0
Maple Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

would in a sentence.

0Sentence: 02br
02br
00How sad that after four tumultuous years of leading the free world it 01b01u00would02u02b00 all fizzle into one miserable pile of requests from a bunch of crooks.02br
02br
00Question:02br
02br
00What does01b01u00 would02u02b00 mean or function as in the above sentence? (Only the past tense of 01i00will02i00?)02br
02br
00Thanks in advance!0-
  

Top answer

0 I think you are going to have to provide more context. It's not clear what is being said here. 0-

— RayH

  • 0 I think you are going to have to provide more context.
  • It's not clear what is being said here.
  • 0-
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

8 Answers
0
0 I think you are going to have to provide more context. It's not clear what is being said here. 0-
0
0
0 Hi Maple02br
00I agree with RayH - but your guess may be right.02br
00Cheers02br
00CB 0-
0
0
1blockquote
00...more context...12blockquote
10They were about pardons-desperate pleas from thieves and embezzlers and liars, some still in jail and some who'd never served time but who nonetheless wanted their good names cleared and their beloved rights restored. All claimed to be friends, or friends of friends, or die-hard supporters, though only a few had ev
0
0
0 Well, as always in cases like this my inclination is to defer to the grammar experts, however I think I'll take a shot at this one.02br
00"would" here seems to mean "expressing presumption or expectation" or perhaps "expressing a possibility or likelihood".02br
02br
00Well, that's my best shot. I'll step aside now for the grammar experts. 0-
0
0
0 I agree that's an expectation made using a subjunctive mood construction, but made in the past, at the time the President considered the situation, looking towards the future as seen at that time. 02br
00Think about reported speech, in which 02br
00Will->would (both with the meaning of expectation02br
01i00He thinks01b00 (now)02b
0
0
0Maple,02br
02br
00I could be wrong but my intuitive interpretation, based on the limited context, is “would” is being used in a subjunctive tone. We can express the sentence another way with more or less the same words. 00 02br
02br
00(Imagine) how bad it comes if all (the efforts) fizzle into one miserable pile….02br
02br
0-
0
0
0It's simple.02br
01i00will ~ is going to02i02br
01i00would ~ was going to02i02br
00Remember, the author has the advantage of knowing what finally happened after that point in the past -- even though the actors in the narrative did not know their own future at the time.02br
01i00How sad that it was all going
0
0
0But, before that sentence, at the beginning part of the paragraph, what is described is 01b00already02b00 a phenomenon of a miserable pile of requests from a bunch of crooks. Wouldn't it be better to use the simpe past tense as01i00 "How sad that after four tumultuous years of leading the free world it all 01b00fizzled02b00 into one miser
0

Related Questions