will vs would

[Learner7]

1. I don't know whether I will go tomorrow or not.
2. I don't know whether I would go tomorrow or not.

I have two questions:
a. In written English, I'd personally choose the 2nd. Is it okay (because would denotes possibility)?
b. However, if I choose the 1st, is it non standard or incorrect in writing?

[Esl_Expert]

Hello Learner7,

Grammatically speaking, one sentence is no better than the other. Your first sentence is completely standard. The difference between the two sentences lies only in meaning.

Sentence 1 makes a simple statement about the future. The reference is to a real future possibility. It simply means that the speaker has not yet decided about going tomorrow. In essence, 'I will go' and 'I will not go' are equally probable. So you might say that sentence 1 refers to two equally possible possibilities. The speaker is sure that he (the speaker) will either 'go' or 'not go'.
.

Sentence 2 is different. The use of 'would' suggests an unreal or strictly theoretical situation. It might be used in contexts such as these:

- 2a. (If I were in your shoes,) I don't know whether I would go tomorrow or not.

- 2b. (Even if John offered me a million dollars to go with him tomorrow,) I don't know whether I would go tomorrow or not.

In sentence 2a, 'if I were you' is an unreal present/future condition. It is unreal because I am not you.
In sentence 2b, John has not offered me a million dollars and such an offer is only an extremely unlikely, or strictly theoretical future condition. This sentence also suggests that the speaker has probably already decided not to go (and that decision was based on the real situation).

In other words, your second sentence suggests a so-called 'type 2' conditional sentence.
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“Rules make the learner's path long, examples make it short and successful.” ~ Seneca

[Learner7]

Thanks a lot for your vivid explanation.