would
Part of speech: verb
noun
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: From Old English wolde, past tense of willan, predecessor of will.
The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in should and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).
Inflected forms:
form: wou'd
pos: verb
tags: alternative
obsolete
form: woulds
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: wou'd
pos: noun
tags: alternative
obsolete
Senses:
gloss: Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
examples: On my first day at University, I met the woman who would become my wife.
Hi! I thought I'd come over and introduce myself. My name’s Chema.
I'm really flattered you would call your daughter after me.
They thought anything Elvis did would sell, but that was not true.
That her Lily should have been won and not worn, had been, and would be, a trouble to her for ever.
Thanks to that penny he had just spent so recklessly [on a newspaper] he would pass a happy hour, taken, for once, out of his anxious, despondent, miserable self. It irritated him shrewdly to know that these moments of respite from carking care would not be shared with his poor wife, with careworn, troubled Ellen.
Toure would have the decisive say though, rising high to power a header past Kenny from Aleksandar Kolarov's cross.
gloss: Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
examples: When we were younger, we would cycle out to the beach most summer Sundays.
No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or otherwise his man would be there with a message to say that his master would shortly join me if I would kindly wait.
When we were kids we would sit by the radio with a tape recorder on a Sunday, listening out for the chart songs we wanted to have.
gloss: Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
examples: I asked her to stay in with me, but she would go out.
Then he took to breeding silk-worms, which he would bring in two or three times a day, in little paper boxes, to show the old lady[…].
gloss: Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
auxiliary
examples: And thenne at laste a-nother sayd that he wolde have eyren. Then the good wyf sayd that she understod hym wel.
The Greeks, especially those who would be thought adepts in mystic theology, ran after fantastic allegories […].
gloss: Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
auxiliary
examples: At which time he told me, he would to London that week, and so to Oxford.
He sat as one astonish'd, a good-while, looking at me, without speaking a Word, till I came quite up to him, kneel'd on one Knee to him, and almost whether he would or no, kiss'd his Hand[…].
'I thank thee, oh Ayesha,' I replied, with as much dignity as I could command, 'but if there be such a place as thou dost describe, and if in this strange place there may be found a fiery virtue that can hold off Death when he comes to pluck us by the hand, yet would I none of it.'
gloss: Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
obsolete
gloss: A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
examples: If I won the lottery, I would give half the money to charity.
I'd never do anything that went against my conscience.
If I could fly, I would away to those realms of light and warmth – far, far away in the southern clime[…].
Warnock admitted it would be the ideal scenario if he received a Carling Cup winners' medal as well as an England call-up[…].
gloss: A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
examples: I would love to come and visit.
Look at that yummy cake! I would eat that all up!
Most other people would do it differently, helping anybody who was in trouble, whether they knew them or not.
It's a piece of old folklore for which I would love to find hard proof.
gloss: A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
examples: I would ask you all to sit down.
I would imagine that they have already left.
I would say/think we would/might do better to catch the earlier flight.
“Those trials are being run by the American army so surely you must have access to the documents?” “Well, yeah, you’d think.”
Departing on schedule with the help of a friendly doctor was quite usual. Does that still apply? It would seem so.
gloss: A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
examples: It's disgraceful the way that they've treated you. I would write and complain.
gloss: A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
examples: She looked as if she would be sick.
He's very security-conscious, so he would have remembered to lock the door.
They would be arriving in London round about now.
gloss: A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
examples: Sorry, officer, I wouldn't know anything about the crime, since I was nowhere near the scene.
The free access model, the media magnate said last week, was "malfunctioning". Well he would, wouldn't he?
gloss: A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
pos: verb
tags: auxiliary
examples: Would you pass the salt, please?
Just reach me down that file, would you.
gloss: A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
auxiliary
examples: PARIS
My lord, I would that Thursday were tomorrow.
KING HENRY
Thou dost not wish more help from England, coz?
WESTMORELAND
God’s will, my liege, would you and I alone,
Without more help, could fight this royal battle!
I presently wished, would that I had been in their clothes! would that I had been born Peter! would that I had been born John!
