Correct sentence?

Question

He still hasn’t called me. It would mean that he hasn’t arrived in India yet. Otherwise he would’ve called me.

Are the sentences above correct? Is the use of would correct in the sentence? Does ‘would’ show uncertainty in the sentence?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

anonymous
He still hasn’t called me. ~~It would mean~~ That means that he hasn’t arrived in India yet; otherwise he would’ve called me.

As shown.

anonymousIs the use of 'would' correct in the sentence?

No. This is "a real situation", not a discussion of theoretical possibilities.

anonymousDoes ‘would’ show uncertainty in the sentence?

No. It just sounds wrong.

I'm not so sure that associating 'would' with uncertainty is a good idea. It may work occasionally, but it usually doesn't.

The verbs with which we use 'would' (in the sense you are thinking about it) are most often verbs which themselves show uncertainty, i.e., lack of complete knowledge about a situation. It's not really the word 'would' that expresses the primary uncertainty in such sentences, but the main verb. seem, appear, guess, and assume are some of the few verbs that fall into this category.

It would seem that ... : a variant of It seems that ...
It would appear that ... : a variant of It appears that ...

I would guess that ... : a variant of I guess that ...
I would assume that ... : a variant of I assume that ...

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

CJ, I just saw a post answered by GPY where he used 'would mean'. Is this would conditional?

KBMan1.She looked surprising.

This is not a common thing to say. It would mean that her appearance surprised other people. Depending on context (e.g. if said by a non-native speaker), it may seem to be an error for (2).

Anonymous · Answer

also, I would like to go over why I even asked my original question in the first place. My original question was:

He still hasn’t called me. It would mean that he hasn’t arrived in India yet; otherwise he would’ve called me.

So why did I ask this question in the first place? Why was I confused on would in the sentence? Here is why. I couldn’t figure out whether “would” in the sentence is a conditional would or a non-conditional would. If somebody just told me it’s a conditional would, I can easily understand that it has a condition also known as if clause and what that if clause is. But if I take the would as a non-conditional would, then I start thinking about the would the same way as how it’s used in sentence A.

A: It would seem that ….

B: It would mean that….

I get the feeling that A and B have the same kind of would. As a result, I take would in B as a non-conditional would. It’s confusing to me that why is would in A not conditional and would in B conditional?

I asked my original question because I didn’t know whether “would mean” was conditional or non conditional. This is why I asked the question. How do I know if a would is conditional or non conditional? I really hope I explained the best way so I can help you to help me.

Anonymous · Answer

Please respond, CJ. I would really appreciate your answers to my questions.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you very much, CJ, for all your time and help. You are awesome. ??????

Anonymous · Answer

Please help me with my questions, CJ. Once you answer them, you can lock the thread. I promise you those are my last questions.

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