A reader, Napoleon C., asked me the following question point-blank the other week: “I’m not so sure which of these two sentences is grammatically right: ‘I hope that you would get well soon!’ ‘I hope you will get well soon!’ Please tell me.”
Here’s my reply to Napoleon:
The first sentence is grammatically correct: “I hope that you would get well soon!” This sentence has the pattern “subject + operative verb + the relative pronoun ‘that’ + noun clause,” and the combination of “that” and the noun clause (“you would get well soon”) is what’s known as a relative noun clause. Normally, relative noun clauses that follow operative verbs like “hope” require the modal auxiliary “would” rather than “will” for their verb. This is to indicate that the outcome of the action is uncertain or conditional—it is desired but is not sure to happen or take place.
In the same token, therefore, if we replace “hope” in that sentence with a similar verb of uncertainty like “wish,” “expect,” or “pray,” we would also need to use “would” in the relative clause: “I wish that you would get well soon!” “I expect that you would get well soon!” “I pray that you would get well soon!”
In contrast, when the operative verb expresses certainty in the expected outcome, the relative noun clause should use the auxiliary verb “will”: “I am sure that you will get well soon!” “I am positive that you will get well soon!” “I am certain that you will get well soon!”
Now, Napoleon’s second sentence, “I hope you will get well soon!” is actually an elliptical form of the sentence “I hope that you will get well soon!” Recall now that in English grammar, an elliptical sentence is one that lacks a grammar element, but it’s easy to infer that element from the logic or pattern of the sentence. In this particular case, the elliptical construction drops the conjunction “that” for brevity and ease of articulation, but this doesn’t change the modal character of the expected outcome to outright certainty.
Thus, the elliptical form of the sentence would still require the modal auxiliary “would” to indicate that uncertainty: “I hope you would get well soon!” Similarly, for the verbs “wish,” “expect,” and “pray,” we should also use the modal “would” when we make the sentences elliptical: “I wish you would get well soon!” “I expect you would get well soon!” “I pray you would get well soon!”
Napoleon’s question having been answered, though, we must now clearly distinguish this use of “would” from its two other major uses: (1) as the past tense of “will” in indirect speech, and (2) as a softer form of “will” when expressing polite offers or requests.
Remember now that when the “reporting verb” in indirect or reported speech is in the past tense, the verb in the main clause generally gets “backshifted” or takes one step back in tense. Assume, for instance, that a male official has made the following direct remark: “I will cancel their franchise because of their blatant abuses.” In reported speech, the auxiliary verb “will” gets backshifted to the past tense “would”: “He said he would cancel their franchise because of their blatant abuses.”
A major exception to this backshifting is when the reporting verb is itself in the modal form. Take this direct remark: “I would like to cancel their franchise outright.” There’s no backshifting in the reported speech for it: “He said he would like to cancel their franchise outright.”
When making an offer or request in polite society, of course, the socially graceful thing to do is to use “would” instead of “will.” We don’t ask, “Will you like to have dinner now?” and we don’t say, “I will like some quiet here, please.” Instead, we ask, “Would you like to have dinner now?” and say, “I would like some quiet here, please.” (June 14, 2008)
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From the weekly column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in The Manila Times, June 14, 2008 issue, © 2008 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp.
