Could

could [1]

You use “could” to indicate that someone had the ability to do something. You use “could not” or couldn’t to say that someone was unable to do something.

• For my return journey, I felt I could afford the extra and travel first class.
• I could see that something was terribly wrong.
• He could not resist telling her the truth.
• When I left school at 16, I couldn’t read or write.
• There was no way she could have coped with a baby around.

You use “could” to indicate that something sometimes happened.

• Though he had a temper and could be nasty, it never lasted.
• He could be very pleasant when he wanted to.

✅ You use “could have” to indicate that something was a possibility in the past, although it did not actually happen. (本可以；本来应该；原本可以；差点)

• He could have made a fortune as a lawyer.
• You could have been killed!
• He did not regret saying what he did but felt that he could have expressed it differently.

You use “could” to indicate that something is possibly true, or that it may possibly happen.

• Doctors told him the disease could have been caused by years of working in smokey clubs.
• An improvement in living standards could be years away.
• He was jailed five years ago and could be released next year.

You use “could not” or “couldn’t” to indicate that it is not possible that something is true.

• They argued all the time and thought it couldn’t be good for the baby.
• Anne couldn’t be expected to understand the situation.
• He couldn’t have been more than fourteen years old.

You use “could” to talk about a possibility, ability, or opportunity that depends on other conditions.

• Their hope was that a new and better country could be born.
• I knew that if I spoke to Myra, I could get her to call my father.

You use “could” when you are saying that one thing or situation resembles another.

• The charming characters she draws look like they could have walked out of the 1920s.

You use “could”, or “couldn’t” in questions, when you are making offers and suggestions.

• I could call the local doctor.
• We need money right? We could go around and ask if people need odd jobs done or something.
• ‘It’s boring to walk all alone.’—’Couldn’t you go for walks with your friends?’
• You could look for a career abroad where environmental jobs are better paid and more secure.
• It would be a good idea if you could do this exercise twice or three times on separate days.

✅ You use “could” in questions when you are making a polite request or asking for permission to do something. Speakers sometimes use “couldn’t” instead of “could” to show that they realize that their request may be refused.

• Could I stay tonight?
• Could I speak to you in private a moment, John?
• I wonder if some time I could have a word with you.
• Sir, could you please come to the commanding officer’s office?
• Could we go outside just for a second?
• He asked if he could have a cup of coffee.
• Couldn’t I watch you do it?

✅ People sometimes use structures with “if I could” or “could I” as polite ways of interrupting someone or of introducing what they are going to say next.

• Well, if I could just interject.
• Could I stop you there?
• Could I ask you if there have been any further problems?
• First of all, could I begin with an apology for a mistake I made last week?

✅ You use “could” to say emphatically that someone ought to do the thing mentioned, especially when you are annoyed because they have not done it. You use “why couldn’t” in questions to express your surprise or annoyance that someone has not done something.

• We’ve come to see you, so you could at least stand and greet us properly.
• Idiot! You could have told me!
• He could have written.
• Why couldn’t she have said something?
• But why couldn’t he tell me straight out?

✅ You use “could” when you are expressing strong feelings about something by saying that you feel as if you want to do the thing mentioned, although you do not do it.

• I could kill you! I swear I could!
• ‘Welcome back’ was all they said. I could have kissed them!
• She could have screamed with tension.

✅ You use “could” after “if” when talking about something that you do not have the ability or opportunity to do, but which you are imagining in order to consider what the likely consequences might be.

• If I could afford it I’d have four television sets.
• If only I could get some sleep, I would be able to cope.

✅ You use “could not” or “couldn’t” with comparatives to emphasize that someone or something has as much as is possible of a particular quality. For example, if you say “I couldn’t be happier”, you mean that you are extremely happy.

• The rest of the players are a great bunch of lads and I couldn’t be happier.
• Darling Neville, I couldn’t be more pleased for you.
• The news couldn’t have come at a better time.

✅ In speech, you use “how could” in questions to emphasize that you feel strongly about something bad that has happened.

• How could you allow him to do something like that?
• How could I have been so stupid?
• How could she do this to me?
• How could you have lied to us all these years?

You say “I couldn’t” to refuse an offer of more food or drink.

• ‘More cake?’—’Oh no, I couldn’t.’

If you say that you “could do with” something, you mean that you need it or would benefit from it. [2]

• I could do with a cup of tea.
• The range could do with being extended.

Dare

dare [1]

• Dare she risk staying where she was?
• The government dare not raise interest rates again.
• ‘Are you coming with me?’—’I can’t, Alice. I daren’t.’

May

may [1]

You use “may” to indicate that something will possibly happen or be true in the future, but you cannot be certain.

• We may have some rain today.
• Rates may rise, but it won’t be by much and it won’t be for long.
• I may be back next year.
• I don’t know if they’ll publish it or not. They may.
• Scientists know that cancer may not show up for many years.

You use “may” to indicate that there is a possibility that something is true, but you cannot be certain.

• Civil rights officials say there may be hundreds of other cases of racial violence.
• Throwing good money after bad may not be a good idea, they say.

You use “may” to indicate that something is sometimes true or is true in some circumstances.

• A vegetarian diet may not provide enough calories for a child’s normal growth.
• Up to five inches of snow may cover the mountains.
• … families that may have both parents working.

You use “may have” with a past participle when suggesting that it is possible that something happened or was true, or when giving a possible explanation for something.

• He may have been to some of those places.
• The chaos may have contributed to the deaths of up to 20 people.
• Investigators say that a fuel explosion may have caused the crash.
• The events may or may not have been connected.

✅ You use “may” in statements where you are accepting the truth of a situation, but contrasting it with something that is more important.

• I may be almost 50, but there aren’t a lot of things I’ve forgotten.
• The elderly man may not be typical, but he speaks for a significant body of opinion.
• Walking may be boring at times but on a sunny morning there is nothing finer.

You use “may” when you are mentioning a quality or fact about something that people can make use of if they want to.

• The bag has narrow straps, so it may be worn over the shoulder or carried in the hand.
• Some of the diseases of middle age may be prevented by improving nutrition.

✅ You use “may” to indicate that someone is allowed to do something, usually because of a rule or law. You use “may not” to indicate that someone is not allowed to do something.

• What is the nearest you may park to a junction?
• Adolescents under the age of 18 may not work in jobs that require them to drive.

✅ You use “may” when you are giving permission to someone to do something, or when asking for permission.

• Mr Hobbs? May we come in?
• If you wish, you may now have a glass of milk.
• ‘You may leave.’—’Yes, sir.’

✅ You use “may” when you are making polite requests.

• I’d like the use of your living room, if I may.
• May I come with you to Southampton?
• Ah, Julia, my dear, here is our guest. May we have some tea?

✅ You use “may”, usually in questions, when you are politely making suggestions or offering to do something.

• May we suggest you try one of our guest houses.
• May we recommend a weekend in Stockholm?
• Do sit down. And may we offer you something to drink?
• May I help you?

✅ You use “may” as a polite way of interrupting someone, asking a question, or introducing what you are going to say next.

• ‘If I may interrupt for a moment,’ Kenneth said.
• Anyway, may I just ask you one other thing?
• If I may return to what we were talking about earlier.

✅ You use “may” when you are mentioning the reaction or attitude that you think someone is likely to have to something you are about to say.

• You know, Brian, whatever you may think, I work hard for a living.
• You may consider it useless, but for our customers it’s an all-important sign of good service.

You use “may” in expressions such as “I may add” and “I may say” in order to emphasize a statement that you are making.

• They spent their afternoons playing golf–extremely badly, I may add–around Loch Lomond.
• Both of them, I may say, are thoroughly reliable men.

If you do something so that a particular thing “may” happen, you do it so that there is an opportunity for that thing to happen.

• … the need for more surgeons so that patients may be treated more quickly.
• The door is shut so that no one may overhear what is said.

People sometimes use “may” to express hopes and wishes

• Courage seems now to have deserted him. May it quickly reappear.

✅ You say “Be that as it may” when you want to move onto another subject or go further with the discussion, without deciding whether what has just been said is right or wrong. [2]

• My dad was a nice man. A gentleman. Be that as it may, he hated Conservatives.

If you say that something, usually something bad, “might as well” be true or “may as well” be true, you mean that the situation is the same or almost the same as if it were true. [3]

• The couple might as well have been strangers.
• We might just as well be in prison for all the quality our lives have at present.

Might

might [1].

You use “might” to indicate that something will possibly happen or be true in the future, but you cannot be certain.

• Smoking might be banned totally in most buildings.
• The two countries might go to war.
• I might well regret it later.
• He said he might not be back until tonight.

You use “might” to indicate that there is a possibility that something is true, but you cannot be certain.

• She and Simon’s father had not given up hope that he might be alive.
• You might be right.
• They haven’t seen each other for five years; he might not be interested in her any more.
• … a suit that looks as though it might contain polyester.

You use “might” to indicate that something could happen or be true in particular circumstances.

• Your child might do better with a different teacher.
• … the type of person who might appear in a fashion magazine.

✅ You use “might have” with a past participle to indicate that it is possible that something happened or was true, or when giving a possible explanation for something.

• I heard what might have been an explosion.
• She thought the shooting might have been an accident.
• The equipment needed to clean up the spill might not have arrived yet.
• The letters might not have been meant for me at all.

✅ You use “might have” with a past participle to indicate that something was a possibility in the past, although it did not actually happen.

• If she had had to give up riding she might have taken up sailing competitively.
• Had the bomb dropped on a city, there might have been a great deal of damage.
• The report might have been better written.
• I didn’t give my name because if I did I thought you might not have come.

You use “might” in statements where you are accepting the truth of a situation, but contrasting it with something that is more important.

• He might be a bore, but he was as quick-witted as a weasel.
• She might not have much energy but she still has a stinging wit.

You use “might” when you are saying emphatically that someone ought to do the thing mentioned, especially when you are annoyed because they have not done it.

• And while I’m out you might clean up the kitchen.
• You might have told me that before!

✅ You use “might” to make a suggestion or to give advice in a very polite way.

• They might be wise to stop advertising on television.
• You might try the gas station down the street.
• You might want to consider cycling.
• I was just wondering if you might like to go feed the cat.
• I thought we might go for a drive on Sunday.
• It might be a good idea to tell your husband.

✅ You use “might” as a polite way of interrupting someone, asking a question, making a request, or introducing what you are going to say next.

• Might I make a suggestion?
• Might I ask what you’re doing here?
• Might I trouble you for a drop more tea?
• I was wondering if I might talk to you for a moment.
• Might I draw your readers’ attention to the dangers in the Government’s proposal?

✅ You use “might” in expressions such as “as you might expect” and “as you might imagine” in order to indicate that the statement you are making is not surprising.

• ‘How’s Jan?’ she asked.—’Bad. As you might expect.’
• The drivers, as you might imagine, didn’t care much for that.

You use “might” in expressions such as “I might add” and “I might say” in order to emphasize a statement that you are making.

• Relatives ring up constantly, not always for the best motives, I might add.
• It didn’t come as a great surprise to me, I might say.

✅ You use “might” in expressions such as “I might have known” and “I might have guessed” to indicate that you are not surprised at a disappointing event or fact.

• I might have known I’d find you with her.
• ‘I detest clutter, you know.’—’I didn’t know, but I might have guessed.’

If you say that something, usually something bad, might as well be true or may as well be true, you mean that the situation is the same or almost the same as if it were true. [2]

• The couple might as well have been strangers.
• We might just as wellbe in prison for all the quality our lives have at present.

Ought to

ought to [1]

If someone “ought to” do something, it is the right thing to do.

• You ought to read this book.

Shall

shall [1]

✅ You use “shall” with “I” and “we” in questions in order to make offers or suggestions, or to ask for advice.

• Shall I get the keys?
• I bought some lovely raisin buns at the bakery. Shall I bring you one with some tea?
• Shall I call her and ask her to come here?
• Well, shall we go?
• Let’s have a nice little stroll, shall we?
• What shall I do?

✅ You use “shall”, usually with “I” and “we”, when you are referring to something that you intend to do, or when you are referring to something that you are sure will happen to you in the future.

• We shall be landing in Paris in sixteen minutes, exactly on time.
• I shall sail out on the twenty-second.
• I shall know more next month, I hope.
• I shall miss him terribly.

✅ You use “shall” with “I” or “we” during a speech or piece of writing to say what you are going to discuss or explain later.

• In Chapter 3, I shall describe some of the documentation that I gathered.
• We shall refer here to three significant trends that arose in the previous decade.
• The building, as we shall see, is very different in its internal planning.

You use “shall” to indicate that something must happen, usually because of a rule or law. You use “shall not” to indicate that something must not happen.

• The president shall hold office for five years.
• Member states shall decide the conditions for granting access to the labour market for the applicant.
• The bank shall be entitled to debit the amount of such liability and all costs incurred in connection with it to your Account.
• You shall not make this speech.
• If you want to pry into other people’s business you shall not do it here, young man.

✅ You use “shall”, usually with “you”, when you are telling someone that they will be able to do or have something they want.

• Very well, if you want to go, go you shall.
• ‘I want to hear all the gossip, all the scandal.’—’You shall, dearie, you shall!’
• ‘What I would like, is a membership list and some information on how the Society is run.’—’Then that is what you shall have.’

✅ You use “shall” with verbs such as “look forward to” and “hope” to say politely that you are looking forward to something or hoping to do something.

• Well, we shall look forward to seeing him tomorrow.
• I shall hope to see you in my office, young lady, and we’ll review your portfolio.

You use “shall” when you are referring to the likely result or consequence of a particular action or situation.

• When large finance companies cut down on their entertainments, we shall know that times really are hard.
• This is our last chance and we shall need to take it if we are to compete and survive.

You use “shall I say” and “shall we say” in order to warn someone that what you are about to say may cause offence or be surprising. [2]

• … whereas when you get older you’re rather set in your ways, shall I say.
• My involvement has not been altogether, shall we say, ethical.

Should

should [1]

You use “should” when you are saying what would be the right thing to do or the right state for something to be in.

• I should exercise more.
• The diet should be maintained unchanged for about a year.
• He’s never going to be able to forget it. And I don’t think he should.
• Sometimes I am not as brave as I should be.
• Should our children be taught to swim at school?

You use “should” to give someone an order to do something, or to report an official order.

• All visitors should register with the British Embassy.
• The European Commission ruled that the company should pay back tens of millions of pounds.

✅ If you say that something “should have” happened, you mean that it did not happen, but that you wish it had. If you say that something “should not have” happened, you mean that it did happen, but that you wish it had not.

• I should have gone this morning but I was feeling a bit ill.
• I should have been in the shade, then I wouldn’t have got burned.
• You should have done that yesterday you idiot!
• You should have written to the area manager again.
• I shouldn’t have said what I did.

✅ You use “should” when you are saying that something is probably the case or will probably happen in the way you are describing. If you say that something “should have” happened by a particular time, you mean that it will probably have happened by that time.

• You should have no problem with reading this language.
• The voters should by now be in no doubt what the parties stand for.
• The doctor said it will take six weeks and I should be fine by then.
• We should have finished by a quarter past two and the bus doesn’t leave till half past.

✅ You use “should” in questions when you are asking someone for advice, permission, or information.

• Should I or shouldn’t I go to university?
• What should I do?
• Please could you advise me what I should do?
• Should I go back to the motel and wait for you to phone?
• Should I fetch your slippers?
• Should we tell her about it?

✅ You say “I should”, usually with the expression “if I were you”, when you are giving someone advice by telling them what you would do if you were in their position.

• I should look out if I were you!
• James, I should refuse that consultancy with Shapiro, if I were you.
• I should go if I were you.

You use “should” in conditional clauses when you are talking about things that might happen.

• If you should be fired, your health and pension benefits will not be automatically cut off.
• Should you buy a home from them, the company promises to buy it back at the same price after three years.
• Should Havelock become the first Englishman to retain his world title, he will be the last to do so under the present system.

You use “should” in “that” clauses after certain verbs, nouns, and adjectives when you are talking about a future event or situation.

• He raised his glass and indicated that I should do the same.
• I insisted that we should have a look at every car.
• My father was very keen that I should fulfill my potential.
• George was sincerely anxious that his son should find happiness and security.
• It seems such a pity that a distinguished name should be commercialized in such a manner.
• There is a wish among competitors that the test should be changed every four years.

✅ You use “should” in expressions such as “I should think” and “I should imagine” to indicate that you think something is true but you are not sure.

• I should think it’s going to rain soon.
• ‘I suppose that was the right thing to do.’—’I should imagine so.’.
• ‘Can we be talking about the same thing?’—’I should hope so.’

You use “should” in expressions such “as I should like” and “I should be happy” to show politeness when you are saying what you want to do, or when you are requesting, offering, or accepting something.

• I should be happy if you would bring them this evening.
• ‘I should like to know anything you can tell me,’ said Kendal.
• I should like a word with the carpenter.
• I should like to ask you to come with us for a quiet supper.
• That is very kind of you both. I should like to come.
• ‘You can go and see her if you like.’—’I should be delighted to do so.’.
• She thought, ‘I should like her for a friend.’.

✅ You use “should” in expressions such as “You should have seen us” and “You should have heard him” to emphasize how funny, shocking, or impressive something that you experienced was.

• You should have heard him last night!
• You should have seen him when he first came out–it was so sad.
• He started crying and I cried too. You should have seen us.
• You should have seen his roses! As good a show as in the Botanic Garden.
• You should have seen his face when she tapped him on the shoulder. Talk about surprise!

You use “should” in question structures which begin with words like “who” and “what” and are followed by “but” to emphasize how surprising or shocking a particular event was.

• I’m making these plans and who should I meet but this blonde guy and John.

Used to

used to [1]

made familiar with; accustomed to.

• I am used to hitchhiking.

used as an auxiliary to express habitual or accustomed actions, states, etc, taking place in the past but not continuing into the present.

• I don’t drink these days, but I used to.
• I used to fish here every day.

Will

will [1]

You use “will” to indicate that you hope, think, or have evidence that something is going to happen or be the case in the future.

• The Prime Minister is now 64 years old and in all probability this will be the last election that he is likely to contest.
• You will find a wide variety of choices available in school cafeterias.
• Representatives from across the horse industry will attend the meeting.
• 70 per cent of airports will have to be upgraded.
• Will you ever feel at home here?
• The ship will not be ready for a month.

You use “will” in order to make statements about official arrangements in the future.

• The show will be open to the public at 2pm; admission will be 50p.
• When will I be released, sir?

You use “will” in order to make promises and threats about what is going to happen or be the case in the future.

• I’ll call you tonight.
• Price quotes on selected product categories will be sent on request.
• If she refuses to follow rules about car safety, she won’t be allowed to use the car.

✅ You use “will” to indicate someone’s intention to do something.

• I will say no more on these matters, important though they are.
• We will describe these techniques in Chapters 20 and 21.
• ‘Dinner’s ready.’—’Thanks, Carrie, but we’ll have a drink first.’
• He will be devoting more time to writing, broadcasting and lecturing.
• What will you do next?
• Where will you stay when you get to San Francisco?
• Will you be remaining in the city?

✅ You use “will” in questions in order to make polite invitations or offers.

• Will you stay for supper?
• Will you join me for a drink?
• Won’t you sit down?

