Would is a modal auxiliary verb with lots of different uses in English. Today, you're going to learn ten ways to use would, from making polite requests to talking about your preferences.

1. To make polite requests

Let’s start with one of the most common phrases with would. When we want to ask for something politely, we say I would like…

• I would like a cup of tea, please.
• I would like the scones with jam.
• I would like a new notebook.

We can use would like to request things for other people too.

• I would like a sandwich and my husband would like the salad.
• They would like water, please.

The structure of this is:

subject + would like + object or subject + would like + to-infinitive.

We can also use would to make requests as a question.

• Would you close the curtains, please?
• Would you buy me a newspaper?

2. To make invitations or offers

If we want to offer someone something or invite them somewhere, we also often use the word would. For example, if you want to politely offer someone a drink or some food, you can say:

• Would you like a cup of tea?
• Would you like a biscuit with that?

If you want to invite someone to an event or a place, you can say:

• Would you like to come to our house tomorrow for dinner?
• Would you like to go to the party tonight?

3. In reported speech

Reported speech is often a bit of a dreaded topic for English learners but it's actually quite easy when you know all the tenses. And, it's especially easy when you use the word would. Whenever you see the word will in direct speech, you can use would in reported speech. Here are two examples:

• She said she would come.
• They told me they would finish it by the next day.

Let’s look at the transformation from direct speech to reported speech:

• “I will help you move house,” said Robert.

=> Robert said he would help me move house.

And another one:

• "I will be here at 5 pm," said Jean.

=> Jean told me she would be there at 5 pm!

4. To talk about typical behaviour in the past

We also use would to talk about repeated actions in the past. These are actions we did often but don’t do anymore. Look at these examples:

• When I was a child, we would go to France during the summer holidays.
• When Julian was at university, he would eat ready meals almost every night.

You can’t use would to talk about states in the past. For states, we use the structure used to or the past simple.

• When I was a child, I used to love chocolate but now I don’t like it.

Take a look at some more examples of when you can use would to talk about repeated past actions:

• Kaitlyn would drink milk with honey in the winter when she lived with her grandma.
• My friends and I would play football every evening when I was a teenager.
• My dad would often go away on business trips before he retired.

5. To talk about willingness in the past

If you want to talk about how willing or happy someone was to do something in the past, you can use the word would. Although, we usually use this in a negative sense, so, use the word wouldn’t

• The shop wouldn’t give me a refund even though my new phone is obviously broken!
• Dave wouldn’t carry any of my boxes for me.

6. In hypothetical situations

You can use would to talk about unreal or hypothetical situations. These are situations that we are imagining.

• I would like to live in Spain because the weather’s beautiful. (but I live in England!)
• That restaurant would be too expensive. (so we won’t go there!)
• I would get seasick with those huge waves so we’re not going on the boat trip.
• They would love to visit Australia one day.

7. In conditional sentences:

1. The second conditional

We use would in the second conditional to talk about imaginary, impossible or very unlikely situations in the present. With the second conditional, however, we have two clauses: the if clause and the would clause.

• If I moved to another country, I would miss my parents.
• Claire would take a trip around the world if she won the lottery.
• If they spoke English, they would move to New Zealand.
• They would help you if you asked them politely

The structure of the second conditional is:

 [if + subject + past simple,] [subject + would + base form of the verb].

Look carefully at the comma after the if clause: it needs to be there when the if clause comes first. But, when you change the order of the clauses, you can remove the comma.

And remember, even though we’re using past tenses, we’re imagining things in the present.

2. The third conditional

Next up, we have the third conditional. This is the conditional we use when we talk about hypothetical situations in the past. We often use this structure to imagine changing the past or things happening differently. Here are some examples of third conditional sentences:

• I would have called you if I had known you were at home.
• If she had helped us, we would have finished earlier.
• If he had practised more, he would have passed his driving test.

The structure of the third conditional is:

 [if + subject + past perfect,] [subject + would have + past participle].

Again, when the if clause comes first, we need a comma after it.

8. With wish

We can use would with the verb wish to talk about things we want people to do (or not do !) but we know they probably won’t. So, these are hypothetical sentences.

We usually use the construction when we’re annoyed by someone’s habit or something they do regularly. It’s not usually about something no one can change and we don’t use it to talk about ourselves.

The structure of this is:

 [subject + wish] + [subject + would + base form of the verb].

Here are a few examples:

• I wish you wouldn’t leave the door unlocked.

• Sam wishes his dad wouldn’t smoke.
• I wish you would clean the house more often.
• I wish my sister wouldn’t borrow my clothes.

9. To talk about preferences

If we want to talk about what we or someone else prefers from several options, we can use the phrase would rather. This could be a real situation in the present or a hypothetical situation.

The structure is: subject + would rather + base form of the verb.

• I would rather get a takeaway today.
• I’m too tired to cook.
• Would you rather go to the cinema or the theatre?
• I would rather move to Canada than the US.
• We would rather start work at 8 am not 9.
• Would you rather have coffee or tea?

10. To give opinions

Finally, we’re at the tenth way we can use would in English. When we want to give our opinion about something but we want to be polite or we’re not sure we’re correct, we can use would as part of some set phrases.

We often say I would think, I would imagine or I would guess.

• I would think we need to talk to the manager before we commit to this.
• I would imagine it’s been a tough few days for him.
• I’d guess he would want to help.