How to Use “WOULD” | English Grammar Explanation & Practice

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“It would be great if someone explained how to use ‘would’ in real life.” I agree! It’s why I made this advanced English grammar lesson. In this class, you will learn (and PRACTICE!) how to use “would” for offers, preferences, requests, hypothetical situations, reported speech, and more. If I were you, I would watch this video, answer my questions, and do the quiz to double-check your understanding. Visit my website to get my books and even more English resources: Watch more of my grammar lessons: English Modals: 4 ways to use "SHOULD" English Grammar: The 5 Most Frequent Article Mistakes In this lesson: 0:00 10 ways to use "would" in English 1:12 "would" for polite offers 2:20 "would" for preferences 3:44 "would" for polite requests 5:25 "would" for present/future hypotheticals 7:03 "would" for past hypotheticals 8:35 "would" for future in the past & reported speech 10:13 "would" for past repeated behaviours 12:29 "would" for past habits 14:48 "would" for polite suggestions 16:49 "would" for uncertainty or softness Transcript: Hey, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking. You are Learning English with engVid. Today, we are talking about "would". What makes this video different? Well, you will participate. Number one, I will explain the different uses of "would". Number two, I will ask you to listen and repeat the questions and the statements that I make in this video, and number three, I will ask you some questions that you don't see on the board or ask you to complete some sentences that you don't see on the board so that you can actively participate and actively improve your English. So, let's begin. First of all, "would" is used when we want to create some mental distance between us and what we are discussing. There is always the idea of possibility or probability when we talk about "would". It's in an imagined reality, a possible space. Okay? So, let's start with usage number one, "polite offers". Look at these sentences. "Would you like a drink?" "Would you prefer tea or coffee?" As you can see, to make offers, the common structures are "would you like" and "would you prefer". You don't have a drink now. You don't have tea or coffee now. So, "would you like this?" or "would you prefer this?" These are the structures that you use. So, repeat after me. "Would you like a drink?" "Would you prefer tea or coffee?" Good. Now, I want you to finish this sentence. "Alex, would you like..." Ah, yes, I would like that. Thank you. Number two, you can use "would" to talk about preferences. So, for example, "I would love a glass of wine." Or, "How would you like your coffee?" So, when you talk about preferences, you can use "I would love", "I would like". Again, we're using "would like", we're using "would love" in this case, too. So, let me see here. Yes, let me ask you this question right after I ask you to repeat. So, repeat after me. "I would love a glass of wine." "How would you like your coffee?" Okay, so you're asking about how they would prefer their coffee, or if they would like a glass of wine, or this person would love one. Okay. Imagine we are at a restaurant, and I am your waiter, your server. So, I'm going to ask you about your coffee, and I want you to answer my question in a complete sentence. "How would you like your coffee?" Perfect. Next, you can use "would" for polite requests. For example, "Would you pass me a knife, please?" "Would you mind babysitting this afternoon?" So, as you can see, in this case, "would you pass", it's much more common to say, "Can you pass me?", "Could you pass me?", but "would" is also possible if you want to sound a little more polite. Also, if you know the phrase "would you mind", "would you mind" is, well, it means, is it a problem for you? Would it be okay? One thing to note about "would you mind", we always need an object, and if you use, like, a verb, this is a gerund in this case, you need verb plus -ing. So, "Would you mind babysitting this afternoon?" Okay. Imagine we are at the dinner table. I want you to ask me to pass you something. So, say, "Alex, would you pass me...?" Good. Yes, no problem. Here you go. Also, repeat after me. We forgot that step. Repeat, please. "Would you pass me a knife, please?" "Would you mind babysitting this afternoon?" Good. Now, remember I said that there is a mental distance, a hypothetical nature to the use of "would" in English. So, we can use "would" for present or future hypotheticals. This is the second conditional, okay? So, if you want to learn more, we have lots of videos on the second conditional and after the third conditional as well. So, first, listen to these. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." And, "How would you do it?" Okay. Now, you repeat after me. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." […]