WOULD - The 10 Uses - English Grammar Lesson (+ Free PDF & Quiz)

Summary

In this lesson from English with Lucy, the focus is on mastering the word 'would,' which often confuses English learners due to its many uses. Lucy covers 10 key uses of 'would,' including making polite requests, offers, invitations, and hypothetical statements. She also delves into its role in conditional sentences, reported speech, and expressing preferences. Throughout the lesson, Lucy provides examples and exercises to reinforce learning. A free PDF with detailed explanations and quizzes is available, helping learners gain confidence in using 'would' effectively.

Takeaways

• 📚 The lesson focuses on the word 'would,' which is commonly misunderstood by students due to its multiple uses.
• 📝 There are 10 different ways to use 'would,' and the lesson covers them in detail with examples and exercises in a free downloadable PDF.
• 🎯 The first use of 'would' is to make polite requests, such as 'I would like a cup of tea.'
• 🎁 'Would' is also used to make polite offers and invitations, like 'Would you like to come to our house for dinner?'
• 🗣 'Would' is used in reported speech to transform 'will' from direct speech into past tense, e.g., 'She said she would come.'
• 🔄 'Would' can express typical or repeated actions in the past, but not state verbs like 'love' or 'hate.'
• 🚫 'Would' is often used negatively to express unwillingness in the past, e.g., 'The shop wouldn't give me a refund.'
• 💭 'Would' is key in discussing hypothetical situations, often paired with conditionals, like 'If I had time, I would travel.'
• 🎭 The lesson highlights using 'would' with 'wish' to express desired changes in behavior or habits, e.g., 'I wish you wouldn't borrow my clothes.'
• 🤔 'Would' is used to express preferences and opinions, such as 'I'd rather get a takeaway today,' or 'I'd imagine it's been a tough week.'

Q & A

What is the main topic of the lesson?

The main topic of the lesson is the 10 uses of the word 'would' in English, with a detailed explanation and examples.

How can students get additional practice after the lesson?

Students can download a free PDF with exercises by signing up to the mailing list via a link provided in the description box of the video.

What is one common use of 'would' for making requests?

'Would' is commonly used to make polite requests, such as 'I would like a cup of tea, please.'

What is the difference between 'would' and 'used to' when talking about past actions?

'Would' is used for repeated actions in the past, while 'used to' is used for past states or habits. For example, 'I would go to France for holidays' versus 'I used to love chocolate.'

How is 'would' used in conditional sentences?

'Would' is used in second conditional sentences to talk about imaginary or unlikely situations in the present. For example, 'If I had more time, I would travel more.'

What is the difference between using 'would' in second and third conditional sentences?

In second conditionals, 'would' is used for hypothetical situations in the present ('If I had time, I would travel'). In third conditionals, it's used for hypothetical situations in the past ('If I had known, I would have called you').

How can 'would' be used to express preferences?

'Would' can express preferences using the phrase 'would rather.' For example, 'I'd rather get a takeaway today, I'm too tired to cook.'

How is 'would' used in reported speech?

'Would' is the past form of 'will' in reported speech. For example, 'Robert said he would help me move house.'

What does the teacher suggest about the pronunciation of 'would'?

The teacher emphasizes rounding the lips for the 'wo' sound, as if making a small 'oo' sound, and pronouncing it as 'wud' or 'would.'

How can 'would' be used to express annoyance or frustration?

'Would' can be used with 'wish' to express annoyance at someone's habitual actions. For example, 'I wish you wouldn’t leave the door unlocked.'

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to 'Would' and Lesson Overview

The host greets students and introduces the lesson on the word 'would', which often confuses learners due to its many uses. The lesson promises to cover the 10 uses of 'would' with detailed examples. A free PDF with exercises is available for download, and subscribing to the mailing list ensures receiving future lesson updates. The host emphasizes the importance of pronunciation for certain learners and demonstrates how to correctly pronounce 'would' with an example.

05:01

🙋‍♀️ Making Polite Requests with 'Would'

The first use of 'would' is for making polite requests, such as 'I would like' or 'Would you...'. The host explains how British people pronounce 'scone' differently and shares a personal anecdote about ordering at a fancy hotel. Sentence structures are also highlighted: 'Subject + would like + object' and 'Subject + would like + to infinitive'. The use of 'would' in questions, invitations, and offers is demonstrated, along with examples like 'Would you like a cup of tea?'

