Would

Question

Hi everyone, Why is "would" used in the following passages? 1- He has never been a drinker, so he would not know it. 2- I would never want to become, laissez-fair about this whole process. 3- I would ask you to explain to me what this medication is going to do. 4- You do not take a hundred capsules.That would take me all day. Yes, exactly. I would be exhausted. What I would do is open them up and empty the powder.

5- I would have cold beer to wash that down.You would have have whatever you want.

6- Normally,people go into a coma within few minutes.Oh the heart is so bad it would not handle it. I mean it should pop it right off the bat.

7- In those days, it wan not a public issue.You would be very unlikely to know anything about it.

8- I would not see a doctor again.When you are first diagonsed you want to have some certainty and setting date.

9- Honest truth is I would be guessing.

10- What I am talking about it would be fluid where you really almost look kind of pregnant.

11- I just think, well, would not it be ,nice to just close my eyes and drift off?

12- You know a year ago we would talk about it and argue about it.

13- She just said, "okay, I am going to take the next option". We do not know really which option it would be.

Why is "could" use in the sentence below?

1- You could have Dona here. You could have friends here.

Kind Regards

Michael Chambers Teaching English · Accepted Answer

Dear MFarooq

1. The meaning of "it" is not clear.

3. Polite, formal alternative to "Please tell me...."

5. This usage of "would" does not seem to be correct.

All the others use "would" in the same way. The speakers are speculating hypothetically about the future.

The sentence with "could" does not have a clear meaning. More context could help. By itself, it is not a useful sentence to help you understand any usage of "could".

Kind regards, Michael

MFarooq · Answer

Hi Sir,

Thank you very much for your help.Here "it" mean drugs or medicine.Thanks

Michael Chambers Teaching English · Answer

Ok no problem.  With "drugs" or "medicine", I am afraid that the sentence has no clear meaning.  Kind regards, Michael

CalifJim · Answer

1- He has never been a drinker, so he would not know it.
Derived from the implicit conditional: If he were a drinker, he would know it.

2- I would never want to become, laissez-fair about this whole process.
would never want ~ don't wish (ever) I don't wish ever to become ...

3- I would ask you to explain to me what this medication is going to do.
Not enough context. Most likely past habit or implied conditional.
Probably the latter: If I didn't know what this medication is going to do, I would ask you to explain ...

4- You do not take a hundred capsules.That would take me all day. Yes, exactly. I would be exhausted. What I would do is open them up and empty the powder.
Imagined actions based on the supposition of taking a hundred capsules, therefore an implied conditional.

5- I would have a cold beer to wash that down. You would have ~~have~~ whatever you want.
Implied conditional: If I were you, I would have a cold beer ....
Or implied conditional: If I were in that situation, I would have a cold beer ....

6- Normally,people go into a coma within few minutes.Oh the heart is so bad it would not handle it. I mean it should pop it right off the bat.
Derived from the implicit conditional: If a heart were very bad, it would not handle it.

7- In those days, it was not a public issue.You would be very unlikely to know anything about it.
Past state. In those days you would ...
Implicit conditional: If it was not a public issue, nobody would be likely to know about it.

8- I would not see a doctor again.When you are first diagnosed you want to have some certainty and setting date.
Not enough context.
Conditional: If I were you, I would not see a doctor again.
Future of the past: I was not going to see a doctor again (and I didn't).

9- Honest truth is I would be guessing.
Implicit conditional: I would be guessing if I said anything / if I told you anything / if I gave you any information about it.

10- What I am talking about it would be fluid where you really almost look kind of pregnant.
I don't understand this one, but 'would', as usual, shows that the statement is based on some kind of supposition.

11- I just think, well, would not it be ,nice to just close my eyes and drift off?
Conditional: Wouldn't it be nice IF I just closed my eyes and drifted off?

12- You know a year ago we would talk about it and argue about it.
Past habit.

13- She just said, "okay, I am going to take the next option". We do not know really which option it would be.
Future of the past: We didn't know which option it was going to be.

Why is "could" used in the sentence below?

1- You could have Dona here. You could have friends here.
It would be possible for you to have Dona here. It would be possible for you to have friends here.
Possibly the context clarifies the implicit conditional, but it might be: IF you lived here / IF you moved here

could can mean [was / were able to] or would be able to.

If you could fly high into the sky, you could view the clouds from above.
If you were able to fly high into the sky, you would be able to view the clouds from above.

CJ

Would

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions