hii,
I am learning English for around 5 years and I still can’t comprehend the meaning of “would” and “count” in some context. are they just past form of “will” and “can”?
“would you like coffee” means a person is asking if you liked coffee in past? “I would do it” means I did it in past?
I really don’t understand since my language doesn’t have anything like those words.
Edit: Thank you for answering my naive question :)
Will do: it is certain he do it in future.
Would do: it is certain he decide to do now or in future it if he has ability to do and/or knows about it and/or nothing else stop him.
Would have done: it is certain he decide to do in past if he had ability to do and/or knew about it and/or nothing else stop him.
Can do: he have ability to do now or in future.
Could do: he have ability to do now or in future if he decide to do and/or no external condition that stops it being done.
Could have done: he had the ability, he didn’t do in past (maybe there are reasons).
would = intent to do if there is ability.
could = ability to do if there is intent.
- intent: the desire to do and/or the knowledge that it needs to be done and/or no external condition that stops it being done.
“would you like coffee” = If I give to you ability to drink coffee right now, what is your answer, Yes or No?
“I would do it” = If nothing stops me and I have the ability to do, then I do it. This is said with knowledge that some condition must be met before you can do it:
“I would drink that coffee if you give it to me.”
It is letting the listener know that you intend to do action, but it first requires some other thing to happen which gives you ability.
This is a great write up BUT there are other mistakes you should fix since you’re helping someone learn. “He have” instead of “he has,” etc.
WTF NO! You suggested that bullshit? I wondered why everything was so goddamn clunky.
“HE HAS”, NOT “HE HAVE”. And should be the ability.
The way it’s written now sounds EXACTLY like someone who’s first language ISNT English trying to teach someone else English. It’s butchered terribly.
No, they wrote “have” which I am saying is one of the issues with their comment
I’m getting quite the laugh at someone getting this angry over their own lack of reading comprehension.
I originally parsed their comment the same way you did, but I would have either asked for clarification or politely corrected them. Please be more respectful of others, there’s really no need to be so agressive.
The more I thought about what I was trying to say the less it made sense so I intended to delete it but I guess I submitted the unfinished post instead
Would is a hypothetical will. “Would you dance” is a general query, but “will you dance” is a call to action. A lot of the time, would is followed by if, as in, “would you dance if I asked you to?”
“Would you like coffee” is a round-about way to ask if you want coffee. Full form would be “if I brought you coffee, would you like it?”
Past tense is “would have”, such as “would you have liked coffee?” This is generally a missed opportinuty where you didn’t do something, and you’re asking so you can know more for the future. Saying “I would have” generally means “I didn’t.”
Your post is mostly excellent but I’m afraid your last sentence might cause confusion because you don’t specify what they didn’t. “I didn’t” what?
I disagree. I clearly equated both phrases, and both phrases can either exist in a longer sentence to establish the subject or as a complete phrase with the subject established in a previous sentence.
Examples: “I would have danced” is functionally the same as “I didn’t dance.” If someone asks you if you danced, you could answer “I would have” or “I didn’t” and the same information is brought across.
If someone asks you if you danced, you could answer “I would have” or “I didn’t” and the same information is brought across
Hard disagree there. “I would have” implies that dancing was something you desired, but circonstances didn’t allow for whatever reason. There’s an unsaid “but” in there, whereas “I didn’t” simply means you were not involved in the dancing.
“I would have” carries a lot more meaning than a simple “I did not”.
Ok, now I understand what you meant, but I also disagree, like your other replier. “I would have” contains intent, whereas “I didn’t” does not.
Imagine if your roommate asks “did you steal my laptop?” Answering “I didn’t” answers the question succinctly, and there is no discussion of intent. Answering “I would have” suggests that there is (or was) some intent to steal.
Would: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/would
• a simple past tense and past participle of will
• used to express an intention or inclination
• used to express an uncertainty
• used in conditional sentences to express choice or possibility
Could: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/could
• a simple past tense of can
• used to express possibility
• used to express conditional possibility or ability
• used in asking for permission
Would / will is used when something is possible but you’re not sure.
Could / can is used when you’re not sure if something is possible. –
Could is maybe-can: I bet I could jump over that car [if I wanted to].
As opposed to I bet I can jump over that car [and I’m going to try].
Would is maybe-will: If you saw an alligator, would you run away?
Would is also ‘did’, for habitual actions. When I was young, I would wait by the window for my father to come home.
I would love to help you, but I couldn’t possibly do that.
😋
You would have got it perfect if you had said “I would have loved it if you could have helped me”, but you could say that you got it right.
American - i would have said you would have gotten it perfect if you had said…
Brits prefer got?
