Tip: Here is my boardwork for when I review the modal verb ‘would’.
would/wouldn’t
1 Reporting what someone said in the past.
A to B at lunch: I’ll meet you in the bar at 7.
B speaking to C in the bar at 7.15: A said he’d meet us here at 7.
2 Used with if to talk about something imaginary in the future (or something that you want to happen).
If I had a solution, I’d tell you.
I would appreciate it if you could pay the invoice by the end of this week.
3 Talking about something in the past that was possible, but in fact didn’t happen.
I would have called you, but there wasn’t time.
Thanks for the invitation – I’m sorry I couldn’t join you. I’m sure I would have enjoyed it.
4 Polite requests and offers
Would you shut the door, please?
Would you like a cup of coffee or something?
And notice these phrases:
Would you mind opening the window?
Would you mind if I opened the window?
Would it be all right if I opened the window?
5 It wouldn’t work/start/open
I turned the key, but the motor wouldn’t start.
I clicked on the pdf, but it wouldn’t open.
Background
This is a continuation of my ‘Review of modals’, begun last month. As I mentioned in last month’s post on ‘will’, I don’t give heavy grammar input in my courses, but instead do short ‘reviews’, almost as fillers in a lesson. They are not meant to be a rigorous, comprehensive treatment of a grammar area, just an attempt to bring to awareness what students already know passively. I write the above text on the board, and then ask for more example sentences from the group (which I also write up). Then I drill some of the phrases, focussing on the contractions.