I have a question about whether I should use won't or don't in the blank space and why?
But I guess we just have to take life as it comes, ___ we?
I know that won't is used for future but I'm not sure.
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Partly depends on what was said up to this point.– Hot LicksJun 15, 2021 at 23:47
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1 Answer
You need "don't" here for concordance with the present tense in the first clause.
"We'll just have to take things as they come, won't we?" uses the future tense.
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1Nonsense. That's perfectly grammatical. First, there is no future tense in English; Second, the don't is, as noted, concordant with the initial have to,so it's fine with a tag question; but so are several negative modal auxiliaries like won't or shouldn't. That's the way it usually works out; one adds options, as a rule, rather than subtracting them. Jun 16, 2021 at 16:03
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@john Lawler, you can and should quibble with my answer, but please don't leave poor teo in the lurch! He asked an either-or question, and as best I can tell you answered, "Yes." You point out several possibilities that could work (I guess), but he didn't ask about ways how to say the opposite of what he's trying to say. *** Please hit me up in Chat to explain why you say English has no future tense.– RoisterJun 16, 2021 at 23:01
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Since won't is just another negative modal auxiliary, of course it's correct, like the others, Jun 17, 2021 at 15:34