There being no future inflection in Old E., the present is used
instead:--_ne [=a].b[=y]hth n[=ae]fre E[=a]dmund Hinguare_ (Edmund will
never submit to H.); _g[=a] [.g][=e] on m[=i]nne w[=i]n[.g]eard, and ic
s[e,]lle [=e]ow thaet riht bith_ (go ye into my vineyard, and I will give
you what is right). As we see in this example, there is a tendency to use
_b[=e]on_ in a future sense. Another example is _[.g]if ic b[=e]o
[.g]e.bunden mid seofon r[=a]pum, s[=o]na ic b[=e]o [.g]e.wield_ (if I am
bound with seven ropes, I shall at once be overcome). The future is
sometimes expressed by _will_ and _shall_, as in Modern English, though
generally with a sense of volition with the one, and of necessity with the
other, the idea of simple futurity coming out most clearly in the
preterites _wolde_ and _scolde_:--
_H[=e] [.g]e.l[=ae]hte [=a]ne l[=e]on the hine [=a].b[=i]tan wolde_ (he
seized a lion {46} that was going to devour him); _h[=i]e w[=e]ndon thaet
h[=i]e scolden m[=a]re on.f[=o]n_ (they expected to receive more).