will (predictions and promises)
The crystal-ball verb: it will rain, I will help you, robots will do homework. Guesses, promises and the whole future in one little word.
From age 9Talking about before →
✏️ The pattern
- Saying it
- I will help. It will rain.
- Saying no
- It won't hurt.
- Asking
- Will it snow?
- Short answer
- Yes, it will. / No, it won't.
🗣️ Sentences a child can say
Tap any sentence to hear it. Every one uses words from a topic pack you already have.
🩹 What you will actually hear
The three mistakes that come up in every class, and what is behind each one.
I will to help.I will help.
Will is a modal like can and must — straight to the bare verb, no to.
He wills come.He will come.
Modals never bend for he and she. Will is the same for every subject — that is half its charm.
🎯 How to teach it
- 1
Predictions first, plans never: 'Look at the clouds — it will rain!' Will's home turf is the guess, and weather delivers a fresh guess daily.
- 2
The year-3000 game: children draw the future and present it — 'Cars will fly. School will be on the moon.' Big dreams, identical grammar every sentence.
- 3
Make promises real: end the week with 'Next week I will…' — one promise per child, checked the following Friday. Kept promises make will unforgettable.
🗂️ Topic packs that pair with this
Same structure, words your class already knows — no new vocabulary needed.
💬 Questions teachers ask
How do I keep will and going to apart?
By job, not by rule: going to reports a plan already made ('We're going to have a picnic'), will guesses or promises on the spot ('It will rain! I'll bring the cake!'). Children sort them by situation faster than by explanation.
Won't confuses them — it doesn't sound like will not.
Introduce it as a character: won't is will's grumpy twin. Say the pair aloud daily for a week — will/won't, will/won't — and the strange vowel settles in.