, but should be careful when you use it or you will come across as rude and abrupt, especially if this is coupled with flat intonation.

Offers

Will/Would can also be used for offering help:

That must be heavy. I’ll carry it for you.

Would you like me to carry that for you? (you can’t use “will” for this kind of structure, but can use “shall”, e.g. Shall I carry that for you?)

Habits

“Will” is used for describing irritating habits in the present such as:

He will pick his teeth during meetings. (Note that you can’t use the contraction ’ll since “will” is stressed in the spoken form.)

Habits in the past use “would” such as:

My last boss would leave on the dot of five every day.

There is a wide range of other uses of “will”/”would” which would require a whole book, but I guess I would say that, wouldn’t I?

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RE:

Correct grammar – Is it – "I WOULD be happy to…" OR "I WILL be happy to…"?

I swear I've read SOMEWHERE that "I will be happy to" is incorrect – that it's supposed to be "I would be happy to." Can someone out there who has education and experience in what really is correct and incorrect help me? I've tried going online for the answer, but…

I was about to answer your question when I noticed that Bookbinder had beaten me to it (again!) with a superbly-accurate reply! Well done, Bookbinder! Compared with your answers, any other answerer is but a “pale and bloodless emulation.” [W. Shakespeare. Troilus and Cressida. I.iii]

Both can be correct depending on your meaning.

“Would” sets up a condition, as in “I would go to the party if I had a car.” In your sentence, do you mean you would be happy to [do something] if some condition is met? For example, you can say “I would be happy to help you if you pay me.”

“Will” describes an event that will occur, as in “I will go to the party.” In your sentence, do you mean that you will be happy to [do something]? For example, you can say “I will be happy to help you on Tuesday.”

That’s a good point