Will/Want

What’s the difference between will and want?

Will and want are often mixed up but their meanings are quite different; will talks about the future whereas want expresses a wish.

Learn the difference with Lingolia’s quick and easy examples, then put your knowledge to the test in the exercise.

Use want to:

express a desire or wish

Example:

He wants to own his own restaurant, it’s his dream.

Use will to:

talk about the future in the different future tenses;

Example:

Annie will be eleven in October.
express a strong intention;

Example:

I will live abroad one day.
show certainty;

Example:

I’m sure everything will be ok in the end.
make predictions;

Example:

I think Liverpool will win the league this year.
make promises;

Example:

I promise I’ll call you later.
make requests;

Example:

Will you help me with this, please?

Compare:

Example:: I will live abroad one day.; the speaker firmly believes this, by using will he/she refers to a certainty

: I want to live abroad one day.; this sentence is not as strong as the one above; it only expresses a wish, it doesn’t make any reference to the likelihood of this happening

will	want
is a modal verb so only exists in the future tense and the past form would Examples: I will check the schedule tomorrow. He said he would come next weekend.	is not a modal verb so exists in every tense Examples: I have always wanted to travel. I want a sandwich.
does not take a preposition	takes the preposition to before a verb in the infinitive Example: He wants to start a hobby.
does not require an auxiliary (help verb) for negatives and questions Example: He won’t say yes, he never does. Will you help me for a moment?	requires an auxiliary (help verb) for negatives and questions in the different tenses Example: I didn’t want to help. Did you want to do that?
cannot be used before a noun, can only be used before an infinitive Example: I think it will rain later.	can be used before a noun and an infinitive Examples: I really want a new handbag. I really want to buy a new handbag.

Both will and want can be used as nouns. They also have a difference in meaning.

As a noun, a will can refer to:

Example:: She has an iron will, when she decides to do something she doesn’t stop until she has achieved her goal.

legal papers that explain what should be done with property and money after their owner dies

Example:: In his will he left his entire fortune to his cat, the family were furious.

In contrast, a want can refer to: