3

I have sometimes heard people using won't where I feel is not should be used

For example Someone is not coming out , so they say "He won't come out" instead of "He is not coming out" So here , doesn't won't mean "He will not come out" But shouldn't the correct sentence be "He is not coming out" ?

Improve this question
7
  • Hi Jim, "he won't" definitely does mean "he will not". Have you considered the other meaning of "will" - i.e. not in the sense of something in the future, but of a person's will or intent?
    – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten
    Commented Sep 19, 2018 at 5:20
  • 1
    but what about non-living objects , as pointed out by @ruakh suppose the door won't open , which means it is stuck or locked . Then are we talking about will of the door(a non-living object) ?
    – JIM
    Commented Sep 19, 2018 at 7:13
  • 1
    @JIM Yes, because we might also say 'The door refuses to open'.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Sep 19, 2018 at 8:09
  • @KateBunting But are we correct while saying this ?
    – JIM
    Commented Sep 19, 2018 at 8:37
  • 2
    Whether strictly 'correct' or not, it's perfectly normal in colloquial speech to refer to an inanimate object as though it were deliberately not cooperating. "This knot won't come undone" or "The stone refuses to budge".
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Sep 19, 2018 at 16:13

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
4

The English verb will is related to the noun will, which is one's capacity to want or wish to do something. Originally, the verb had a meaning similar to want/wish, as it still does in Dutch: the verb willen means "to want".

Then at some point its meaning began to partially shift from desirability to probability: he will do it means "it is highly probable for him to do it in the future" rather than "he wants to do it now". It is common for probability and desirability to be somewhat fluid and shift around in all European languages I know. See this question, whose answers contain a more thorough explanation of the shift.

So the verb will changed from wanting to future probability, but not quite: in certain uses, it still (partially) has this old meaning of desirability. The type of sentence you quoted is a good example:

He won't come out.

What this really and originally means is "he doesn't want to come out", the old meaning of the verb. Perhaps the sense of wish or desire is not entirely clear any more to most modern speakers, but it is the reason behind this construction. The fact that we find it odd when we think about it is testimony to that.

Improve this answer
6
  • 1
    I'm not sure. We often use this exact construction for inanimate objects (e.g., "The door won't open" meaning that it's locked or stuck or whatnot), and I don't think we're anthropomorphizing when we do that.
    – ruakh
    Commented Sep 19, 2018 at 3:54
  • So how do we get to know that the person saying won't is actually talking about 'wanting' or about 'will not' ??
    – JIM
    Commented Sep 19, 2018 at 4:34
  • @ruakh Same doubt even I have now .
    – JIM
    Commented Sep 19, 2018 at 4:35
  • 1
    I think what Cerberus is alluding to is the nuance typical of English words, where there are shades of overlapping meaning. "This door won't budge" and "he won't come out" are both statements of future likelihood, but both capture a certain implicit wilfulness (yes, anthropomorphising the door, as we tend to do about "stubborn" [sic] things) which is quite different from saying "it's a holiday tomorrow so the community bus won't run."
    – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten
    Commented Sep 19, 2018 at 7:43
  • 2
    I've changed my mind about my previous comment; we also often say things like "The door didn't want to open" or "The door refused to open", so maybe "The door wouldn't open" really is the same sort of low-level anthropomorphism.
    – ruakh
    Commented Sep 19, 2018 at 18:08
1

The "will not" or "won't" sometimes implies it's the choice (will) of the subject. "He isn't" does not. Nevertheless, "He won't" is idiomatic for the same thing, at least in modern usage.

Improve this answer
1
  • 'His leg is broken, he isn't running tomorrow.' 'He objects to the rules, he isn't running tomorrow.' I would say that 'he isn't' still covers both meanings.
    – Nigel J
    Commented Sep 19, 2018 at 12:27

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .