The one with modal verb "Would"
Would you like to learn more "would" and what it means? So let's get started
1. Use "would" to talk about an imaginary or unreal situation
Example 01:
Q: What would you do if you were attacked by a shark?
A: I'd probably try to hit it on the nose, or poke it in the eye, or something like that. Maybe I'd just try to swim away
Explanation: it's because getting attacked by a shark is very unlikely, we should use would when we talk about things which are either very unlikely or totally impossible
Example 02:
- What would you do if you could read people's thoughts?
Reading people's thoughts is impossible so that is the reason why we use would. It's a question about an imaginary situation
- What would help you if I could = I can't help you
- She would be here, but she has too much work at the moment = she's not here
- What would you have said if she'd seen you?
- I wouldn't have come if I'd known it was going on so late
- He wouldn't have been much help, anyway
***Note: In all of these cases, when you use would, you're talking about a situation which isn't true, and you think will never happen
2. Use "Would" in polite requests
- Would you mind telling me the time?
Using would you mind + V-ing is a very polite way to make a request
- Would you get me a sandwich?
This makes it a little more formal and polite
- I'd like something to eat
Using would instead of want is better, unless you're in a very informal situation
3. Use "would" as the past tense of "will" in reported speech
Imagine you have a friend who's always late for everything. You're meeting your friend tomorrow and you're really annoyed that you always have to wait. You tell your friend to be on time, and he replies:
- "I"ll be on time, I promise! I'll get on an earlier bus, which will get to the center by 3.00"
- My friend promised she'd be one time. She said she'd get on an earlier bus, which she said would arrive around by 3.00. Of course, when she turned up it was almost 4.00!
4. Use "would" when refuse to do something
- I asked him, but he wouldn't help me
- They wouldn't me my money back, even though I had the receipt
*You can also use it to talk about thing
- My car wouldn't start this morning
- When he tried to show me, the file wouldn't open.
5. Use "would" to talk about the habits and actions in the past
You can use "would" to talk about things you did in the past but don't do now
Ex:
- My mom would walk you to school when we were young
- When I was training for the marathon, I would go running for two hours every day after work. It was exhausting!
"would" is similar to "used to" here but it not exactly the same. When you use would like this, you can only talk about repeated actions in the past. You can't talk about states or situations, like you can with "used to"
So you can't say I would live with my friends when I was a student [x] this isn't correct
- I would go out with my friends most evenings when I was a student
Source: Oxford Online English
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