Why "could" and why not "would"?

tinanam0102 If you told me to cry, I could

This verse is a type 2 conditional sentence. There are 3 types of conditionals.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/conditional2

Hi Dimsumexpress,

Thank you for your link. I'll look it up.

Regards,

Tinanam

Hi Dimsumexpress,

I think I wrote my question very wrong. I understand them as conditionals and I meant to say why "could" is used over "would" in the verse.

- If you told me to cry, I could

- If you told me to die for you, I would

Thanks

Tinanam

tinanam0102 I understand them as conditionals and I meant to say why "could" is used over "would" in the verse.

Because they rhyme, and that sounds better than reptition. Don't take lyrics too seriously.

(Possibly the rationale is that dying is more severe than crying, yet he only expresses capability of crying but a willingness to die -- bu

Hi Ferdis,

Thanks again.

Rhyming and seriousness aside, could I know if "I could" in the first verse in that content means "this man can be able to cry if this girl asks her, but there's a possibility he won't cry."?

Regards,

Tinanam

Really, Ferdis's advice is right on the money. (That means that it's accurate.)

It's a song. They want lyrics that rhyme. Don't try to analyze them with a lot of meaning and don't try to make sense of them grammatically.

I suspect that you are already putting more thought into the possible meanings than the person who wrote the song.

Hi Ferdis, Hi Grammar Geek,

I am not thinking about this song story, I just happened to watch it on youtube with the verse on the screen when my partner at work played it. I have had trouble with the use of "would" and "could", and I'd like to know if "could" usage is more relunctant than "would" if the person say "I could" in conditional. My grammar book tells me I could use "could"