Will vs. Can — What's the Difference?

Used for future predictions.

Indicates present ability or skill.

Expresses willingness or promises.

Suggests theoretical possibility.

Indicates decisions made at the moment of speaking.

Denotes permission.

Shows determination or intent.

Used in offering or requesting assistance.

Can denote habitual behavior.

Expresses feasibility or practicality.

The mental faculty by which one deliberately chooses or decides upon a course of action

Be able to

Diligent purposefulness; determination

Be permitted to

Self-control; self-discipline

Used to request someone to do something

A desire, purpose, or determination, especially of one in authority

Preserve (food) in a can

Deliberate intention or wish

Dismiss from a job

Free discretion; inclination or pleasure

A cylindrical metal container

Bearing or attitude toward others; disposition

Prison

A legally executed document containing this declaration.

The toilet

To decide on or intend

Headphones.

To yearn for; desire

A woman's breasts.

To decree, dictate, or order

A usually cylindrical metal container.

To induce or try to induce by sheer force of will

An airtight container, usually made of tin-coated iron, in which foods or beverages are preserved.

To grant in a legal will; bequeath

The contents of such a container

To order to direct in a legal will

(Slang) A jail or prison.

To exercise the will.

(Slang) A toilet or restroom.

To make a choice; choose

(Slang) The buttocks.

To wish; desire

(Slang) A naval destroyer.

(auxiliary) Used to express the future tense, sometimes with some implication of volition when used in the first person. Compare shall.

To seal in an airtight container for future use; preserve

(auxiliary) To be able to, to have the capacity to.

(Slang) To make a recording of

(auxiliary) Expressing a present tense with some conditional or subjective weakening: "will turn out to", "must by inference".

To end the employment of; fire.

(auxiliary) To habitually do (a given action).

To put an end or stop to

(auxiliary) To choose or agree to (do something); used to express intention but without any temporal connotations (+ bare infinitive), often in questions and negation.

To solicit cash donations for a charity or other organization such as a club or amateur sports team by holding out a can or other container in a public place.

To wish, desire (something).

To know how to; to be able to.

To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that).

May; to be permitted or enabled to.

(archaic) Implying will go.

(modal auxiliary verb, defective) To have the potential to; be possible.

To instruct (that something be done) in one's will.

Used with verbs of perception.

(transitive) To bequeath (something) to someone in one's will (legal document).

To know.

(transitive) To exert one's force of will (intention) in order to compel, or attempt to compel, something to happen or someone to do something.

To seal in a can.

One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention.

To preserve by heating and sealing in a jar or can.

The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition.

To discard, scrap or terminate (an idea, project, etc.).

One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands.

To shut up.

Firmity of purpose, fixity of intent

To fire or dismiss an employee.

(archaic) That which is desired; one's wish.

To hole the ball.

(archaic) Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.)

(transitive) To cover (the fuel element in a nuclear reactor) with a protective cover.

The power of choosing; the faculty or endowment of the soul by which it is capable of choosing; the faculty or power of the mind by which we decide to do or not to do; the power or faculty of preferring or selecting one of two or more objects.

A more or less cylindrical vessel for liquids, usually of steel or aluminium, but sometimes of plastic, and with a carrying handle over the top.

The choice which is made; a determination or preference which results from the act or exercise of the power of choice; a volition.

A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a watering can).

The choice or determination of one who has authority; a decree; a command; discretionary pleasure.

A tin-plate canister, often cylindrical, for preserved foods such as fruit, meat, or fish.

Strong wish or inclination; desire; purpose.

A chamber pot, now a toilet or lavatory.

That which is strongly wished or desired.

Buttocks.

Arbitrary disposal; power to control, dispose, or determine.

(slang) Jail or prison.

To wish; to desire; to incline to have.

Headphones.

As an auxiliary, will is used to denote futurity dependent on the verb. Thus, in first person, "I will" denotes willingness, consent, promise; and when "will" is emphasized, it denotes determination or fixed purpose; as, I will go if you wish; I will go at all hazards. In the second and third persons, the idea of distinct volition, wish, or purpose is evanescent, and simple certainty is appropriately expressed; as, "You will go," or "He will go," describes a future event as a fact only. To emphasize will denotes (according to the tone or context) certain futurity or fixed determination.

(archaic) A drinking cup.

To be willing; to be inclined or disposed; to be pleased; to wish; to desire.

(nautical) A cube-shaped buoy or marker used to denote a port-side lateral mark

To form a distinct volition of; to determine by an act of choice; to ordain; to decree.

A chimney pot.

To enjoin or command, as that which is determined by an act of volition; to direct; to order.

An E-meter used in Scientology auditing.

To give or direct the disposal of by testament; to bequeath; to devise; as, to will one's estate to a child; also, to order or direct by testament; as, he willed that his nephew should have his watch.

An ounce (or sometimes, two ounces) of marijuana.

To exercise an act of volition; to choose; to decide; to determine; to decree.

A protective cover for the fuel element in a nuclear reactor.

The capability of conscious choice and decision and intention;

An obs. form of began, imp. & p. p. of Begin, sometimes used in old poetry. [See Gan.]

A fixed and persistent intent or purpose;

A drinking cup; a vessel for holding liquids.

A legal document declaring a person's wishes regarding the disposal of their property when they die

A vessel or case of tinned iron or of sheet metal, of various forms, but usually cylindrical; as, a can of tomatoes; an oil can; a milk can.

Decree or ordain;

To preserve by putting in sealed cans

Have in mind;

To know; to understand.

Determine by choice;

To be able to do; to have power or influence.

To be able; - followed by an infinitive without to; as, I can go, but do not wish to.

Airtight sealed metal container for food or drink or paint etc.

The quantity contained in a can

A buoy with a round bottom and conical top

The fleshy part of the human body that you sit on;

A plumbing fixture for defecation and urination

A room equipped with toilet facilities

Preserve in a can or tin;

Terminate the employment of;

"Will" expresses future intention, certainty, or willingness to perform an action.

"Can" is used to indicate someone's ability, possibility, or permission to do something, without necessarily implying future action.

Yes, "will" is used in questions to inquire about someone's willingness or preference, e.g., "Will you attend the meeting?"

While often used for present abilities, "can" can also refer to general abilities or theoretical possibilities, not bound by time.

While "can" is commonly used, "may" is preferred in formal contexts for requests or seeking permission.

Tone or emphasis can change the meaning or perceived certainty, with strong emphasis on "will" suggesting determination, and on "can," a strong assertion of ability.

"Will" often indicates a stronger commitment to future actions, while "can" focuses on the present or general ability or possibility, without implying commitment.

Yes, "will" is often used to make predictions about the future based on present evidence or belief.

"Can" can imply future abilities when combined with context that sets the time frame, e.g., "After this course, I can improve my skills."

Yes, "will" can express habitual actions or behaviors, especially those that are characteristic or likely to happen under specific circumstances.

The context, such as time frame and level of certainty or commitment, greatly affects the choice between "will" and "can" to convey the intended meaning accurately.

"Will" and "can" generally cannot be used interchangeably as they convey different meanings related to future intent vs. present ability or possibility.

"Will not" (won't) indicates refusal or the decision not to do something in the future, while "cannot" (can't) denotes inability or lack of permission.

Yes, both "will" and "can" can have nuanced uses depending on context, genre, and dialect, which might not strictly adhere to the general rules.

Yes, "will" can suggest likelihood or probability, especially when talking about habitual actions or general tendencies.