English Language & Usage Asked by Minandmin on January 19, 2021
"So, I think I’m a tomboy."
“I wouldn’t call you a tomboy, sweetie. I think that you’re you.”
“But you could call me a tomboy.”
“But I wouldn’t.”
“But if you did … ”
“I wouldn’t. And I won’t. I’ll just keep calling you Emilia.”
I learned that would is a conditional verb and used in imagined or hypothetical situations.
In the story above, what exactly does "I wouldn’t call you a tomboy" mean?
Does it mean "I wouldn’t call you a tomboy even if someone called you a tomboy."?
or Does it just mean "I wouldn’t call you a tomboy (in any imagined or hypothetical situations)"?
And in the sentence "I wouldn’t. And I won’t.”, what is the difference between "I wouldn’t" and "I won’t"?
Thank you for your answer.
"I wouldn't call you a tomboy" is a polite/gentle way of saying "I disagree with your assessment that you are a tomboy."
The implied sense is "If somebody asked me to describe you, I wouldn't call you a tomboy"<—"I could be wrong, and you are of course the ultimate arbiter of who and what you are, but what I know of you would lead me to describe you to somebody who asked me as something other than a tomboy."
In English, such conditional verbs are often a marker of politeness/consideration.
"And I won't" is a very subtle meta-linguistic joke, based on a purposeful misunderstanding of the implied premise of "if somebody asked me to describe you" as replaced by "if I had the opportunity to call you a tomboy right now." "If I had the opportunity to call you a tomboy right now, I wouldn't call you a tomboy. And I do have the opportunity to call you a tomboy, so I won't call you a tomboy."
Answered by Joel Derfner on January 19, 2021
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