you wouldn't know

Question

*It seems extremely peculiar that you wouldn't know your best friend was going to be married !

I wanted to know, in the sentence above,is it possible to say ; (extremely peculiar that you didnt know your ...)instead of wouldn't ?? And on the other hand in my opinion wouldn't make the sentence nonsence?!!plz explain it for me why we can use wouldn't???

thanks alot

Marius Hancu · Accepted Answer

I'd suggest making full reference to your quotations.

When asking about presumable errors committed by writers, assume first you're in error. TW was a great stylist.

I'd suggest you buy Swan, English Usage, and study "would."
There's no error there.
--------
TOM: 'What's peculiar about it?

AMANDA: Didn't you call him your best friend down at the warehouse?

TOM: He is, but how did I know?

AMANDA: It seems extremely peculiar that you wouldn't know your best friend was going to be married !

TOM: The warehouse is where I work, not where I know things about people !

AMANDA: You don't know things anywhere ! You live in a dream; you manufacture illusions !

THE GLASS MENAGERIE,
by Tennessee Williams

http://perso.orange.fr/absolutenglish-972/notes/uscivi/glassmenagerie/read_scene7.htm
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CalifJim · Answer

Yes, it is possible to use didn't instead of wouldn't without creating an ungrammatical sentence. The meaning is a little different, though.
The following explanation probably doesn't convey every little nuance of meaning contained in wouldn't know, but at least it may get you started in the right direction toward understanding it.
_______

Suppose I ask Mary a question. When Mary responds,

I don't know. Ask Steve. He would know.

she means that Steve is the type of person who usually knows the answers to that type of question. She doesn't mean that he will certainly be able to answer the question, but that he will probably be able to answer it. (The structure He would know is just half of the conditional structure If you asked him, he would know.)

Now suppose instead that Mary responds,

Don't bother to ask Gary. He wouldn't know.

Here Mary means that Gary is the type of person who usually does not know the answers to that type of question. (The structure He wouldn't know is just half of the conditional structure If you asked him, he would not know.)

But I may have a different opinion about Gary. I may think that Gary is the type of person who does usually know answers of that kind. So, in my opinion, Mary's response about Gary is peculiar. I may say,

It seems peculiar that Gary wouldn't know.

meaning that it is strange to me to learn that Gary is not the type of person who knows such things.

So the sentence

It seems extremely peculiar that you wouldn't know your best friend was going to be married!

expresses the speaker's surprise that the other person did not know his best friend was going to be married. The surprise (or the feeling that it is peculiar) occurs because the speaker had certain probabilities in mind (which turned out to be wrong) about whether the other person was the type of person who usually knows such things about his best friend. The speaker is saying something like

In the alternate world I have constructed in my mind, i.e., in the world of my opinions about you and about people like you, you are the sort of person who knows such things, so it is peculiar to me that you don't know this about your best friend.

CJ

you wouldn't know

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