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Could you explain what the use of "would" in this sentence is? In this context, someone opens the conversation with the question:

A: what does this mean?

A man who never drew but selfish breath.

B: A man who never drew but selfish breath. I would paraphrase this as a man who was selfish through and through.

Speaker B uses "would", is it the past of will?

gotube
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Nyambek
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  • The word *would* in your cited context is an entirely optional "hedge". It just "waters down" the assertion, which might imply that you're not actually sure of what you're saying, or that you don't want to risk upsetting others who might disagree with you. If you're confident of your ground, just say *I paraphrase this as...* and don't beast about the bush! – FumbleFingers Nov 02 '23 at 12:17
  • @FumbleFingers I'm confused you say "would" is not sure, while other says it's hypothetical. But from what I have seen, the speaker seems to be sure of his answer. What do you think? – Nyambek Nov 02 '23 at 13:19
  • Sometimes people deliberately say things that are manifestly "untrue" (presumably in all languages, not just English). In this context, it makes no difference whether a speaker is actually "unsure" of what he says OR is being "deferential" and/or doesn't want to risk making a statement that someone else might disagree with. But "hypothetical" in this context is obviously just a kind of metaphorical usage when @gotube says If I were* to paraphrase. There's nothing really* hypothetical about the speaker's words there, since *he IS paraphrasing the text!* – FumbleFingers Nov 02 '23 at 13:37
  • ...so there's no point in thinking that *If you ask me, I would say X is true* is somehow more "hypothetical" than the same assertion without the first four highlighted words. With or without all the hedges, caveats, and polite circumlocutions, the speaker in all cases is making the same assertion *X is true*. All else is just window dressing. – FumbleFingers Nov 02 '23 at 13:43
  • @FumbleFingers I don't follow your point. If it's not hypothetical, how "would" exactly work in this case? – Nyambek Nov 03 '23 at 04:29
  • @FumbleFingers by the way the idea of if you ask me doesn't makes sense to me because the person does ask and the question is direct and open to all. A: How many people were at the gig last night? B: I'd say there were about a hundred.

    Would you also consider answer B to be a gloss of If you asked me, I would say ... ? Where's the conditionality exactly? The question is very real and direct.

     – Nyambek Nov 03 '23 at 04:40
  • If it's not hypothetical, how exactly would* the word "would" work?* OR ...how exactly does* the word "would" work?* Both those phrasings mean exactly the same. In practice, there is no "hypothetical"! That's just how English works. – FumbleFingers Nov 03 '23 at 04:52
  • @FumbleFingers Even though both mean the same thing, there must be a difference in nuance in you example. Could you explain how "would" works in your example? – Nyambek Nov 04 '23 at 05:32
  • @FumbleFingers What does the term "hypothetical" exactly mean in the use of "would?" – Nyambek Nov 04 '23 at 05:34
  • If you ask me, I'd say that's a dumb question! But don't be offended - that's just as example of why you shouldn't necessarily interpret such things too literally. Obviously you have just asked me, and I am saying my response in the first sentence of this comment. But in the simplified world of people teaching the English language to non-native speakers, you're told that *If* followed by *I'd = I would* represents some kind of "numbered conditional" involving a "hypothetical" scenario and a hypothetical response. But neither are actually hypothetical at all - they're real. – FumbleFingers Nov 04 '23 at 11:30
  • @FumbleFingers That makes sense. Can I also use "will" there? I will papraphrase this as ... – Nyambek Nov 05 '23 at 01:53
  • Indeed you can, yes. It's not common with this exact verb, but you could also forget about using an auxiliary to convey a (contextually meaningless) "hypothetical" or "future" aspect, and just use Simple Present *I paraphrase this as...* That's perfectly common with other verbs, such as *I say this is a stupid question.* Simple Present makes for a much "bolder" assertion than *I would say this is...*, but essentially these are all just different ways of saying the same thing. – FumbleFingers Nov 05 '23 at 04:27
  • @FumbleFingers Before the match starts, what should we use "will" or "would?" On Tuesday, we (Chelsea) take on Man City. A win will / would send us up to third. – Nyambek Nov 06 '23 at 11:30
  • You seem to be expecting a level of precision that English simply doesn't have (more precisely, that Anglophones don't expect / require). To all intents ansd purposes, it makes no difference whether the match has started or not, *nor* does it make any difference whether the speaker chooses to express himself using Present, Future, or Conditional - A win gets / will get / would get* us into the final* are all idiomatically fine. – FumbleFingers Nov 06 '23 at 14:55
  • @FumbleFingers Well, isn't there really any difference between a win will* get us into the final* and a win would* get us into the final*? This game is real and will be in progress. When imagining a situation, "would" would be the right choice here, wouldn't it? "Will" wouldn't be appropriate. – Nyambek Nov 07 '23 at 08:34
  • You don't seem to be taking in what I say. I'm sorry, but I can't explain things any more clearly. – FumbleFingers Nov 07 '23 at 11:32

