You could call this usage the "colorless"
or "plain vanilla" future. The example statement is third person, which
is less likely to have another kind of coloring than one with the first
or second persons.
"The Queen will open the new hospital on Wednesday" announces an arrangement,
a future event seen as a matter of course. Similar statements include
Flight 7988 will arrive at Gate 54.
Dinner will be served a bit
late this evening.
This year the graduating seniors
will wear white caps and gowns.
These statements could theoretically be prefaced with "For your information,?
Note that all these statements are in the third person and that they
have time or location adverbials that reinforce the "colorless future" force
of the utterance.
Other third-person statements with will + base form
can have other colorings. Here are a few.
[Prediction:] Don’t worry,
things will get better.
[Characteristic behavior:] He‘ll sit there for
hours, just daydreaming.
[Willingness:] Our company will accept your
offer.
[Commitment or promise:] Okay, my lawyer will get in touch
with your lawyer.
[Refusal (negative):]
He just won’t take no for an answer.
Of course, with a different context,
the statement above about the Queen could have some of these other
colorings:
| A: |
The Queen will open the new hospital on Sunday,
I’ll bet. |
B: |
No, she will open it on Wednesday, just you wait
and see! (I predict it.) |
|
|
A: |
The Queen didn’t want to open the new hospital on
Wednesday, did she? |
B: |
No, she didn’t, but now she’s agreed. She will open
it on Wednesday. (She is willing.) |
Far-fetched, but conceivable:
|
A:
|
The Queen doesn’t want to open the new hospital on Wednesday.
|
B:
|
The Queen will open the new hospital on Wednesday, you may be
sure. (I’ll see to it!)
|
Third-person constructions with will + base form of the
verb express, more often than not, the simple future, something expected.
Exceptions are usually easy to spot.
See also a related discussion in the message "Will
vs. be going to."
Marilyn Martin