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How To Use WOULD in English

How many ways can we use WOULD in English?


WOULD has 14 different uses in English. On this page, you will learn all of them. Choose your level in the menu (Elementary to Advanced Level), take the lessons and then test yourself with the free quizzes.

How to use WOULD at Elementary Level English

1. Polite Requests with WOULD

Using WOULD when you ask someone to do something, or if you ask for something, makes the request sound more polite and less direct.

Examples: 
1. I would like that one please, not the other one. (less polite = Give me that one, not the other one.)

2. Would you mind closing the window?  (less polite = Close the window.)

3. Would you pass the salt, please? (less polite = Pass me the salt.)

2. Offers and Invitations using WOULD

We often use WOULD when invite someone to something, or when we offer to do something for someone.

Examples: 
1. Would you like some help?   (more direct = Do you want some help?)

2. Would you like me to carry your bags? (less polite = Do you want me to carry your bags?)

3. Would you like to come to my party on Saturday? (less polite = Do you want to come to my party on Saturday?)

4. Would your daughter like a drink of water? (less polite = Does your daughter want a drink of water? )

How to use WOULD at Intermediate Level English

3. WOULD for actions and habits that happened regularly in the past.

We use WOULD to talk about actions (not states) in the past that happened often or always.

Examples: 

1. Every morning, my grandmother would water her flowers.  (note: we can also say “Every morning, my grandmother used to water her flowers.”)

2. When I was a child, we would play in the park every evening after school. (note: we can also say “When I was a child, we used to play in the park every evening after school.”)

It is incorrect to say “When I was a child we would live in the countryside”, because living is a state, not an action.

It is correct to say “When I was a child we used to live in the countryside”.

4. WOULD is the past of WILL

We use WOULD as the past of WILL when we talk about what someone was willing to do or what something was able to do. We also use WOULD in this way to refer to an intention from the point of view of the past.

Examples: 

1. My daughter wouldn’t get out of bed yesterday morning. (note: we can also say “My daughter refused to get out of bed yesterday morning.)

2. I was late for work this morning because my car would not start. (note: we can also say “I was unable to start my car.”)

3. I couldn’t find anyone who would help me. (note: this means “I couldn’t find anyone who was willing to help me.”)

4. I asked her to explain, but she wouldn’t. (note: this means that she refused to explain.)

5. Expressing a preference with WOULD RATHER

We use WOULD RATHER or WOULD SOONER to show that we prefer to have or do one thing more than another.

Examples: 

1. I would rather have a coffee than a tea, thanks. (note: we can also say “I would prefer to have a coffee than a tea please.)

2. Wouldn’t you rather finish it this morning? (note: we can also say “Wouldn’t you prefer to finish it this morning?” This negative question expects a positive answer, so we use an expression like this when we want somebody to answer “Yes, I would rather finish it this morning.”)

3. Which would you sooner do – play football or go for a walk?
I’d sooner just sit here and rest, if that’s OK with you. (note: we can also say “I’d rather just sit here and rest, if that’s OK with you” )

6. Using WOULD to talk about hypothetical present and future

We use WOULD in conditional sentences when we talk about unreal (hypothetical) situations. At Intermediate Level English, you learn how to use WOULD to talk about the unreal present or future. In these sentences, the conditional clause uses a past tense.

Examples: 

1. If you had a different name, what would you like it to be? (note: the reality is that you do not have a different name, so the question is hypothetical.)

2. If you could choose to have any job in the world, which job would you choose? (note: the reality is that you cannot choose to have any job in the world.)

Examples: 

1. If you had a different name, what would you like it to be? (note: the reality is that you do not have a different name, so the question is hypothetical.)

2. If you could choose to have any job in the world, which job would you choose? (note: the reality is that you cannot choose to have any job in the world.)

3. Could you please finish this task for me? I would do it myself but I just don’t have enough time. (note: in this sentence, the speaker uses half of the conditional structure. The full conditional structure is “I would do it myself if I had enough time.”)



7. Giving advice and recommendations using WOULD

We can use WOULD and SHOULD interchangeably here – although SHOULD sounds a little old-fashioned in the structure.

Examples: 

1. I wouldn’t be concerned about it, if I were you. (note: here, we can also say ‘I shouldn’t be concerned about it if I were you,’ and these both mean ‘I advise you not to be concerned about it.’)

2. Tom: I don’t know how to solve this problem. Do you?
Jane: Yes, I think I do. I would approach it from a different angle. You need to think about it from a different point of view. (note: in this sentence, we say “I would approach it from a different angle”, but what we really mean is “if I were you, I would approach it from a different angle”. We don’t always say the “if I were you” part of the structure)

8. WOULD in Indirect Speech and Indirect Thought

This is also called REPORTED SPEECH and REPORTED THOUGHT. This is the language that we use when we are talking about what somebody said, or what somebody thought.

Examples: 

1. He said he would write to her every week. (note: his actual words were “I will write to you every week.”)

2. They promised that they would fix it. (note: their actual words were “We promise that we will fix it”.)

3. I thought I would see them but I didn’t. (note: my actual thought was “I think I will see them.)

4. He said he would finish it the next day. (note: His actual words, at some time in the past, were “I will finish it tomorrow.”)

Advanced Level Uses of WOULD in English


9. ‘WHY WOULD…?’ or ‘WHO WOULD…?’ to ask about the motive for something.

We use WHO WOULD and WHY WOULD when we want to emphasise the fact that we don’t understand why.

Examples: 

1. Why would anyone want to steal my watch? It isn’t even worth any money! (note: this sentence does not tell us if the watch has been stolen or not. It just emphasises that we don’t understand someone’s motive for stealing it.)

2. I don’t understand why you would say something like that. It’s so unkind.

3. Look at this horrible dress! Who would wear something like that?

4. Have you seen the price of this car? Who on earth would pay that much money for a car? (note: in this sentence, ‘Who on earth…?’ is stronger than ‘Who…?’)


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