English Language & Usage Asked by user413388 on March 17, 2021
I’ve been learning and practicing ‘would’ expressions for the last couple of months. and I think now I understand pretty much about ‘would’.
But, Could you do me a big favor? because ‘would’ is really hard for me to understand in some particular situations. and nobody around me can explain these well. for example,
Situation 1)
A : (Walking on street) Hey. Look. This bar looks awesome. Let’s go inside and have a drink right now.
B : That would be great.
Question : Why is "That will be great" unnatural? My native English speaking friend told me that she would say "That would be great". I think person B agreed with person A and they’ll go inside right now. This event will happen soon. Could you tell me why "That will be great" is a little unnatural in this situation?
Situation 2)
A : I have a little pain in my knee right now.
B : Are you ok? Did you see a doctor?
A : No. But, This will be ok.
Question : I think Situation 1) and 2) are very similar. Please, could you tell me why I can’t use "This would be OK" in this situation?
Situation 3)
A : Which shirt looks good on me? Blue one or Red one?
B : Blue one would be good.
Question : Person B thinks blue one is better on person A. why is "Blue one would be good" more natural than "Blue one will be good" ?
Situation 4)
A : Hello, umm.. Who is Mike in this class?
B(Mike) : (There is only one Mike in the class) That would be me.
Question : There is only one Mike and Mike knows he is the only student called Mike. People say that there is no different meaning between "That would be me" and "That’s me" in this situation. I learned that ‘would’ is used for imagined or hypothetical situations. but why do they have the same meaning in this situation?
‘would’ has been making me crazy lately. Please, answer the questions for me. Thank you. Help me please.
A makes a suggestion, B says that [if they were to do that] it would be great. It does seem a little odd when the suggestion is to do something right now. I think B would be just as likely to reply "Yes, let's", "OK", or "Why not?".
"This will be OK" doesn't seem natural to me. A would probably say "It'll be OK" (the problem isn't serious, it will get better on its own).
"[If you were to wear the blue one] it would be good."
I agree that the use of "that would be" to identify an individual is odd. I wouldn't say it myself, but I have heard people use it.
Answered by Kate Bunting on March 17, 2021
In Situation 1 the speakers have not yet made a definite plan to enter the bar, they are discussing the possibility of doing so. B uses "would" to express the conditional nature of the action.
In Situation 2 A is making a prediction about the progress of the injury. This is a definite prediction (even though it might be wrong A believes it is correct) so A says "will"
In Situation 3 no decision has been made yet so the situation is still conditional so "would" is more appropriate. To say "will" implies an instruction to wear the blue one. If A is going to wear a blue suit B might say "The blue shirt will go better with the suit". That is a definite prediction.
In Situation 4 A has made the question sound speculative by hesitating and saying "Umm..." before asking for Mike. Mike's "would" reflects this hesitancy. If A had said confidently "Who's Mike" he would almost certainly say "That's me". "Would" isn't quite correct in this context but it is understandable.
Answered by BoldBen on March 17, 2021
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