Would
Would
In previous lessons, we have discussed and learnt a lot about modal verbs and auxiliary verbs. Modal verbs should be of your utmost preference while learning English grammar because they help a lot in expressing necessity or possibility in many different ways.
There are nine common modal verbs in English. In one of the previous lessons, we have learnt about ‘used to’ and ‘would’. We learnt a few uses of ‘would’ as well. In this lesson, you will learn the forms and all of the uses of ‘Would’.
Note: Short form of ‘would’ is ‘d
Structure of using Would
The basic structure of ‘would’ is:
Subject | Would | Main verb | Object/ complement/ adjective |
He | Would | Go | To London |
Affirmative form
The modal verb ‘would’ is always placed after the subject and before the main verb in affirmative sentences. Would is invariable; it has only one form: would. The main verb used along would is in the base form, but sometimes it can be in the form:
- Have +past participle
- Be + -ing
Subject | Auxiliary verb | Main verb | Object/ complement/ adjective | Punctuation |
subject | Would | Base form of a verb | Object/ complement/ adjective | Period(.) |
Example:
- I would like to have tea.
- As an average student, she thought she would pass the exam.
- It would rain.
- He would love to eat fish.
Negative form
Unlike other negative sentences, we don’t use ‘don't/doesn't’ with would but instead use ‘would not’ in negative form. The contracted form of ‘would’ is ‘wouldn’t’. ‘Would not’ is used in a formal context.
Subject | Auxiliary verb +not | Main verb | Object/ complement/ adjective | Punctuation |
subject | Would + not | Base form of a verb | Object/ complement/ adjective | Period(.) |
Example:
- I wouldn’t like to have tea.
- As an average student, she thought she wouldn’t pass the exam.
- It wouldn’t rain.
- He wouldn’t love to eat fish.
Question form
In question form, the structure is the same as for other modal verbs. You have to interchange the positions of the subject and would. You don't need to use 'did, does or do'.
Auxiliary verb | Subject | Main verb | Object/ complement/ adjective | Punctuation |
Would | subject | Base form of a verb | Object/ complement/ adjective | Question mark (?) |
Example:
- Would you like to have tea?
- Would she pass the exam?
- Would it rain today?
- Would that be a good idea?
Uses of would
There are many different uses and meanings of 'would'. All of the ordinary yet necessary uses of 'would' are mentioned and described below:
Would for past
- Would for regular activity or habit in the past
We use 'would' to talk about repeated actions or habits in the past. It is almost like 'used to', but there's a little difference in the time frame. The time frame should always appear before 'would' and time frame should be in the past.
Example:
- Every Sunday, my mother would bake a cake for us.
- Every summer, we would go for the Pakistan tour.
- When I was at the hostel, I would study for 3 hours every night.
- I used to play badminton, and he would stop me. (habit)
- Past refusals:
We can use ‘would not’ to describe past refusals.
Example:
- She wanted a piano, but her father wouldn’t agree.
- A day before yesterday, my brother was angry, he wouldn’t talk to me!
- Reported speech:
It is also used as a past tense of ‘will’ in a reported speech to tell what someone has said.
Example:
- He said that he would buy chocolates for me.
- The professor said that he wouldn’t give us grace marks.
- Martin said that he would go to Manchester.
Future relative to the past
We can use ‘would’ to talk about the action that will take place in the future, but it is relative to another action in the past. Let us look at the example for better understanding.
Example:
- Aiman thinks she will pass the exam.
Now, this is an example of a standard future sentence which is relative to the present. “Aiman thinks” is present and “she will pass the exam” is future relative to the present.
Now let us assume that one month has passed and consider the same example:
Example:
- Last month, Aiman thought she would pass the exam.
“Aiman thought” is in the past tense and “she would pass the exam” is in the future relative to the past.
More examples:
- She was sure that he would like the dessert.
- Tim knew that his sister would argue in the class.
Using “would” to make polite offers and requests.
We can use “would” to request someone to do something, or we can use it to offer someone something in a polite way.
Example:
- Would you like to have tea or coffee? (offer)
- Would you pass those books to me? (request)
Would for conditionals
We use would in conditionals as well. It is used to describe impossible or unlikely conditions or situations. It is only used in second and third conditional.
Second conditionals
- If I had lunch with my favorite singer, I would ask him for his autograph.
- Would you buy me Adidas shoes if you were rich?
Third conditionals
- If you had prepared the breakfast earlier, we would not have missed the flight.
Would for hope, desire, wish, presumption, and advice
Desire or inclination: I would love to stay here for the rest of my life
Wish: I wish she would stay quiet for a while.
Hope: I would expect that he will come today.
Presumption: I saw your husband yesterday right next to my garden. Really? he would be looking for something.
Advice: If I were you, I would never forgive her.
Would for preference
We can use 'would + rather' to prefer something over something.
Example:
- I'd rather eat potatoes, not this.
- I would rather sleep than attend his birthday party.
Would for hypothesis
We can use ‘would’ to describe something that we imagine.
Example:
- It would be costly to stay in a hotel for a week.