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I met such an offer:

I'll get back to you as soon as I have the information you need.

I wonder why/by what rule in part 2 of the sentence: "as I have the information you need" we don't use the future "as I will have (maybe get) the information you need". We are talking about when (then) I'll get this info.

ColleenV
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Loken
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    This is actually a common question here. I think the real answer is "because that is the way English works." But you can think of it like this: at the time that I get back to you, having the information is not in the future anymore, but is a fact of the present. – stangdon Feb 24 '21 at 19:01
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    So far as I can see, this question has nothing to do with the "*as ... as" construction referred to in the title (specifically, as soon as = when, after). It's just asking why native Anglophones say I'll do it when I'm ready* rather than I'll do it when I will be ready. Many other languages use "future tense" after their equivalent of when** there, but English just doesn't work like that. – FumbleFingers Feb 25 '21 at 14:42
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    Does this answer your question? Will in adverbial clause – FumbleFingers Feb 25 '21 at 14:43
  • @FumbleFingers You know, your comment "Many other languages use "future tense" after their equivalent of when there" made me think about this more deeply. In a way, it would make sense to say (in some hypothetical language) When I have-in-the-future** the information... but English doesn't, strictly speaking, have a future tense, but rather a sort of forward-looking way of talking about the future that's still in the present. Maybe that explains why we don't say "When I will X". – stangdon Mar 03 '21 at 17:15
  • @stangdon: I'm firmly of the opinion that English only has two tenses - one being "Present", and the other being "not-Present" (which isn't not necessarily "Past"). Most of what we'd call "verb tenses" in other languages is handled in English by auxiliary verbs. (I got that perspective from John Lawler here, and I really hope I haven't misunderstood him, 'cos it makes a lot of sense to me! :) – FumbleFingers Mar 03 '21 at 17:54
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    @FumbleFingers: My read of it is that English has past and not-past (which is conventionally called "present" but can also be used in future constructions). You would never say "*I will ate breakfast tomorrow." But "I will eat breakfast tomorrow" is fine. – Kevin Jul 27 '21 at 20:11
  • @Kevin: Excellent perspective! I know we're pretty much two sides of the same coin here, but on reflection I think your description makes more sense. If I imagine we started with some primitive "proto-English" that didn't even have tenses, it stands to reason that once we come up with a morphological change to convey *past, the original "base" form is immediately restricted to "not-past" - which by default still includes everything else besides "present". We might subsequently assign other meanings to the past tense (eg - if something did happen*), but past / not-past is good. – FumbleFingers Jul 28 '21 at 11:47

1 Answers1

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We absolutely can't use the future tense there. It's just not idiomatic when followed by words such as: after, the moment/minute, as soon as, until, before, etc.

In English, it's not possible to say: until I will turn up. Maybe it is in some other languages. So this issue could be perceived as false translation.

@stangton It surely is a very frequently asked question. You should do some research before posting a question.

On a side note, "as soon as" is a default construction itself. You shouldn't break it into parts and say: as soon [as you...].

Alex TheBN
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