10:02

🔄 Repeated Actions and Habits in the Past

The second use of 'would' covers how it's used to describe typical or repeated actions in the past, often reflecting habits that no longer occur. The host explains that 'would' is not used with state verbs like 'love' or 'hate', which instead use 'used to'. Multiple examples are provided, such as 'When I was a child, we would go to France for our holidays' and 'Julian would eat ready meals every night at university'. The distinction between state verbs and action verbs is emphasized.

❌ Talking About Unwillingness in the Past

The fifth use of 'would' focuses on describing someone's willingness or lack thereof in the past. Typically, this form is used negatively, like 'wouldn't'. Examples include situations where people refused to do something, such as 'The shop wouldn't give me a refund' or 'My parents wouldn't lend me money'. This usage reflects someone being unwilling to perform a specific action.

🤔 Using 'Would' in Hypothetical Situations and Conditionals

This section covers the use of 'would' in hypothetical situations and second conditional sentences. Hypothetical situations involve imagining events, like 'The restaurant would be too expensive'. The second conditional structure is explained, with examples like 'If I moved to another country, I would miss my parents'. The host emphasizes the importance of commas in sentences where the 'if clause' comes first and provides detailed guidance on sentence structure for second and third conditionals.

🙏 Expressing Wishes with 'Would'

The eighth use of 'would' is explained in the context of expressing wishes, particularly when someone is annoyed by another's habit or action. Examples include 'I wish you wouldn't leave the door unlocked' and 'He wishes his dad wouldn't smoke'. The structure for these sentences is 'Subject + wish + subject + would + base verb', and more examples follow to illustrate how this construction is commonly used to express frustration or hope for changed behavior.

🧐 Preferences and Opinions with 'Would Rather'

In the ninth use, 'would' is shown to express preferences with the phrase 'would rather'. This can be for real or hypothetical situations. Examples include 'I'd rather get a takeaway today' or 'Would you rather go to the cinema or the theatre?'. The structure is simple: 'Subject + would rather + base verb', and various sentence examples highlight its versatility. Additionally, 'would' can be used to give opinions politely, like 'I would think' or 'I would imagine'.

📖 Wrapping Up and Additional Resources

The lesson concludes by summarizing the 10 uses of 'would'. The host encourages students to download the PDF for a quiz and to practice what they've learned. They are also invited to connect on social media platforms and check out the website for more lessons and resources, including a pronunciation tool. The host also promotes her vlogging channel, which provides fully subtitled content to aid with listening practice. The video ends with upbeat music and some light production humor.

Keywords

💡Would

‘Would’ is a modal verb used throughout the video to demonstrate its various functions in the English language. The video explores its uses in polite requests, hypothetical situations, and past habitual actions. For instance, 'I would like a cup of tea' is used for a polite request.

💡Polite Requests

A polite request is a way of asking for something in a courteous manner. The video explains that 'would' is commonly used to form polite requests, as in 'I would like a cup of tea, please,' making the sentence sound more formal and respectful.

💡Hypothetical Situations

Hypothetical situations are scenarios that are imagined or unreal. In the video, 'would' is used to describe these situations, such as 'The restaurant would be too expensive,' where the speaker imagines a situation where they might not visit the restaurant.

💡Reported Speech

Reported speech is used to relay what someone else has said, and in English, 'would' is often the past form of 'will' in this context. The video gives examples like 'Robert said that he would help me move house,' demonstrating how 'would' replaces 'will' in reported speech.

💡Typical Past Behavior

The video introduces the use of 'would' to describe actions that were done repeatedly in the past but no longer occur, such as 'When I was a child, we would go to France for our holidays.' This use of 'would' highlights habitual actions from the past.

💡Second Conditional

The second conditional is used to talk about unreal or unlikely situations in the present. The video explains how 'would' is employed in this structure, for example, 'If I moved to another country, I would miss my parents,' to indicate an imagined scenario.

