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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Mood
Hello,
The prisoner would admit nothing, so they left.
How to guess the mood here - habitual action or conditional or whatever else?
Warmly,
The prisoner would admit nothing, so they left.
How to guess the mood here - habitual action or conditional or whatever else?
Warmly,
Top answer
It's the "would not" that means to refuse. Although the word "not" is not there, it's a negatively cast sentence. He would admit nothing = He wouldn't admit anything = He refused to admit anything.
- It's the "would not" that means to refuse.
- Although the word "not" is not there, it's a negatively cast sentence.
- He would admit nothing = He wouldn't admit anything = He refused to admit anything.
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3 Answers
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It's the "would not" that means to refuse.
Although the word "not" is not there, it's a negatively cast sentence.
He would admit nothing = He wouldn't admit anything = He refused to admit anything.
Although the word "not" is not there, it's a negatively cast sentence.
He would admit nothing = He wouldn't admit anything = He refused to admit anything.
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Thank you for clearing that up, GG. Could it also mean 'was going to admit'?
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AnonymousCould it also mean 'was going to admit'?Yes. but you'd probably need to add wording to make that usage clear:
It was obvious that the prisoner would admit nothing, so the session was aborted.
The prisoner would admit nothing, so they left.
In your original, it
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