✅ You use “will” in questions in order to ask or tell someone to do something.

• Will you drive me home?
• Will you listen again, Andrew?
• Wipe the jam off my mouth, will you?

You can use “will” in statements to give an order to someone.

• You will do as I request, if you please.
• You will now maintain radio silence.
• You will not make jokes about him. He has been very good to me.
• You will not discuss this matter with anyone.

✅ You use “will” to say that someone is willing to do something. You use “will” not or “won’t” to indicate that someone refuses to do something.

• All right, I’ll forgive you.
• I’ll answer the phone.
• If you won’t let me pay for a taxi, then at least allow me to lend you something.
• He has insisted that his organisation will not negotiate with the government.

You use “will” to say that a person or thing is able to do something in the future.

• How the country will defend itself in the future has become increasingly important.
• How will I recognize you?

You use “will” to indicate that an action usually happens in the particular way mentioned.

• The thicker the material, the less susceptible the garment will be to wet conditions.
• There’s no snake that will habitually attack human beings unless threatened.
• Art thieves will often hide an important work for years after it has been stolen.

✅ You use “will” in the main clause of some “if” and “unless” sentences to indicate something that you consider to be fairly likely to happen.

• If you overcook the pancakes they will be difficult to roll.
• If a nuclear war breaks out, every living thing will be wiped off the face of the Earth.
• He won’t stop drinking unless he’s told by a doctor that it’s killing him.

✅ You use “will” to say that someone insists on behaving or doing something in a particular way and you cannot change them. You emphasize “will” when you use it in this way.

• He will leave his socks lying all over the place and it drives me mad.

✅ You use “will have” with a past participle when you are saying that you are fairly certain that something will be true by a particular time in the future.

• As many as ten million children will have been infected by the end of the decade.
• He will have left by January the fifteenth.

✅ You use “will have” with a past participle to indicate that you are fairly sure that something is the case.

• If someone has been in captivity, he will have changed as a result of his experience.
• The holiday will have done him the world of good.

Would

would [1]

You use “would” when you are saying what someone believed, hoped, or expected to happen or be the case.

• No one believed he would actually kill himself.
• Would he always be like this?
• Once inside, I found that the flat would be perfect for my life in Paris.
• He expressed the hope that on Monday elementary schools would be reopened.
• A report yesterday said that unemployment would continue to rise.
• I don’t think that he would take such a decision.

You use “would” when saying what someone intended to do.

• The statement added that these views would be discussed by both sides.
• George decided it was such a rare car that he would only use it for a few shows.
• He did not think he would marry Beth.

You use “would” when you are referring to the result or effect of a possible situation.

• Ordinarily it would be fun to be taken to fabulous restaurants.
• It would be wrong to suggest that police officers were not annoyed by acts of indecency.
• It would cost very much more for the four of us to go from Italy.
• … identity cards without which fans would not be able to get into stadiums.

✅ You use “would”, or “would have” with a past participle, to indicate that you are assuming or guessing that something is true, because you have good reasons for thinking it.

• You wouldn’t know him.
• His fans would already be familiar with Caroline.
• That would have been Della’s car.
• He made a promise to his great-grandfather? That would have been a long time ago.
• It was half seven; her mother would be annoyed because he was so late.

✅ You use “would” in the main clause of some “if” and “unless” sentences to indicate something you consider to be fairly unlikely to happen.

• If only I could get some sleep, I would be able to cope.
• I think if I went to look at more gardens, I would be better on planning and designing them.
• Police officers would not stay one year if they had to obey these regulations.
• the targets would not be achieved unless other departments showed equal commitment.

✅ You use “would” to say that someone was willing to do something. You use “would not” to indicate that they refused to do something.

• They said they would give the police their full cooperation.
• She indicated that she would help her boss.
• David would not accept this.
• He wouldn’t say where he had picked up the information.

You use “would not” to indicate that something did not happen, often in spite of a lot of effort.

