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"I will ..." is a nonpast tense, though.

The semantics is future, but tense is a matter of syntax.

The modal verb which establishes future semantics it not in a future tense; it is in its dictionary form: to will.

In archaic English we can say things like "As I will it, so it shall be" where the verb isn't acting as a modal. The modal will comes from that one, I believe.




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