3 Answers3

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No, "would" here expresses "a conjecture, opinion, or hope."

It's one of the different usages of the word "would".

Cambridge Dictionary defines this usage as:

used to express an opinion in a polite way without being forceful

Mohit
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0

"Would" in that context is the same as in the unreal future conditional, commonly known as "second conditional", but there's no "if"-clause. So it is not the past of "will".

The question itself is about the meaning. B's answer is by way of paraphrasing, so they mean:

If I were paraphrasing this sentence, I would paraphrase this as a man who was selfish through and through, so that's what it means.

If we use "will" instead, it doesn't directly answer the question. It indicates deciding on the spot to paraphrase the sentence in that way, but never tying it back to the question. It obviously does give an answer, but indirectly, without saying it's the answer.

gotube
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  • Can we also use "will" in that sentence? Why "would" is always used, not "will". – Nyambek Nov 02 '23 at 07:51
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    See Mohit's answer. Would makes B's answer a polite suggestion rather than a claim that 'this is the only right way to do it'. – Kate Bunting Nov 02 '23 at 09:22
  • @KateBunting But "will" can also be used in that sentence, doesn't it? – Nyambek Nov 02 '23 at 10:41
  • @Nyambek, the way will define is used by native speakers it implies that its speaker controls the meaning about to be assigned. And it is prospective, establishing how the word being discussed will be used and interpreted in what follows. With would define it has the sense of, “If I were pressed to describe how it is being used and interpreted, here’s what I’d say.” – Paul Tanenbaum Nov 02 '23 at 11:04
  • "Will can also be used in that sentence, can't it?" It wouldn't be grammatically incorrect to use will. – Kate Bunting Nov 02 '23 at 11:46
  • @KateBunting Well, why isn't "will" correct? – Nyambek Nov 02 '23 at 11:48
  • I said it wouldn't be incorrect - that is, there is no grammatical reason not to use it. We mostly use would in sentences like that for the reasons explained above. – Kate Bunting Nov 02 '23 at 11:55
  • @KateBunting But a native speaker said "will" would be incorrect because it indicates the future (something is going to happen). You said it's correct. Thiis is what is puzzling me. – Nyambek Nov 02 '23 at 13:07
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    Indicating the future doesn't make it grammatically incorrect, but it is not a natural, idiomatic thing to say in that context. – Kate Bunting Nov 02 '23 at 13:13
  • @KateBunting What does "hypothetical" exactly mean in the use of "would?" – Nyambek Nov 04 '23 at 05:35
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    "If you were to ask me, I would say that..." As others have said, in this example it isn't literally hypothetical because A did ask B, but would is being used in the same way, to express a polite hesitancy. – Kate Bunting Nov 04 '23 at 10:39
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I would paraphrase this as a man who was selfish through and through.(here the subject's belief/expectation/thinking/inclination/willingness of paraphrasing the statement in question).

The speaker is not sure of the statement . He said it carefully (but not certainly) because he don't know of its correctness.

Sam
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