💡Third Conditional

The third conditional is used to discuss hypothetical situations in the past. The video explains the structure 'If + past perfect, subject + would have + past participle,' and gives examples like 'If I'd practised more, I would have passed my driving test.'

💡Willingness in the Past

'Would' is also used to express someone's willingness or refusal to do something in the past. The video often shows this in negative contexts, such as 'The shop wouldn't give me a refund,' illustrating an unwillingness to act in a particular situation.

💡Preferences

The phrase 'would rather' is used to express preferences between options. The video covers examples like 'I'd rather get a takeaway today,' to show how 'would' helps convey personal choices or preferences in both real and hypothetical situations.

💡Wish

'Would' is used in combination with 'wish' to express desires for a change in behavior, often when the speaker is frustrated with someone's actions. For instance, 'I wish you wouldn't leave the door unlocked,' as discussed in the video, shows how 'would' is used to talk about desired actions.

Highlights

Introduction to the word 'would' and its various uses.

Emphasis on the different pronunciations of 'scone' in British English.

Polite requests: Use of 'would' in polite phrases such as 'I would like'.

Using 'would' in making requests for others: 'My husband would like a hot chocolate and the New York Times'.

Using 'would' to make invitations and offers: 'Would you like a cup of tea?'

Reported speech: Explaining how 'would' functions as the past form of 'will' in indirect speech.

Using 'would' to describe typical behaviors in the past: 'When I was a child, we would go to France for our holidays'.

Describing willingness in the past with 'would' or 'wouldn't', often in a negative way: 'The shop wouldn't give me a refund'.

Hypothetical situations: Imagining unreal or future possibilities with 'would'.

Using 'would' in conditional sentences: The second conditional for unlikely or imaginary present situations.

Using 'would' in third conditional sentences: Imagining different outcomes in the past, 'If she had helped us, we would have finished earlier'.

Wishing for different behaviors with 'would' and 'wish': 'I wish you wouldn't leave the door unlocked'.

Expressing preferences with 'would rather': 'I'd rather get a takeaway today'.

Giving opinions using 'would' to be polite or uncertain: 'I'd guess he'd want to help'.

Encouragement to download the free lesson PDF and subscribe for future lessons.

Transcripts

(upbeat music)

- Hello, lovely students,

and welcome back to English with Lucy.

Today, we're going to talk about a really annoying word,

a word that troubles so many of my students,

"would".

Ugh, isn't it annoying?

It's got so many uses.

Well, don't you worry,

because today we are going to be going through

the 10 uses of "would".

We are going to go through, in immense detail,

with lots of examples,

and there will be lots of exercises in the PDF.

You will leave this lesson

feeling more confident about the ways you can use "would".

I'd like to remind you that, as always,

I have created a free PDF that goes with this lesson.

It will show you everything we're going to talk about today,

in a nice, clear layout,

and it has lots of exercises,

so you can put what you learned today

into practise later on.

If you would like to download this free PDF,

just click on the link in the description box.

You enter your name and your email address.

You sign up to my mailing list,

and the PDF will arrive directly in your inbox.

Every week after that,

you will automatically receive my free lesson PDFs,

along with all my news, offers, and course updates.

It's a free service, and you can unsubscribe at anytime.

Right, let's get started with the lesson,

and firstly, I want to do just a little focus

on the pronunciation.

Speakers of certain languages

really struggle with that "wo" sound.

They almost say, "gho",

you want to make your lips nice and round, like this.

Almost as if you're going to kiss,

but with a little hole. (chuckles)

It's like, you're saying, "Ooh", but it's even smaller.

"oo".

And then go straight into "ud",

"oo-ud", "wud", "wood", "would"

I'm sure that some of you didn't need that,

but I'm sure that some of you did, actually.

Let's start with the first use of would.

We use "would" to make polite requests.

This is one of the most common phrases using "would",

when we want to ask for something politely,

we say, "I would like", or "I'd like".

"I'd like a cup of tea, please."

Or "I'd like the scones with jam."

There's a big fight in the UK

about how to pronounce "scone".

Some say "scone", some say "scon",

scone like cone, scon like gone.

I've always said, "scon".

If you are a British or a fan of British culture,

which do you say? "Scon" or "scone", let me know.