• He kicked, pushed, and hurled his shoulder at the door. It wouldn’t open.
• The battery got flatter and flatter, until it wouldn’t turn the engine at all.
• The paint wouldn’t stick to the wallpaper.

✅ You use “would”, especially with “like”, “love”, and “wish”, when saying that someone wants to do or have a particular thing or wants a particular thing to happen.

• She asked me what I would like to do and mentioned a particular job.
• Right now, your mom would like a cup of coffee.
• Ideally, she would love to become pregnant again.
• He wished it would end.
• Anne wouldn’t mind going to Italy or France to live.

✅ If you say that you “would rather” do something or “you’ d rather” do it, you mean that you would prefer to do it. If you say that you “would rather not” do something, you mean that you do not want to do it. [2]

• If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather work at home.
• Which programme would you rather appear on?
• Kids would rather play than study.
• I have no information one way or the other, but I would rather he do it than not do it.
• I would rather Lionel took it on.
• Sorry. I’d rather not talk about it.
• Would you like that? Don’t hesitate to say no if you’d rather not.

✅ You use “would” with “if” clauses in questions when you are asking for permission to do something.

• Do you think it would be all right if I opened a window?
• Mr. Cutler, would you mind if I asked a question?

✅ You use “would”, usually in questions with “like”, when you are making a polite offer or invitation.

• Would you like a drink?
• Would you like to stay?
• Perhaps you would like to pay a visit to London.

You use “would”, usually in questions, when you are politely asking someone to do something.

• Would you do me a favour and get rid of this letter I’ve just received?
• Would you come in here a moment, please?
• Would you excuse us for a minute, Cassandra?
• Oh dear, there’s the doorbell. See who it is, would you, darling.

You say that someone “would” do something when it is typical of them and you are critical of it. You emphasize the word “would” when you use it in this way.

• Well, you would say that: you’re a man.
• ‘Well, then Francesca turned round and said, “That’s a stupid question.”‘—’She would, wouldn’t she.’

✅ You use “would”, or sometimes “would have” with a past participle, when you are expressing your opinion about something or seeing if people agree with you, especially when you are uncertain about what you are saying.

• I think you’d agree he’s a very respected columnist.
• I would have thought it a proper job for the Army to fight rebellion.
• ‘Was it much different for you when you started at the Foreign Office?’—’Worse, I’d expect.’.
• I would imagine she’s quite lonely living on her own.

✅ You use “I would” when you are giving someone advice in an informal way.

• If I were you I would simply ring your friend’s bell and ask for your bike back.
• I would not, if I were you, be inclined to discuss private business with the landlady.
• There could be more unrest, but I wouldn’t exaggerate the problems.

✅ You use “you would” in negative sentences with verbs such as “guess” and “know” when you want to say that something is not obvious, especially something surprising.

• Chris is so full of artistic temperament you’d never think she was the daughter of a banker.
• Inside, he admits, his emotions may be churning, but you would never guess it.

You use “would” to talk about something which happened regularly in the past but which no longer happens.

• Sunday mornings my mother would bake. I’d stand by the fridge and help.
• ‘Beauty is only skin deep,’ my mother would say.

✅ You use “would have” with a past participle when you are saying what was likely to have happened by a particular time.

• Within ten weeks, 34 million people would have been reached by our commercials.

✅ You use “would have” with a past participle when you are referring to the result or effect of a possible event in the past.

• My daughter would have been 17 this week if she had lived.
• If I had known how he felt, I would never have let him adopt those children.
• If I had not been enjoying the work, I would not have done so much of it.

✅ If you say that someone “would have” liked or preferred something, you mean that they wanted to do it or have it but were unable to.

• I would have liked a life in politics.
• She would have liked to ask questions, but he had moved on to another topic.
• He dined there regularly, though he would have preferred being at home.

You use “would”, usually in negative sentences, to criticize something that someone has done and to express your disapproval of it.

• I would never have done what they did.

If you say “would that” something were the case, you are saying that you wish it were the case. [3]

• Would that he could have listened to his father.

References