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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
would have to
My teacher told me this sentence is wrong:
"The end of the age of surplus oil in the U.S. meant that consumers would have to turn to the Middle East and become increasingly dependent on Arab nations for oil.
She says I should have written "consumers had to turn..."
She comments that my use is an incorrect conditional, but I argue that I'm using would in the sense of "used to," like over time which is similar to the Spanish imperfect. Am I using "would have to" wrong?
"The end of the age of surplus oil in the U.S. meant that consumers would have to turn to the Middle East and become increasingly dependent on Arab nations for oil.
She says I should have written "consumers had to turn..."
She comments that my use is an incorrect conditional, but I argue that I'm using would in the sense of "used to," like over time which is similar to the Spanish imperfect. Am I using "would have to" wrong?
Top answer
Anonymous I'm using would in the sense of "used to," This use of "would" implies some habitual or regular action in the past. eg. We would (used to) go to grandmother's house every summer.
- Anonymous I'm using would in the sense of "used to," This use of "would" implies some habitual or regular action in the past.
- eg.
- We would (used to) go to grandmother's house every summer.
- But your sentence is a singular event - the end of an age.
- So a habitual action is not appropriate.
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1 Answers
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Anonymous I'm using would in the sense of "used to,"This use of "would" implies some habitual or regular action in the past. eg. We would (used to) go to grandmother's house every summer.
But your sentence is a singular event - the end of an age. So a habitual action is not appropriate.
If you are writing a factual statement, then
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