'Would' what the heck is wrong with it?
Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2019 10:43 am
Could you help me, please? Recently I have come across some sentences I didn't know what to make of.
The sentences are:
1. Lord Henry “Is that very vain of me? I think it is rather vain.”
Dorian “I should think it was, Harry…” (Oscar Wilde - The picture of Dorian Gray)
2. I think we would both say we were spiritual people (That Mitchell and Webb Look - Evil Vicar)
3. So I think it would be useful if we started by your telling me something about your state of mind at the moment.
How would you describe it? Would you say you were happy or depressed? Confident or unsure of yourself?
(A bit of Fry and Laurie)
4. You wouldn't know what a pair of lungs did if you hadn't been told, would you? (A bit of Fry and Laurie).
My teachers say these are simply incorrect. They argue that in these sentences real present situations are expressed therefore present tenses must be used. Is it the case or past forms are also possible?
Thank you.
The sentences are:
1. Lord Henry “Is that very vain of me? I think it is rather vain.”
Dorian “I should think it was, Harry…” (Oscar Wilde - The picture of Dorian Gray)
2. I think we would both say we were spiritual people (That Mitchell and Webb Look - Evil Vicar)
3. So I think it would be useful if we started by your telling me something about your state of mind at the moment.
How would you describe it? Would you say you were happy or depressed? Confident or unsure of yourself?
(A bit of Fry and Laurie)
4. You wouldn't know what a pair of lungs did if you hadn't been told, would you? (A bit of Fry and Laurie).
My teachers say these are simply incorrect. They argue that in these sentences real present situations are expressed therefore present tenses must be used. Is it the case or past forms are also possible?
Thank you.