Question
Updated on
27 Jan 2022
- Russian
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English (US)
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English (UK)
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Arabic
Question about English (US)
Can I use "would not" to mean "did not" ?
1) I wouldn't take the phone when she called.
2) I wouldn't pass the exam.
Can I use "would not" to mean "did not" ?
1) I wouldn't take the phone when she called.
2) I wouldn't pass the exam.
1) I wouldn't take the phone when she called.
2) I wouldn't pass the exam.
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27 Jan 2022
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- English (US)
It's not the same as "did not". It is actually a theoretical form or future form of "will not".
So "would not" is more like refusing to do something. So you will not do it because you are not wanting to do it. You are not willing, so you won't do this thing.
Or it can be used to predict what is likely or not likely to happen. "If I stopped studying every night, then I wouldn't pass the exam." or "If I waited too long, then I would be late getting to work."
1) I wouldn't take the phone when she called. = I refused to answer the phone when she called.
2) I wouldn't pass the exam. = It is likely that I would not be able to pass the exam.
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- English (US)
@Foreigner1 “would not” means that you prefer not to do something whereas did not means that you were not able to do something. The one you use depends on the context but the examples you gave were incomplete sentences.
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- English (US)
It's not the same as "did not". It is actually a theoretical form or future form of "will not".
So "would not" is more like refusing to do something. So you will not do it because you are not wanting to do it. You are not willing, so you won't do this thing.
Or it can be used to predict what is likely or not likely to happen. "If I stopped studying every night, then I wouldn't pass the exam." or "If I waited too long, then I would be late getting to work."
1) I wouldn't take the phone when she called. = I refused to answer the phone when she called.
2) I wouldn't pass the exam. = It is likely that I would not be able to pass the exam.
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- Russian
@OwLeho "or it can be used to predict what is likely or not likely to happen".
Don't really understand this part. Does it mean I can make conditional sentences with "would not" or something ?
Don't really understand this part. Does it mean I can make conditional sentences with "would not" or something ?
- English (US)
@Foreigner1 Yes, it can be used for conditional sentences. Things like "if [something] then would/would not [something].
So
- "If you insulted me, then I wouldn't help you anymore." (I would stop helping you to fix your house).
- "If it rained, then I wouldn't go to the park that day. I would stay inside where it is dry instead."
- "This glass is very fragile, so if I dropped it on the concrete, it would break."
- "This cup is very strong, so if I dropped it on the concrete it would not break. But if it was full of water, it would still make a mess."
But it can also be used to guess things about the future, about how something will probably happen. So:
- "When I saw the clouds, I decided that it would probably rain that day. So when it rained a few hours later, I was not surprised. I had guessed that would happen."
- "I grew taller during this last winter, so I thought that some of my summer clothing would be too small now. So I had to try everything on to see which clothes still fit me. And I was right, several clothes were too small now. I will have to buy some more summer clothes in my new size."
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- Russian
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