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4444mv Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
past states
I came across the following sentence: Is it correct?
"In The Masque of the Red Death, all the guests to Prince Prosperous’ party would be still and silent whenever the tall Grandfather clock in the living-room chimed the hour."
I was taught not to use would in past states. That's why I have this doubt.
Thank you.
"In The Masque of the Red Death, all the guests to Prince Prosperous’ party would be still and silent whenever the tall Grandfather clock in the living-room chimed the hour."
I was taught not to use would in past states. That's why I have this doubt.
Thank you.
Top answer
"would" apparently refers to habitual activity. It may be debatable whether a single party lasts long enough to establish habitual activity, but on balance the use is probably acceptable. The use of "to" does not sound correct to me.
- "would" apparently refers to habitual activity.
- It may be debatable whether a single party lasts long enough to establish habitual activity, but on balance the use is probably acceptable.
- The use of "to" does not sound correct to me.
- I would say "at" instead.
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4 Answers
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"would" apparently refers to habitual activity. It may be debatable whether a single party lasts long enough to establish habitual activity, but on balance the use is probably acceptable.
The use of "to" does not sound correct to me. I would say "at" instead.
The use of "to" does not sound correct to me. I would say "at" instead.
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Ok GPY. Now, is it true that there is a rule that states that we cannot use "would" when referring to past states?
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4444mvOk GPY. Now, is it true that there is a rule that states that we cannot use "would" when referring to past states?"would be still and silent" suggests a change of state (similar in meaning to "would fall still and silent", say). I cannot think of any comparable use of "would" to describe an unchanging state. Of course, "would" has various other uses too
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