Definition of "would" in Englisch

Verb

1. Past tense of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. Used to form the "anterior future", or "future in the past", indicating a futurity relative to a past time. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}

   • On my first day at University, I met the woman who would become my wife.
   • Hi! I thought I'd come over and introduce myself. My name’s Chema.
   • I'm really flattered you would call your daughter after me.
   • When we were younger, we would cycle out to the beach most summer Sundays.
   • I asked her to stay in with me, but she would go out.

2. Used to form the "anterior future", or "future in the past", indicating a futurity relative to a past time. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}

   • On my first day at University, I met the woman who would become my wife.
   • Hi! I thought I'd come over and introduce myself. My name’s Chema.
   • I'm really flattered you would call your daughter after me.

3. Used to, did repeatedly, habitually; indicates an action that happened several times in the past (cannot describe continuous states, as in I used to live in London)

   • When we were younger, we would cycle out to the beach most summer Sundays.

4. Was or were determined to; indicating someone's insistence upon doing something.

   • I asked her to stay in with me, but she would go out.

5. Wanted to.

6. Used with ellipsis of the infinitive verb, or postponement to a relative clause, in various senses.

7. Wished, desired (something).

8. A modal verb, the subjunctive of will; usually followed by a bare infinitive. Used as the auxiliary of the simple conditional modality, indicating a state or action that is conditional on another.

   • If I won the lottery, I would give half the money to charity.
   • I'd never do anything that went against my conscience.
   • I would love to come and visit.
   • Look at that yummy cake! I would eat that all up!
   • Most other people would do it differently, helping anybody who was in trouble, whether they knew them or not.
   • I would ask you all to sit down.
   • I would imagine that they have already left.
   • I would say/think we would/might do better to catch the earlier flight.
   • It's disgraceful the way that they've treated you. I would write and complain.
   • She looked as if she would be sick.
   • He's very security-conscious, so he would have remembered to lock the door.