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‘would’ + infinitive

‘would’ + infinitive

January 22, 2020 By Nestor 3 Comments

It can be confusing for learners when they hear native speakers use ‘would’ all the time. In English, the modal verb ‘would’ is used in three different contexts. Do you know all of them? Take a look at the examples below:

  1. I‘d (= I would) call you if I had the time.
  2. Her father would always buy them nice presents for Christmas.
  3. I decided I‘d visit him next time.

Try to match each sentence to the explanations below:

Hypothetical situations

We use would + infinitive when talking about a hypothetical or imaginary/not real situation. For example, in second conditional statements:

  • I‘d probably get a new job in his situation.
  • I wouldn’t be here if I knew that he was coming!
  • What would you do if you won the lottery?
  • The dogs would bark if they didn’t have anything to eat.

Notice that in a second conditional statement, the if … part of the sentence is in the past tense (didn’t have) and the other part contains would + infinitive (would bark). In each of the examples above, we are talking about situations that we imagine, not real situations.

Future in the past

We use would + infinitive when referring to a future statement (will + infinitive) made in the past. For example:

Mark, I knew you would come! (PAST THOUGHT: “Mark will come. I know it!”)

Here are some more examples:

  • I thought it would rain today. I guess I was wrong.
  • You said you wouldn’t call me after midnight.
  • The computer store promised that someone would fix my computer.

Habits in the past

We also use would + infinitive to describe past habits, things that happened regularly in the past but do not happen now.

  • When Joseph lived in Italy, he‘d eat out (= eat in restaurants) all the time.
  • Angela was a very honest person. She‘d never lie to you.
  • When the children were younger, they‘d always play with the dog.

Answers

Here are the answers to the task above:

  1. I’d (= I would) call you if I had the time. – hypothetical situation
  2. Her father would always buy them nice presents for Christmas. – past habit
  3. I decided I’d visit him next time. – future in the past

Filed Under: English grammar

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Victoria says

    February 3, 2020 at 4:49 pm

    Excellent explanation!

    Reply
  2. Ankit says

    March 12, 2021 at 2:51 am

    Can it be if I were to graduate today I would have brought a bouquet for you.

    Reply
    • Nestor says

      March 12, 2021 at 10:35 am

      The structure is possible but it doesn’t make logical sense as “would have brought” is in the past. You could only say this if you had a time machine. Mixed conditionals like this can be used in sentences like: If you liked flowers (PRESENT/ALWAYS TRUE), I would have brought (PAST) a bouquet for you.

      Reply

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