Would: form
Affirmative form
Wouldcomes first in the verb phrase (after the subject and before another verb):
Dadwould singto us every evening.
Wouldcannot be used with another modal verb:
When Tracy opened the door, she thought shewouldfind an empty room.
Not: …she thought she would might find an empty room. or …she thought she might would find an empty room.
Negative form
The negative form ofwouldiswouldn’t. We don’t usedon’t,doesn’t, didn’twithwould:
Therewouldn’tbe any food in the house.
Not:There didn’t would be any food in the house.
We use the full formwould notin formal contexts or when we want to emphasise something:
Your fatherwouldnotapprove.
See also:
Modal verbs
Question form
The subject andwouldchange position to form questions. We don’t usedo, does, did:
Wouldthat be a good idea?
Not:Does this would that be a good idea?
Wouldn’tthat be a good idea?
We can usewouldandwouldn’tin question tags:
She wouldn’t be any help,wouldshe?
They would enjoy that,wouldn’tthey?
Would:uses
Requests
We often usewouldto make requests. It is a more polite and indirect form ofwill.
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See also:
Wouldorwill?
Conditional sentences
We often usewould(or the contracted form’d) in the main clauseof a conditional sentence when we talk about imagined situations:
If we had left earlier, wewouldhave been able to stop off for a coffee on the way.
If we went to Chile, we’dhave to go to Argentina as well. I’d love to see both.
See also:
Conditionals
Habitual actions in the past
We usewouldto refer to typical habitual actions and events in the past. This is usually a formal use and it often occurs in stories (narratives):
I had a friend from Albany, which is about 36 miles away, and wewouldmeet every Thursday morning and shewouldhelp us.
Then hewouldwash; then hewouldeat his toast; then hewouldread his paper by the bright burning fire of electric coals.
We can’t usewouldin this way to talk about states. In these cases, we sayused toinstead ofwould:
Iused tolive in Melbourne when I was a kid.
Not:I would live in Melbourne when I was a kid.
See also:
Used to
Talking about the future in the past
We usewouldto talk about the future in the past. The speaker looks forward in time from a point in the past (underlined below):
When I was youngI thought that in years to come Iwouldbe really tall.
When I broke my leg, I thought Iwouldnever dance again.
Reported clauses
We usewouldas the past form ofwillin reported clauses.
statement withwill | reported |
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Weather forecast:
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See also:
Wouldorwill?
Reported speech
Willingness in the past
We usewouldto talk about willingness in past time situations. We usually use the negative formwouldn’tin this case:
The CD wasn’t working so I brought it back to the shop but theywouldn’tgive me my money back because they said the box had already been opened.
Being less direct
We often usewouldwith verbs such asadvise, imagine, recommend, say, suggest, thinkto make what we say less direct.
advise |
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imagine |
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recommend |
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say |
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suggest |
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think |
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Wouldorwill?
We can use wouldas a more formal or polite alternative towillin requests. We often use the phrasewould you mind+ -ingin polite requests.
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Usingwouldmakes the request more formal and polite. |
Willandwouldcan both refer to willingness. We usewillfor present and future time andwould, usually in the negative, for past time:
Johnwillcarry your suitcase. It’s far too heavy for you.(present)
The taxi driverwouldn’ttake more than four in the car.(past)
There are a number of phrases withwouldwherewillcannot be used:
Wouldyou likeyour steak well cooked?
Not:Will you like your steak well cooked?
Wouldyou mindintroducing me to him?
Not:Will you mind introducing me to him?
Wouldyouratherpay by credit card?
Not:Will you rather pay by credit card?
See also:
Mind