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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

"If someone is knocking at the door now, it would be / could be Tom."

"If someone is knocking at the door now, it would be / could be Tom."

Although I have never heard of this kind of sentence before, I think the kind of the sentence is okay and natural in some context. Do you native English speakers agree with this? Thank you so much as usual and have a good day.
  

Top answer

" If someone is knocking at the door now, that would be Tom. Notice that the would/could is a real difference. That would be Tom (you know it is Tom and you are just telling them who it is).

— Doctor D

  • " If someone is knocking at the door now, that would be Tom.
  • Notice that the would/could is a real difference.
  • That would be Tom (you know it is Tom and you are just telling them who it is).
  • That could be Tom (you expect Tom, so it might be Tom, but you are not sure).
  • See the difference?
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3 Answers
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The sentences are all right, although I think it might be equally common to use "that."
If someone is knocking at the door now, that would be Tom.

Notice that the would/could is a real difference.

That would be Tom (you know it is Tom and you are just telling them who it is).
That could be Tom (you expect Tom, so it might be Tom, but you are not sure)
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Yes!! Thank you so much and if you do not mind, could you explain the difference between 'might be' and 'the others'?Emotion: smile
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"It might be Tom" is pretty much the same as "It could be Tom." If I had to make a distinction, I would say that "might" is an even weaker possibility. (You have more doubt that it is Tom).

It might be Tom (several people are coming over and Tom is one of them).
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