Correct Use of COULD and WOULD | What's the Difference? | Modal Verbs in English Grammar

Learn how to use the modal verbs COULD and WOULD correctly in this lesson. Also see - MOST COMMON MISTAKES IN ENGLISH & HOW TO AVOID THEM:

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Transcript:
Many people are confused about the
correct use of ‘could’ and 'would’.
In this lesson, I will teach you
how to use these two modal verbs
without mistakes. There is a quiz
at the end of the video to test
your understanding. OK, there are
three main differences between
‘could’ and ‘would’ that you need
to know. So let’s start with the
first one: This is in the use of
the past tense. ‘Could’ is the past
tense of ‘can’ and ‘would’ is the
past tense of ‘will’. Take this
sentence: “I can run a mile in 10
minutes.” This means I have this
ability (to run a mile within 10
minutes). This is in the present
tense but we can change it to the
past by saying “I could run a mile
in 10 minutes when I was younger.”
It means I had the ability in the
past but I don’t have it now. In
this next example: “I know we will
win the match.” So maybe we’re on
the same team, and I tell you “I
know we will win.” I’m confident.
But if the match happened in the
past (it’s already finished), and I
want to say that I was confident, I
can say “I knew we would win the
match.” Here, ‘will’ becomes
‘would’. This is the first
difference. The second difference
relates to talking about possible
situations and imaginary
situations. Take this example: “It
could rain tonight.” So I look at
the sky and I see clouds. And I
make a prediction about the future.
Here’s another sentence – “John
isn’t answering his phone. He could
be busy.” That is I’m saying that
it’s possible that he’s busy.
Notice that in both of these
sentences, ‘could’ is not a past
tense form – it’s just used to show
possibility. But I cannot use
‘would’ for this purpose. So, these
are possible situations, but when
we talk about imaginary situations,
we prefer to use ‘would’. For
example, “If I had a million
dollars, I would buy a beach
house.” Again, don’t be confused by
the past tense. We say “If I had”
and “I would buy” because we want
to show that this is imagination –
it’s not reality (I don’t have a
million dollars). Here’s another
example: “If Shirley worked hard,
she would get a promotion.” This
means she doesn’t work hard (she’s
lazy), so she’s not going to get a
promotion. Now, in both of these
sentences, we can use ‘could’ to
show imaginary ability but it’s
less common. ‘Would’ is used a lot
more when it comes to imaginary
situations. This is the second
difference. Let’s now move on to
the third and final difference –
and this is in polite expressions.
There are four functions that are
important for us – making
suggestions, offers, requests and
asking for permission. First, to
make suggestions, we normally use
‘could’ as in this example: “We
could try that new Italian
restaurant.” So imagine that we’re
planning to have dinner together
and I make this suggestion. Here,
using ‘would’ is wrong. But to make
an offer, we prefer ‘would’. For
example: “Would you like some tea?”
That means, I have tea and I’m
asking you if you want some. Here,
we cannot use ‘could’. But making
requests is different because it is
possible to use both ‘could’ and
‘would’. For example, “Could you
open the window, please?” You can
also say, “Would you open the
window, please?” although this is
very formal and polite. However, we
also sometimes use “Would you
mind…” as in “Would you mind
opening the window?” This is a
request, but this phrase is fixed –
you cannot say “Could you mind…?”
And when we ask for permission,
again there are expressions with
both ‘could’ and ‘would’. For
example, “Could I borrow your car
for a couple of days?” Maybe I’m
saying this to a friend, so I’m
asking my friend for permission to
use his or her car. I can also say,
“Would it be OK if I borrowed your
car for a couple of days?” or
“Would you mind if I borrowed your
car for a couple of days?” ‘Would
you mind’ can be used to ask
permission as well. Notice that
when we use ‘would it be OK if’ or
‘would you mind if’, we use the
verb in the past tense –
‘borrowed’, but that’s just a
grammar rule – we’re still asking
for permission for the future.
Alright, these are the differences
between ‘could’ and ‘would’, and if
you’re ready, it’s now time for the
test. There are eight sentences on
the screen. In each one, I want you
to choose the correct word –
‘could’ or ‘would’. Stop the video,
think about your answers, then play
the video again and check. Alright,
here are the answers. Let me know
how many you got correct in the
comments.

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