We can also use "would like"

to request things for other people to.

"My husband would like a hot chocolate,

and the New York Times."

That is what he likes.

The first time we ever went to a posh hotel together,

very early in our relationship,

they said, "What would you like in the morning?

Which newspaper and hot drink."

And he just panicked and said "A hot chocolate

and the New York Times." (laughs)

The structure of this is "Subject + would like + object"

or "Subject + would like + to infinitive".

We can also use "would" to make requests as a question.

"Would you close the curtains, please?"

Or "Would you buy me a newspaper?"

Preferably the New York Times,

with a hot chocolate.

Number two, we can use "would"

to make invitations and offers.

For example,

if you want to politely offer someone some food or a drink,

you can say, "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Would you like a biscuit with that?"

If you want to invite somebody to an event or a place,

you can say,

"Would you like to come to our house tomorrow for dinner?"

Or "Would you like to come with me to the party tonight?"

We can also use "would" in reported speech.

I've made a video recently on reported speech.

I'll leave it down there in the description box.

It's very concise.

I'm sure it will help you,

if you want to look in more detail,

but just as a brief overview,

we can use "would" in reported speech.

In reported speech,

"would" is the past of "will".

In direct speech,

"I will help you move house." said Robert.

Transforming that into reported speech,

"Robert said that he would help me move house."

"Will" changes to "would".

Whenever you see "will" in direct speech,

you can use "would" in reported speech.

Some more examples.

"She said she would come."

"They told me they would finish it by the next day."

"I said I would drive them to the airport."

Number four.

Now this one is really important,

because often students don't know about this,

but we use it a lot in speeches, natives.

My husband, Will, uses this all the time,

and it really annoyed me once,

because we filmed a video for this channel,

and he used "would" all the time, in this way,

and I think it really confused some of the viewers.

So I'm really happy to be talking about it today.

We use "would" to talk about typical behaviour in the past.

If you didn't know this before,

this is going to make you think,

oh, I understand why they said "would" all the time now.

We use "would" to talk about repeated actions in the past.

Habits that we don't do anymore.

"When I was a child,

we would go to France for our holidays."

That was a repeated action, typical behaviour,

but I'm not a child anymore.

I don't go to France anymore for my holidays.

"When Julian was at university,

he would eat ready meals almost every night."

He doesn't do this anymore. He's not a student,

but when he was a student, this is what he "would" do.

Note that you can't use this to talk about state verbs,

like "love", "hate", "want" or "have".

For states, we use the structure "used to" instead.

We don't say, "When I was a child, I would love chocolate."

We do say, "When I was a child, I used to love chocolate."

Because "love" is a state verb,

so it doesn't go with "would".

"When I was a child, I used to love chocolate,

but now I don't like it."

What a lie. What a lie.

Number five.

We use "would" to talk about willingness in the past.

If you want to talk about how willing or happy someone was

to do something in the past, you can use "would".

Although we normally use this in a negative way,

so it's more likely that we use "wouldn't".

"The shop wouldn't give me a refund,

even though my new phone is obviously broken."

They weren't willing to,

or "Dave wouldn't carry any of my boxes for me."

He wasn't willing to.

"My parents wouldn't lend me any money,

so I couldn't go out."

Number six,

we also use "would" in hypothetical situations.

This is another really key one.

Hypothetical situations are situations

that we are imagining.

They're not real.

"The restaurant would be too expensive,

so we won't go there." (chuckles) Basically.

"I would like to live in Spain,

because the weather's beautiful."

But I live in England. So I can't.

"I would get seasick with those huge waves,

so I'm not going on the boat trip."

or "It would be great to travel more often."

Number seven,

we use "would" in conditional sentences.

I have a full video on the conditionals.

We go into more detail in that video.

I've left a link for you in the description box,

but just as an overview, I'll go over it now,

relating to "would".

We use "would" in the second conditional

to talk about imaginary, impossible,

or very unlikely situations in the present.

These are similar to the hypothetical situations

that we spoke about just before,

but with the second conditional, we use two clauses,

the "If clause" and the "Would clause".

"If I moved to another country, I would miss my parents."

"Claire would take a trip around the world

if she won the lottery."

