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Why "he would"? Why not "he will"?



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
Passive Voice: Did I make these sentence correct? | "going out" or "to go out"
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Why "he would"? Why not "he will"? Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:39 pm  Why "he would"? Why not "he will"?
 

Dear teachers

Some days ago I asked a question if will could be treated like would, and received the answer No.Please look the following discussion held between a mother and her would-be daughter- in -law. Why does she say "my son would..."?

Mother: What about your parents? Where are they?
Daughter-in-law: They are in America. I see them on thanksgiving.
Mother: It is so different--your culture from ours. My son would never think of leaving me and going away.

Tom
Tom
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Will or would? Tue Jun 20, 2006 12:55 pm  Will or would?
 

My son would never think of leaving me and going away.

The use of 'would' in your sentence suggests a supposition:
He would never think of leaving me (...) if he had to decide someday.

Whereas 'my son will never think of leaving me' (...) is a categorical (definite) statement.
Conchita
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Why "he would"? Why not "he will"? Tue Jun 20, 2006 13:04 pm  Why "he would"? Why not "he will"?
 

Thank you alot, Conchita

So considering the second part understood, we may use would?

Please see below.

Conchita-"Hello, Tom.Will you come on the
forum tomorrow?"

Tom-" Yes, I would (if I could).

So I would does not sound ugly because if I could is understood?

Please tell me in detail

Tom
Tom
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Why "he would"? Why not "he will"? Tue Jun 20, 2006 13:23 pm  Why "he would"? Why not "he will"?
 

No, Tom!

You are changing gears in mid-conversation again. Crying or Very sad With a short form response to a "will question", ONLY will is understood (and is repeated if you give a "short form" answer).

If you decide to use would in your response, then you need to write or say more.

Amy
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Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8265
Location: USA

Will or would? Tue Jun 20, 2006 13:26 pm  Will or would?
 

Sorry, I didn't understand yet, can 'would' be used (without if-clause) in the context, where it sounds as a subjective opinion / private belief?

(For example, if the lady is told that someone else did some shabby act, could she just say:
My son would never do so! (referring to the fiture, but within the conditional situation) ?
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Tamara
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Joined: 25 May 2006
Posts: 1577
Location: UK

Will or would? Tue Jun 20, 2006 13:54 pm  Will or would?
 

Tamara wrote:
Sorry, I didn't understand yet, can 'would' be used (without if-clause) in the context, where it sounds as a subjective opinion / private belief?

(For example, if the lady is told that someone else did some shabby act, could she just say:
My son would never do so! (referring to the fiture, but within the conditional situation) ?

Yes, Tamara, 'would' can be used without the 'if' clause.

My son would never do so! is a correct sentence.
Conchita
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Posts: 2823
Location: Madrid, Spain

Why "he would"? Why not "he will"? Tue Jun 20, 2006 17:23 pm  Why "he would"? Why not "he will"?
 

Hi Tamara

I agree with what Conchita has written. The "If clause" is often clearly understood and sentences are very often used that way.

Tom's example was:
Quote:
Conchita-"Hello, Tom.Will you come on the
forum tomorrow?"

Tom-" Yes, I would (if I could).

This example just happens to be a particularly bad one since he has used a "direct will question" and a "standard" type of short form response. In my opinion, it would be extremely unlikely to hear Tom's example in a real life situation from a native speaker.

The very least that would have to happen in Tom's example (to make it a realistic possiblity) would be, for example:

"Well, I would ..."

i.e., Get rid of the word "yes" because you are not actually saying "yes". Technically speaking, "I would (if I could)" is closer in meaning to "no" in the given example.

As I said, I agree with Conchita: There are plenty of times where the "If" clause is understood. The example with "My son would never..." was good, but the "Yes, I would" example is not.

Amy
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Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8265
Location: USA

Why "he would"? Why not "he will"? Tue Jun 20, 2006 22:17 pm  Why "he would"? Why not "he will"?
 

Amy, Conchita, thank you for the explanations.
Now I’ve got it.

Tamara
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Tamara
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Passive Voice: Did I make these sentence correct? | "going out" or "to go out"
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