student asking question

Does "will not" sound softer than "must not"? If he was going to tell them to not to do something, shouldn't he supposed to use "must not"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Will not" is definitely said much softer than "must not." This is probably because the word "must" is a stronger sounding word due to the -s sound and ending -t sound. To answer your second question, both are perfectly fine to use. When Gru says "You will not touch anything" he is warning the girls that if they touch his stuff there will be consequences. Saying "will not" is a demand but it's phrased in a way that the outcome is already determined by the person making the demand; it's a very strong and serious statement. This is different than "You must not touch anything" because it is more of a request than a demand. Ex: You will not embarrass me. Ex: You must not go there. It's dangerous. Ex: You will not be going tonight. Ex: We must not be late.

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