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English 1b3 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Implied conditional question--do/would/will

a. What time would you want to go to the movies?

b. What time do you want to go to the movies?

What is the difference between these two above?

Is the former just an implied conditional ("...go to the movies, if I want to go to the movies)?

What about this one? how is this one different?

c. What time will you want to go to the movies?





Thanks, have a good day
  

Top answer

a. What time would you want to go to the movies? I call this "fatuous would ".

— CalifJim

  • a.
  • What time would you want to go to the movies?
  • I call this "fatuous would ".
  • In practical terms, it's just plain silly without an explicit condition or an equivalent context.
  • It's almost a parody of the upper classes to my ear.
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3 Answers
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a. What time would you want to go to the movies?

I call this "fatuous would". In practical terms, it's just plain silly without an explicit condition or an equivalent context. It's almost a parody of the upper classes to my ear. To get the true effect I'm referring to, change it to

At what o'clock would milord wish to attend the presentation of moving pictures at t
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CalifJim I call this "fatuous would". In practical terms, it's just plain silly without an explicit condition or an equivalent context

Yes, I was thinking of an instance where there was an equivalent context. Or I suppos the implied conditional could be this:

What time would you want to go to the movies (if you are interested in goin
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English 1b3Valid argument
It seems all right to me. You're right that it could be a hesitant question in the right context.

CJ
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