guzhao67  +  604704 Thu, 04 Dec 08 02:57 PM Hi there: i need your help. We use simple present tense to tell general truth. I don't understand the tense difference in the following sentence. "Fish live in water" and "oil will float on water". why the first sentence use simple present tense and second one use modal verb "will"? can we replace "will float" by "floats"? guzhao67 Joined on Mon, Oct 20 2008 New Member 41 Simple Present, Tenses, Present Tenses, Modals, Modal Verbs

	Clive  +  604718 Thu, 04 Dec 08 03:05 PM Hi, We use simple present tense to tell general truth. I don't understand the tense difference in the following sentence. "Fish live in water" and "oil will float on water". why the first sentence use simple present tense and second one use modal verb "will"? can we replace "will float" by "floats"? Yes, you can. I wouldn't commonly say 'fish will live in water' because that's where you normally and always find fish. 'Oil will float on water' is possible to say, because you don't always or even normally find oil on water. The use of 'will' indicates that the speaker is thinking conditionally, ie (If oil is mixed with water) oil will float on water. Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,654 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo Simple Present, Tenses, Present Tenses, Modals, Modal Verbs