Would

Question

I walked out on my family.

You -- well -- what about your sister? I mean, you live with her to protect her, right?

Well, I don't think that's going to be an issue. I would imagine that tonight she'll be moving into casa de Corinthos after they get married.

Someone please explain why the word "would" was used in this sentence. I think just "imagine" would be enough. I would very much appreicate it. Thanks so much!

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,
I walked out on my family.

You -- well -- what about your sister? I mean, you live with her to protect her, right?

Well, I don't think that's going to be an issue. I would imagine that tonight she'll be moving into casa de Corinthos after they get married.

Someone please explain why the word "would" was used in this sentence. I think just "imagine" would be enough. I would very much appreicate it. Thanks so much!

'I would imagine' shows less certainty than 'I imagine'.

Thim of it as 'If I knew all the facts about the situation, I would imagine . . '.
It makes the statement a bit more hypothetical.

'I would . . ' is also often used to add politeness, by reducing the certainty and strength of the statement. Without more context, I don't know if that's the case here."

Best wishes, Clive

CalifJim · Answer

would is used with several verbs of supposition and expectation to weaken the verb by indicating the speaker's lack of evidence as the result of not having thought the matter over thoroughly. It signals that the speaker does not wish to be held responsible for the absolute accuracy of what follows.

I would imagine that ... is thus similar to I haven't thought much about it, but I imagine that ...
Others are
I would think that, I would suspect that, I would expect that, I would guess that, I would anticipate that, I would hope that, I would trust that, I would suppose that, I would assume that, I would say that, I would (not) doubt that.
-- Where is he?
-- I would [suspect / imagine / expect / assume / suppose / think / say / guess] that he has gone home by now.
-- Maybe he's just gone to the restroom?
-- I would doubt that he's there.
-- Has he got home safe, I wonder?
-- I would [trust / hope / expect / imagine / assume / anticipate / not doubt ] that he has.
____
Most of these are used with the complement so and its negative not. Here are a few examples:

I would hope so. I would assume so. I would say so.
I would guess not. I would suppose not. I would expect not.
____
These are almost entirely restricted to the first person, although they are sometimes used in impersonal constructions very formally: One would imagine that ... One would assume that ...

CJ

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