I would she had retained her original haughtiness of disposition, or that I had a larger share of Front-de-Bœuf's thrice-tempered hardness of heart!
But as the youth increased their annoyance by declaring that the goddess was quite right, because the Emperor was Archon Eponym of the city of Athens, he said: "Would that he also presided the Panathenaic festival."
gloss: A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
auxiliary
examples: What dost thou professe? What would’st thou with vs?
gloss: Something that would happen, or would be the case, under different circumstances; a potentiality.
pos: noun
examples: When the golf ball is there, the whole self-interference package — the hopes, worries, and fears; the thoughts on how-to and how-not-to; the woulds, the coulds, and the shoulds — is there too.
Shushona you must learn to rightfully prioritize all the woulds, shoulds and coulds of your life.
Synonyms: be so good as to
kindly
please
Related words: will
wouldn't
wouldst
would like
would've
Derived words: as fate would have it
as luck would have it
be it what it would
butter would not melt in someone's mouth
chance would be a fine thing
claret would be port if it could
do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Eddie would go
face that would stop a clock
how would I know
if pigs had wings, they would fly
I would
I would rather die
never-would-be
the cat would eat fish but would not wet her feet
what would Jesus do
what would you like
who would have guessed
who would have known
who would have thought it
who would have thunk it
would give a Jew's eye
would have liked to
would it hurt
would it kill someone
would lose one's head if it wasn't attached
would lose one's head if it wasn't bolted on
would lose one's head if it wasn't glued on
would lose one's head if it wasn't screwed on
would lose one's head if it wasn't stuck on
would lose one's head if it wasn't tied on
would lose one's head if it weren't attached
would the real someone please stand up
would you believe
would you believe it
would you be so kind as to
would you like to go out with me
would you mind putting on your seat belt
you would think
Translations:
lang: Dutch
word: zou
lang: Dutch
word: zouden
lang: Esperanto
word: We sat on the bench
lang: Esperanto
word: ĉu la buso malfruos ĉi tiun fojon.
lang: Finnish
word: We sat on the bench
lang: French
word: We sat on the bench
lang: German
word: We sat on the bench
lang: German
word: ob der Bus diesmal zu spät käme.
lang: Hungarian
word: We sat on the bench
lang: Hungarian
word: és azon gondolkoztunk
lang: Hungarian
word: hogy ezúttal elkésik-e a busz.
lang: Italian
word: We sat on the bench
lang: Portuguese
word: We sat on the bench
lang: Russian
word: We sat on the bench
lang: Russian
word: опоздает ли автобус.
lang: Spanish
word: conditional tense
lang: Spanish
word: We sat on the bench
lang: Swedish
word: skulle
lang: Swedish
word: We sat on the bench
lang: Turkish
word: We sat on the bench
lang: Dutch
word: zou
lang: Dutch
word: zouden
lang: Dutch
word: gelieve
lang: Dutch
word: Gelieve de TV uit te schakelen
lang: Dutch
word: a.u.b.
lang: Esperanto
word: bonvoli
lang: Esperanto
word: mi petas?
lang: French
word: vouloir
lang: French
word: veuillez
lang: French
word: pouvoir
lang: French
word: s'il te plaît?
lang: French
word: Pourriez-vous
lang: French
word: Veuillez éteindre la télévision
lang: French
word: s'il vous plaît?
lang: Hungarian
word: Megtennéd
lang: Hungarian
word: hogy kikapcsolod a tv-t?
lang: Italian
word: volere
lang: Italian
word: per favore?
lang: Italian
word: Vuole spegnere la televisione
lang: Italian
word: per favore?
lang: Portuguese
word: por favor
lang: Portuguese
word: por favor?
lang: Portuguese
word: Poderia desligar a televisão
lang: Portuguese
word: por favor?
lang: Russian
word: Выключите
lang: Russian
word: пожалуйста
lang: Russian
word: телевизор.
lang: Spanish
word: por favor
lang: Spanish
word: por favor?
lang: Spanish
word: ¿Podría usted apagar la televisión
lang: Spanish
word: por favor?