Difference between would and will?

Question

Thank you for your time reading this. I am from China and have learned British English for years from my middle school to undergraduate time. I normally take 'would' as the past form of 'will', though I know 'would' may also work as an auxiliary verb which could be used in subjunctive mood. Now I come to the United States and have got confused about 'would' and 'will' very much. In the past, whenever it came to something related to the future, I would use 'will'. Now in the USA, people use 'would' a lot. For example, if we are talking about MIT, some guy may say 'I would go to MIT someday'. For me, I prefer to say 'I will go to MIT someday and I will surely make it!' There are many similar examples. I know grammatically both sentences must be correct but I just can't understand the usage of 'would' here. I have looked up some information online. They helped a lot. For example, people say'would' can be used to express your desire or hope. However, from my memory of middle school, it is 'will' that could be used to express your willingness to do something. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, both words can be used to express a desire or wish. Then why people prefer 'would' to 'will'? I am totally lost! People keep using 'would' under those circumstances which I will use 'will' and this really annoys me a lot. Help!

Answer 1

”Will” expresses complete certainty that an event will occur. It is a very strong statement, especially when used to express aspirations. To say “I will go to MIT” sounds, to American ears, that not only are you going to work hard on your studies, but that you have secret knowledge of future events and perhaps even a deity looking out for you, to prevent unexpected misfortune from blocking your path. That would be the only way you could possibly live up to the 100% certainty implicit in the word “will.”

Now, I understand that in British English and older American English, “will” can simply be a way to express determination. But that usage is pretty rare nowadays, and is limited to more literary contexts.

“Would like” is how we currently speak about things we want, things we dream about, things we will work for. I can’t say why the usage changed. Perhaps it’s a reflection of a larger awareness that uncertainty and transience are the reality we live in. But it probably explains why you hear far more usage of “would” than you expected.