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Debpriya De Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Use of would
"Where is your father ?"
"I wouldn't know."
Is "I wouldn't know" from the above dialogue short for "If I were asked where my father was I wouldn't know what to say." ?
"I wouldn't know."
Is "I wouldn't know" from the above dialogue short for "If I were asked where my father was I wouldn't know what to say." ?
Top answer
We can't really say that one is 'short' for the other, since 'I wouldn't know' is more a fixed response than anything else. However, the tenor in which it is often used suggests that it might have derived from 'If I wanted to respond, I wouldn't know'.
- We can't really say that one is 'short' for the other, since 'I wouldn't know' is more a fixed response than anything else.
- However, the tenor in which it is often used suggests that it might have derived from 'If I wanted to respond, I wouldn't know'.
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1 Answers
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We can't really say that one is 'short' for the other, since 'I wouldn't know' is more a fixed response than anything else. However, the tenor in which it is often used suggests that it might have derived from 'If I wanted to respond, I wouldn't know'.
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