Using "would".
Any ideas as to why "that would be" is used here?
1. "... I do have some answers for you. You asked about one person declaring all the income and one taking all the expense. The answer to that would be no."
2. A: Are you Steve, the guy who lives near my sister? B: Yes, that would be me.
3. Two travelers see a dog get hit by a truck. A: Did you see that? Horrible! B: That would be one dead dog.
If I told you the reason for that is means of "idiomatic usage", would you get happier than you would be, staying with no answer...?
As some usual definitions, "will" and "would" come to place when the speaker wishes to express ´intention or prediction´, being ´would´the conditional of ´will´. And you can clearly put your 1st and 2nd exmaples into that rule, ´prediction´.
Hope it helped :)
<And you can clearly put your 1st and 2nd exmaples into that rule, ´prediction>
OK, Antonio, thanks for the input, but what is the differnce between using "will" or "would" here?
<<<3. Two travelers see a dog get hit by a truck. A: Did you see that? Horrible! B: That would/will be one dead dog. >>>
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<This page may meet Wikipedia’s criteria for speedy deletion. >
Can you explain the purpose of that post, Lazar?
"Would" is conditional tense and "will" is future tense.
<"Would" is conditional tense and "will" is future tense. >
There's no such thing as "conditional tense".
Technically it's called the "conditional mood"... but let's not go into that again. ;)
You can't use "will" in these sentences, because we're not discussing the future. The alternative is the present tense: "The answer to that is no", "Yes, that's me", and "That's one dead dog".
Unfortunately, I can't really figure out why we use "would be" in these sentences. It's certainly not required, nor would it seem unnatural not to use this construction. Of course, it would sound unnatural if you misuse it, so when in doubt, it's probably better not to. It's one of those things where if you hear it enough, you'll probably get a sense of how it's used and when you can use it yourself.
- Kef
<You can't use "will" in these sentences, because we're not discussing the future.>
"Will" is not always future reference. Didn't you know that?
<Any ideas as to why "that would be" is used here?>
It's used as a distancing effect, as are many "past forms" and modals.
<1. "... I do have some answers for you. You asked about one person declaring all the income and one taking all the expense. The answer to that would be no." >
Distancing oneself from the "fact" - there's always a chance the speaker could be wrong or misformed.
<2. A: Are you Steve, the guy who lives near my sister? B: Yes, that would be me. >
Politeness/formality-probability.
<3. Two travelers see a dog get hit by a truck. A: Did you see that? Horrible! B: That would be one dead dog. >
Logical deduction, but again distancing oneself from the fact. Distancing onself more that if one used "will" (which is also possible, no matter what others may say).
It's all about using less direct, more distant forms.
Note the differences here:
Results 1 - 100 of about 372,000 for "will for sure".
Results 1 - 100 of about 72,300 for "would for sure".
It's more common to add "for sure" with "will".
Other examples of the same:
This is what I call annoying.
This is what I call annoying.
...
It is better to catch the early train.
I think it's better to catch the early train.
I think it will better to catch the early train.
I think it would better to catch the early train.
I would say I we'd do better to catch the early train.
....
We should stop for lunch soon.
I would think we might stop for lunch soon.
Edit:
Other examples of the same:
This is what I call annoying.
This is what I would call annoying.
<< <You can't use "will" in these sentences, because we're not discussing the future.>
"Will" is not always future reference. Didn't you know that? >>
Well, it would be in those sentences. ;) I just wanted to keep the explanation simple.
<< <Any ideas as to why "that would be" is used here?>
It's used as a distancing effect, as are many "past forms" and modals. >>
I'd say that's the best explanation, but it doesn't quite fully explain it. For instance, in the sentence "That would be one dead dog", no distancing is necessary; it's not the sort of sentence one would say if one were being particularly polite or formal.
- Kef
<Well, it would be in those sentences. ;) I just wanted to keep the explanation simple. >
There 's no inteded future refence in any of those examples. They are all using the modal "would" either for a PRESENT deduction or TIMELESS fact.
<"That would be one dead dog", no distancing is necessary; it's not the sort of sentence one would say if one were being particularly polite or formal. >
The distancing is in certainty, or lack of it, based on direct evidence or logical deduction. It's nothing to do with politeness.