Take a look at the structure of these sentences,

but pay attention. Okay?

The structure is "If + subject + past simple comma

subject + would + the base form of the verb."

However, that's why I said pay attention.

That little comma, just there,

is only needed if the, "If clause" comes first,

you can swap the clauses over,

and in that case, the comma isn't needed.

I know it seems like such a tiny thing,

but if you're in an exam, it's really important.

Please also remember, even though we're using past tenses,

we are imagining things in the present.

Some more examples.

"If my children ate all their vegetables,

they would get ice cream."

We're using a comma there,

because the "If clause" comes first.

"I would take Spanish classes if I had time."

The "If clause" comes second, so there's no comma.

"We'd get a Labrador if we were allowed to get a dog."

I said "We'd", the contraction. "We would", "We'd".

"If they spoke English, they would move to New Zealand."

Next up we have the third conditional,

and this is the conditional that we use to talk about

hypothetical situations in the past.

We often use this structure to imagine changing the past,

or imagining things happening differently.

"I would have called you if I had known you were at home."

or "If she had helped us, we would have finished earlier."

Let's look at the structure quickly.

The whole comma situation is very similar.

"If + subject + past perfect comma

subject + would have + past participle."

If the "If clause" comes first,

we need a comma, if it comes second, we do not.

Let's take a look at some examples.

"If he'd practised more,

he would have passed his driving test."

"She wouldn't have missed her flight

if her alarm had gone off."

"If you'd bought a ticket,

you wouldn't have got a fine."

I said, "You'd", "You had".

Moving on to number eight.

We can use "would" with "wish".

We use "would" with "wish"

to talk about things that we want people to do or not to do.

We often use it when we're annoyed by someone's habit

or something they do regularly.

"I wish you wouldn't leave the door unlocked."

"He wishes his dad wouldn't smoke."

The structure is as follows,

"Subject + wish + subject + would

+ the base form of the verb.

"I wish you'd clean the house more often."

"I wish you wouldn't borrow my clothes."

"They wish their neighbor's dog wouldn't bark at night."

"We wish our grandparents would move closer to us."

Number nine, we use "would" to talk about preferences.

If we want to talk about what we

or what somebody else prefers from several options,

we use the phrase "would rather".

This could be a real situation in the present,

or a hypothetical situation.

"I'd rather get a takeaway today, I'm too tired to cook."

or "Would you rather go to the cinema or to the theatre?"

The structure is,

"Subject + would rather + the base form of the verb."

Some more examples,

"Would you rather have tea or coffee?"

or "They'd rather not come tonight

because they're not feeling well."

or "Tina would rather meet us at the restaurant."

Finally, number 10,

we use "would" to give opinions.

When we want to give our opinion about something,

but we're not sure we're correct

or we want to be really polite,

we can use "would" as part of some set phrases.

We often say,

"I would think",

"I would imagine",

or "I would guess".

"I'd imagine it's been a tough few days for him."

"I'd guess he'd want to help."

"I'd think we'd need to talk to the manager

before we commit to this."

Right. That is it.

The 10 uses for "would".

Now it is time to test your understanding,

by taking the quiz in the PDF.

If you'd like to download that PDF,

the link is in the description box.

You enter your name and your email address.

You sign up to my mailing list,

and the PDF comes directly to your inbox,

and then you're automatically signed up to my mailing list.

You get all of my free PDFs each week,

plus all of my news, offers and course updates.

Don't forget to connect with me on all of my social media.

I've got my Instagram,

I've got my website, englishwithlucy.co.uk.

I've got a pronunciation tool there.

Lots of lessons are there too.

If you would like to improve

your listening and vocabulary skills,

then I also have my vlogging channel,

where we document our life here in the English countryside,

and every single vlog is fully subtitled,

so you can use them for listening practise,

and to acquire more vocabulary.

I will see you soon for another lesson.

Mwah. (kiss smacks)

Let's look at the structure quickly.

The whole... (production cut beeps)

She wouldn't have missed her flight, if her, ah (laughs)

This tiny, tiny lipstick.

(production cut beeps) Plus subject, plus past...

(production cut beeps) The stroke.

The structure is, if plus subject plus...

(production cut beeps)

(upbeat music)