Would is a modal auxiliary. It is followed by the
simple form of the verb (e.g., would go) or the present
perfect (e.g., would have gone).
In statements in conversation, the word would is often
pronounced only as the d sound, and in writing, this
is seen as I’d, you’d, he’d, etc.
Would is used similarly to will;
it can act as a past of will in indirect speech, for
example, and as a softer, less definite form of will
in other cases. Would is used:
1. In indirect speech, after a reporting verb in the past tense, such
as said, told, or asked:
The weather forecaster said that it would
be cold tonight.
Marcel told us that his wife would bring
her famous chocolate cake to the party.
I asked him whether he’d be
back late.
2. To express a wish or desire with like, as a softened form of want:
I’d like to leave now, if you don’t
mind.
We’d like a large pizza, with everything on
it.
Would you like to see a movie tonight?
3. To make a polite request:
Would you pick me up at 8:00 a.m.?
Thanks.
Would you please turn down the
TV?
4. As an auxiliary verb in unreal conditional sentences.
I don’t know the answer! If I knew the answer, of course I
would tell you!
I didn’t know the answer then. If I had known the answer, I
would have told you.
5. In a clause after wish (with the word that
included or omitted) to refer to people’s willingness or unwillingness,
or insistence or refusal to do something:
I wish (that) you’d cut your
hair! (Mother to son, for example. Would is NOT possible
when the army drill sergeant talks to his soldiers; he’d say,
“Cut your hair!”)
Everybody wishes (that) Tom would go home; he’s
so obnoxious.
After wish to express dissatisfaction or impatience
with somebody because it is his/her will (conscious choice) to do (or
not to do) something:
I wish that she would stop talking
about it!
I wish that you wouldn’t use
that expression around my children.
After wish to talk about hoped-for things or situations:
I wish the car would start!
I wish it would rain. We haven’t
had rain for two months.
I wish this wonderful moment would last
forever.
Note that wish … would is usually
not used when you are NOT talking about willingness, unwillingness,
insistence or refusal:
I wish today were Sunday.
(INCORRECT: I wish today would be Sunday.)
I wish I could play the piano.
(INCORRECT: I wish I would play the piano.)
I hope that you are / will be very happy in your marriage.
(INCORRECT: I wish that you would be very happy in your marriage.)
6. To talk about past habits if they are repeated actions:
When we were children, we would go (or
used to go) to my grandparents’ farm every summer.
Sally was a very proper person—she would always write
(or, always used to write) thank-you notes promptly, and
would always bring (or always used to bring)
a little gift when she went any place to visit.
NOTE: If the action is an ongoing situation or state, would
cannot be used:
Barbie used to be (NOT would be) fat, but now she is thin.
This used to be (NOT would be) a lovely small town, but now it’s
a big, crowded city.
7. To talk about the “future in the past”—that is,
at the moment of speaking, the speaker or writer is referring to a time
that is future then, but may not be future now:
In 1903 The Wright brothers invented a flying machine that would
change the world.
Terrence didn’t know at the time that the doctor who saved
his life would later become his wife.
Oh! I knew that would happen! You shouldn’t
have done that!
RSK
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