What’s the difference?
1. Will you put out your cigarette?
2. Would you put out your cigarette?

English (US)

No difference. In American English we would say "Would you put out your cigarette?" more commonly in conversational tone.

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English (US)

There's no difference. If it were me, I would say "can you put your cigarette out?" No difference in meaning, but I think "put your cigarette out" sounds better.

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Simplified Chinese (China)

@Syurreal @yuen02 Thank you both. Could you tell me what’s the difference between “will” and “would” when making a request?

For example, I noticed that you Americans always say “*will* you marry me” and “*would* you help me”. Why don’t you say “would you marry me” or “will you help me”?

English (US)

@suitboy you can say both “Will you help me?” and “Would you help me?”

“Would” is just more polite.

Simplified Chinese (China)

@therealtrash Thank you. Then can I say “would you marry me”? Because it’s more polite to ask.

English (US)

@suitboy That is completely fine, yes. 👍

Simplified Chinese (China)

@therealtrash Hmm, but I’ve never heard “would you marry me”. So, I guess there are some situations where Americans tend to use one instead of the other? 🤔 I’m often confused about which to choose.

English (US)

@suitboy ah, I should have explained this. Sorry.

“Will you marry me?” Is the question people ask while proposing.

However, you can say “Would you marry me?” If you are just curious if someone would be willing to marry you.

It’s a bit situational in this case.

Simplified Chinese (China)

@therealtrash That’s alright. So if I’m not at the wedding, I always need to say “would you marry me”, right?

English (US)

@suitboy if you are not proposing, then you would use “would”. Yes.

Simplified Chinese (China)

@therealtrash Ok, thank you!

English (US)

@suitboy no problem! Your English is very good by the way! Keep up the good work ;)

Simplified Chinese (China)

@therealtrash I will. You’re so nice!

English (US)

@suitboy

This is complicated.

Marriage proposals just have a set phrase, so I wouldn't worry about that.

When we use the word "would," it's often used in what we call the "subjunctive" in English grammar. Here is an example of the subjunctive:

"If I were rich, I would travel the world." ✔

If you said it this way, it's unnatural and wrong:

'If I were rich, I will travel the world." ✗

If your question is only about requests, I personally feel that "would" is less direct and more polite, but both are usable. Most of the time though, it's better to include "please," like "would you please pick something up for me at the store."

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Simplified Chinese (China)

@yuen02 Thank you for elaborating on that! For that last example sentence, can I say “Would you please pick up something for me at the store”? I placed “up” in front of “something”.

English (US)

@suitboy

This is complicated.

Marriage proposals just have a set phrase, so I wouldn't worry about that.

When we use the word "would," it's often used in what we call the "subjunctive" in English grammar. Here is an example of the subjunctive:

"If I were rich, I would travel the world." ✔

If you said it this way, it's unnatural and wrong:

'If I were rich, I will travel the world." ✗

If your question is only about requests, I personally feel that "would" is less direct and more polite, but both are usable. Most of the time though, it's better to include "please," like "would you please pick something up for me at the store."

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English (US)

@suitboy In casual speech, most likely no one will notice or care whether you say "pick up something" or "pick something up." But "pick something up" does sound better in English, especially written English.

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Simplified Chinese (China)

@yuen02 Ok. Thank you! Just now you said it’s better to include “please” when starting a sentence with “would” to make a request. If I don’t include “please”, would I sound impolite?

eg: Would you pick something up for me at the store?

English (US)

@suitboy The closer your relationship with the person, the less important it is to say "please." So with close friends and family, it's not as important. But it's also not strange to say "please" with family, depending on how big the favor is. Asking your brother "Would you pick something up for me at the store?" is no big deal. But when asking your brother to help you move (搬家), "please" might be appropriate.

This is all subjective and individual, though. Someone else may give you a different answer.

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