Would (Auxiliary Verbs)

Would (overview)

Would is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use would mainly to:

• talk about the past

• talk about the future in the past

• express the conditional mood

We also use would for other functions, such as:

expressing desire, polite requests and questions, opinion or hope, wish and regret...

Structure of Would

subject + would + main verb

The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to").

	subject	auxiliary verb	main verb
+	She	would	like	tea.
		'd
-	She	would not	like	whisky.
		wouldn't
?	Would	She	like	coffee?

Note:

Would is never conjugated. It is always would or 'd (short form).

The main verb is always the bare infinitive.

We cannot say:

I would to like coffee.

Note:

Would and had have the same short form 'd:

He'd finished. (He had finished.)

He'd like coffee. (He would like coffee.)