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Monalisatuan Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
can't understand WOULD
Hi ,
I am very interested in English .But I don't undrestand exactlty the use of WOULD in the following sentences :
1/ The man on the phone had an Australian accent .That WOULD be John .
2/ . A : I saw a girl in his house
B : That WOULD be his daughter
Can I say : 1/ That WILL be John . 2/ B: That WILL be his daughter
According to many grammar books and dictionaries I have ever checked , WILL is used to indicate present and future predictions, and how about WOULD ? Can WOULD be used to indicate predictions in the present and the future ,too?
I should be grateful if somone could help me understand WOULD in the two sentences above
monalisatuan
I am very interested in English .But I don't undrestand exactlty the use of WOULD in the following sentences :
1/ The man on the phone had an Australian accent .That WOULD be John .
2/ . A : I saw a girl in his house
B : That WOULD be his daughter
Can I say : 1/ That WILL be John . 2/ B: That WILL be his daughter
According to many grammar books and dictionaries I have ever checked , WILL is used to indicate present and future predictions, and how about WOULD ? Can WOULD be used to indicate predictions in the present and the future ,too?
I should be grateful if somone could help me understand WOULD in the two sentences above
monalisatuan
Top answer
In your sentences, would is the conditional equivalent of will and indicates a more polite or tentative response by the speaker: That will be John (= If my thinking is correct, that will be John) That would be John (= If my thinking were correct, that would be John)
- In your sentences, would is the conditional equivalent of will and indicates a more polite or tentative response by the speaker: That will be John (= If my thinking is correct, that will be John) That would be John (= If my thinking were correct, that would be John)
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2 Answers
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In your sentences, would is the conditional equivalent of will and indicates a more polite or tentative response by the speaker:
That will be John (= If my thinking is correct, that will be John)
That would be John (= If my thinking were correct, that would be John)
That will be John (= If my thinking is correct, that will be John)
That would be John (= If my thinking were correct, that would be John)
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