Would
Principalmente, usamos el verbo auxiliar modal would para uso condicional.
En inglés, hay cuatro condicionales: cero, primero, segundo y tercera condicional. Solamente las condicionales segunda y tercera requieren el uso de would, pero haremos un resumen de todas las condicionales, aun así.
Cero condicional: se usa para presentar hechos o situaciones reales en el presente
(If + presente simple + presente simple).
- If I light a match, it burns.
- If you boil water, it reaches 100 degrees Celsius.
- If you attack animals they get angry.
Primer condicional: se usa para presentar hechos o situaciones en el futuro
(If + presente + will + infinitivo).
- If you go to school, I’ll buy you a present.
- If you eat too many calories, you’ll get fat.
- If he comes early, we’ll be happy.
Cursos de Inglés — Método Divertido
Segundo condicional (con would): Se usa para situaciones hipotéticas o imaginarias en el presente o el futuro
(If + pasado simple + would + infinitivo).
- If you lived closer to home, you’d be able to commute faster to work. (‘d = forma de contracción de ‘would’).
- If only she knew about the living circumstances, she wouldn’t be living there today.
- If Harry took the daily commute to London at 5.00 am, he would arrive much earlier.
Tercer condicional (con would): se usa para circunstancias absolutamente hipotéticas e imaginarias en el futuro o pasado
(If + pasado perfecto + would + have + participio pasado).
- If we had lived in New York we would have met so many interesting people.
- If only I had been born in the first century, I would have lived through the Roman Empire.
- If I had won the lottery I would have given you at least half of my winnings.
Verbos en Inglés — Método Divertido
Lección #10: Would
Explicación
El uso principal del verbo auxiliar modal would debe utilizarse como condicional en inglés. Hay cuatro condicionales en inglés: cero, primera, segunda y tercera condicional. Echemos un vistazo:
- Condicional cero: se utiliza para presentar hechos o situaciones reales en el presente (if + presente simple + presente simple).
- If I light a match, it burns.
- If you boil water, it reaches 100 degrees Celsius.
- If you attack animals, they get angry.
- Primera condicional: se utiliza para presentar hechos o situaciones reales que podrían ocurrir en el futuro (if + presente simple + will + Infinitivo).
- If you do your homework, you will pass your exams.
- If you eat too many calories, you’ll get fat.
- If he comes early, we’ll be happy.
- Segunda condicional: utilizada para situaciones improbables o hipotéticas (if + pasado simple + would + Infinitivo).
- If you lived closer to home, you’d be able to come home faster.
- If only she knew about the living circumstances, she wouldn’t be living there today.
- If Harry took the daily commute to London at five o’clock in the morning, he would arrive much earlier.
- Tercera condicional: utilizada para circunstancias hipotéticas o imaginarias en el futuro, presente o pasado (if + pasado perfecto + would + have + participio pasado).
- If we had lived in New York, we would have met so many interesting people.
- If only I had been born in the first century, I would have seen the Roman Empire.
- If I had won the lottery, I would have given you half of my winnings.
Contexto
- Jennifer, what would you buy me if you won the lottery?
- That’s a tough question.1 If I won the lottery, I would buy you all the smiles in the world.2
- Oh, come on! Be real! What would you actually buy me?
- Well, If I won the lottery then I would take you out for dinner.3
- You’re not the most generous person I know.
- What about you? If you suddenly went from rags to riches,4 what would you give me?
- I’d5 give you my love.
- Seriously? That’s it?
- If I hadn’t worked for my wealth, I wouldn’t have appreciated everything I have achieved.6
- That’s true. I agree with your philosophy in that regard, but It’d7 still be nice if you treated me8 with something at least.
- How about a Chalet?
- That’ll9 do just fine, thanks.
- You’re10welcome.
Análisis
- Tough = ‘duro/difícil’. Tough problem. Tough question.
- If I won the lottery I would buy you all the smiles in the world. La segunda condicional se está utilizando aquí. (If + pasado simple + would + Infinitivo). I.e., If you lived in the United States you would speak English perfectly.
- If I won the lottery then I would take you out for dinner. La segunda condicional se utiliza aquí para describir una situación improbable o hipotética.
- If you suddenly went from rags to riches. La expresión ‘rags to riches’ es una expresión común para referirse a alguien que va de ‘pobre a rico’.
- I’d give you my love. I’d puede significar I had o I would. Las contracciones con would y had son las siguientes: I’d, you’d, he’d, she’d, it’d, we’d, you’d (plural), they’d.
- If I hadn’t worked for my wealth, I wouldn’t have appreciated everything I have achieved. Este es un ejemplo de la tercera condicional en inglés, la usamos para situaciones completamente hipotéticas o imposibles. La regla es: if + had + participio pasado + would + have + participio pasado. I.e., If you had learnt Spanish when you were four, you would have spoken really well.
- It’d still be nice. La contracción de I’d en este caso es it would.
- But it’d still be nice if you treated me with something. Usamos el verbo treat para describir la acción de dar algo a alguien gratis. I.e., I’ll treat you this drink. My mom treated me to a new car.
- That’ll do just fine. That’ll es la contracción de that will. Las formas del verbo auxiliar modal will son: I’ll, you’ll, he’ll, she’ll, it’ll, we’ll, you’ll (plural), they’ll.
- You’re welcome. You’re es la contracción de you are. Las contracciones de be en primera persona son: I’m, you’re, he’s, she’s, it’s, we’re, you’re (plural), they’re.
Ver también:
Verbos auxiliares:
Verbos modales:
Gramática avanzada:
- Artículos (a/an, the, zero artículo)
- Pronombres: sujeto, objeto y posessivo
- Coletillas interrogativas
- Condicionales en inglés
- Palabras interrogativas
- Determinantes
- Verbos compuestos / phrasal verbs
- Prefijos y sufijos
- Discurso indirecto y directo
- Números: cardinal, ordinal, y números romanos
- El verbo: «get»
- Get vs. go + got vs. gotten
- Verbos copulativos
- Oración escindida
- Subjuntivo en inglés
- El inglés vulgar: tabú y jerga
- Elipsis
- Infinitivo partido
- Énfasis con inversión
- Los gerundios (verbo + ing)
- El «to + infinitivo»
- El infinitivo solo
- Diferencias de deletreo americano y británico