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This as what I've been able to establish:

The use of "will" after "if" is legal only when any of the following conditions apply:

  1. The "will" is used as a verb (equivalent to "want"), for example, "If you will".
  2. The "if" can be replaced with a "whether", for example, "I don't know if I will make it on time".

Is each of the two conditions above sufficient to make the use of "will" after "if" legal?

Are there any other cases that I've missed, which make the use of "will" after "if" legal?

barak manos
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    FWIW, I don't think legal is the word you want here. – Drew Sep 16 '14 at 21:06
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    I am beginning to think, after 10 minutes or whatever, that this is the wrong site for me to explore. Well-educated native English speakers rarely know the rules - they just recognise good or bad. So they can tell you if a particular example is right or wrong, but not usually what the rule is! After a couple of minutes thought I have not come up with anything you have missed, but that adds little to the chance that you are correct :( – almagest Sep 16 '14 at 21:09
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    "If you will do this, then I will do that" fits neither, but is perfectly valid. – user0721090601 Sep 16 '14 at 21:15
  • Agreed, "legal" is entirely the wrong term to use here. The actual rule (which is not, as @almagest has pointed out, generally taught, learned, or known by native English speakers) is explained here. It's more complex than you might expect. – John Lawler Sep 16 '14 at 21:20
  • @guifa Except that it should read: If you were to do this, then I would do that. :) [having noticed your views in another question] – almagest Sep 16 '14 at 21:23
  • The will in these cases expresses volition. If you will go, I will go too is semantically similar to if you agree to go, I will go too. – Anonym Sep 16 '14 at 23:18
  • How about "If the will contains what I think it does I'll be rich!"? – Hot Licks Sep 17 '14 at 01:11
  • @Drew: I was actually looking for a substitute while writing down the question, but couldn't quite come up with anything that would fit better (at the time, which was around midnight, possible a part of the reason). – barak manos Sep 17 '14 at 06:30
  • @guifa: To the best of my knowledge, "If you will do this, then I will do that" is not valid. Works fine in many other languages, but in English, the correct way of saying it is "If you do this, then I will do that". – barak manos Sep 17 '14 at 06:31
  • @JohnLawler: Please see my comment to Drew above. – barak manos Sep 17 '14 at 06:33
  • @HotLicks: You're right, I should have added the option of "will" as a noun, but you can just as well use "will" as a name. That wasn't the purpose of my question (i.e., the example you gave is correct, but it's kinda like "playing smart", not a proper counterexample to my question). – barak manos Sep 17 '14 at 06:36
  • It's perfectly natural and commonly said. What's the rationale for restricting it? Also @anonym you can force the future interpretation instead of the volition one in a sentence like "If he will be there then I will..." where the periphrastic substitution wouldn't be "if he agrees/wants to be", rather "if he's going to be" or "if he ends up being" – user0721090601 Sep 17 '14 at 09:02

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