would
pronunciation
How to pronounce would in British English:
UK [wʊd , wəd]
How to pronounce would in American English:
US [wʊd , wəd]
Word Origin
- would
- would: [OE] Would goes back to wold-, the Old English past tense of will. Its vowel is inherited from the Indo-European variant *wol- (as in German wollen ‘will, want’), rather than the *wel- that produced the English present form will. Its use as an auxiliary to form the conditional dates back to the Old English period.=> will
- would
- Old English wolde, past tense and past subjunctive of willan "to will" (see will (v.)). Would-be (adj.) "wishing to be, vainly pretending" is first recorded c. 1300.
Example
- 1. How much would you pay ?
- 2. Just avoiding gaffes would be progress .
- 3. Why would consumers pay more ?
- 4. I would emphasise three criteria .
- 5. What would make you happier ?