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Nina_Nia Posted 15 years ago
Vocabulary

'Would' in English

Hello,

What is the meaning of 'would' in this sentence?

St. James Palace officials confirmed Kate's scar was from an operation she had as a child, but wouldn't go into further detail.

Is it a past refusal like in these examples?

We often use would not to talk about past refusals:
  • He wanted a divorce but his wife would not agree.
  • Yesterday morning, the car wouldn't start.
Thanks
  

Top answer

Oh, and I forgot to ask about why there is no 'they' after 'but'? St. James Palace officials confirmed Kate's scar was from an operation she had as a child, but (they) wouldn't go into further detail.

— Nina_Nia

  • Oh, and I forgot to ask about why there is no 'they' after 'but'?
  • St.
  • James Palace officials confirmed Kate's scar was from an operation she had as a child, but (they) wouldn't go into further detail.
  • Thanks
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3 Answers
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Oh, and I forgot to ask about why there is no 'they' after 'but'?

St. James Palace officials confirmed Kate's scar was from an operation she had as a child, but (they) wouldn't go into further detail.

Thanks
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Rosemary34Hello, What is the meaning of 'would' in this sentence?
St. James Palace officials confirmed Kate's scar was from an operation she had as a child, but wouldn't go into further detail. (= didn't agree to, weren't willing to)

Is it a past refusal like in these examples? Yes, it often is a "refusal".

We oft
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Rosemary34Oh, and I forgot to ask about why there is no 'they' after 'but'? Because we know that the whole sentence is about what the palace officials said and didn't say. But the absence of 'they' raises a question of whether the comma should be there. I would remove the comma.
St. James Palace officials confirmed Kate's scar was from an operation she had as
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