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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Responding with Modals: Can, Could, Will, Would
When I visited an English-speaking country before, I heard some people in the following exchange:
Customer: Can I pay by credit card?
Cashier: Yes, you could.
Isn't "Yes, I can" normally the correct response here?
If both 'can' and 'could' are acceptable here, what's the difference?
Boy: Would you recommend the resort?
Girl: Yes, I will.
Again, I think "Yes, I would" is the correct response here, but why do some people respond with 'will' when the question starts with 'would'?
What's the difference between saying 'will' and 'would' here?
Thanks in advance for your input.
Customer: Can I pay by credit card?
Cashier: Yes, you could.
Isn't "Yes, I can" normally the correct response here?
If both 'can' and 'could' are acceptable here, what's the difference?
Boy: Would you recommend the resort?
Girl: Yes, I will.
Again, I think "Yes, I would" is the correct response here, but why do some people respond with 'will' when the question starts with 'would'?
What's the difference between saying 'will' and 'would' here?
Thanks in advance for your input.
Top answer
Your first example is a little strange, but the second one is normal. The forms would and could can substitute for will and can in a question, to make the question more polite. The listener will interpret would as will and could as can when answering.
- Your first example is a little strange, but the second one is normal.
- The forms would and could can substitute for will and can in a question, to make the question more polite.
- The listener will interpret would as will and could as can when answering.
- -- Would / Could ...
- -- Yes, ...
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9 Answers
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Your first example is a little strange, but the second one is normal.
The forms would and could can substitute for will and can in a question, to make the question more polite. The listener will interpret would as will and could as can when answering.
-- Would / Could ... ?
-- Yes, ... will / can ....
The forms would and could can substitute for will and can in a question, to make the question more polite. The listener will interpret would as will and could as can when answering.
-- Would / Could ... ?
-- Yes, ... will / can ....
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Hi Anon
Your mini-dialogues don't sound particularly normal/typical to my ear (especially the first one), and since there isn't any further context that might possibly explain or justify why those particular responses were used, it's not possible to explain it that way.
What I can say is that in spoken English people often make one accidental mistake or another. That's the na
Your mini-dialogues don't sound particularly normal/typical to my ear (especially the first one), and since there isn't any further context that might possibly explain or justify why those particular responses were used, it's not possible to explain it that way.
What I can say is that in spoken English people often make one accidental mistake or another. That's the na
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Thanks CJ and Yankee for your explanations. That makes sense to me now.
YankeeAs regards your second dialogue, if you changed the word "the" to "a", then the boy might possibly be asking the girl politely (i.e. with "would") to suggest a resort, and the girl can then reply with "will" to indicate her unconditional willingness to accommodate his request:Just a
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YankeeBoy: Would you recommend a resort?Oops. My mistake. I read it as a resort, and now I see it's the resort.
Girl: Yes, I will.
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Hi CJ,
Could you also comment on my last posting?
Isn't it possible to use 'the' in the question and 'will' in the answer, given my reason that the girl stongly recommends the resort?
Boy: Would you recomment the resort?
Girl: Yes, I will.
Could you also comment on my last posting?
Isn't it possible to use 'the' in the question and 'will' in the answer, given my reason that the girl stongly recommends the resort?
Boy: Would you recomment the resort?
Girl: Yes, I will.
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Hi Anon
If you use the word "the", then the only possible context that comes to my mind would be a situation in which the boy is essentially requesting the girl to advertise (via her recommendation) a particular hotel to someone else.
Here again, there would be a polite request (using would), and a response that indicates willingness (using will).
If you use the word "the", then the only possible context that comes to my mind would be a situation in which the boy is essentially requesting the girl to advertise (via her recommendation) a particular hotel to someone else.
Here again, there would be a polite request (using would), and a response that indicates willingness (using will).
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Hi Yankee,
Thanks so much for that clarification. I usually see this in reviews on travel websites. The question is "Would you recommend this hotel?" and some reviewers would say "Definitely, I will." However, I'm not sure if the response came from a native English speaker.
Incidentally, with the same question "Would you recommend this hotel?", can we say:
Definitely
Thanks so much for that clarification. I usually see this in reviews on travel websites. The question is "Would you recommend this hotel?" and some reviewers would say "Definitely, I will." However, I'm not sure if the response came from a native English speaker.
Incidentally, with the same question "Would you recommend this hotel?", can we say:
Definitely
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Ah, ha. In that case, the word "would" is conditional. In other words, the meaning of the question is something like this:
- If you were asked to recommend this hotel, would you do that?
- If you were asked to recommend this hotel, would you do that?
AnonymousDefinitely, I will.Those sorts of responses make sense in
Probably, I would.
But never:
Definitely, I would.
Probably, I will.
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Everything is perfectly clear to me now and I owe it from you. I really appreciate it.
Thank you and all the best to you.
Cheers,
Mark
Thank you and all the best to you.
Cheers,
Mark
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