student asking question

How does the meaning change if I say "will" instead of "would"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Would" in this sentence serves as a conditional verb that describes an imaginary or hypothetical situation. It is used in cases where you are imagining what would happen if something were to occur. If you were to replace "would" with "will" here, this would make the sentence present tense and indicate that she is intending to list everything she can do with magic. This is because "will" is a present-tense verb and does not refer to a hypothetical situation, but instead expresses intent to do something, while "would" is used when you are not intending to do something. Ex: It would take a lot of work to be an athlete. Ex: It will take hard work to be an athlete. In the first example, "would" describes an imaginary situation and shows that the speaker is not intending to become an athlete. In the second example, "will" expresses intent to become an athlete.

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