从时态来看,我们知道 “would” 是 “will” 的过去式,但除了时态不同,两者是否还有其他用法及意义的差异呢?以下我们将举例说明 “will” 和 “would” 的异同。
1. “Will” 可用来说明某人预测、相信未来会发生或是当下正在发生的事情:
He will make it to the meeting.(他会赶上会议的。)
Where’s mom? (妈在哪?)She will be at work.(她应该在上班。)
值得注意,使用 “will” 叙述当下的事情会与使用现在简单式有些意思上的差异:现在简单式的叙述具有肯定性,而 “will” 则带有一点预测、保留其他可能性的意味。举例来说,“Mom is at work” 意指妈妈在上班,而 “Mom will be at work” 则带有一点猜测的意味:“(没意外的话)妈妈应该是在上班。”
“Would” 则代表在过去某时间点对未来的预测或叙述:
We thought he would make it to the meeting.(我们以为他赶得上会议。)
She thought she would be the one being promoted.(她以为要被升职的是她。)
2. “Will” 可用来说明习惯、固定发生的事情:
The restaurant will usually open at 5 pm.(这间餐厅通常都在下午五点开门。)
She will get up at 5 in the morning, drink a cup of coffee, put on her headphones with her favorite podcast on, and head out for a run.(她会早上五点起床,喝杯咖啡,戴上耳机听着她最爱的播客,然后出门跑步。)
在这个用法下,“would” 是指在过去习惯、固定发生的事情:
The restaurant would usually open at 5 pm. {餐厅以前都是下午五点开门。(意指现在餐厅已经不再是五点开门了)}
She would get up at 5 in the morning, drink a cup of coffee, put on her headphones with her favorite podcast on, and head out for a run. {她以前都是早上五点起床,喝杯咖啡,戴上耳机听着她最爱的播客,然后出门跑步。(意指现在她已经不再这么做了)}
3. “Will” 也可用来叙述某人愿意做的事情:
I had a fight with Ann, and she won’t talk to me now.(我和Ann吵架了,她现在不想和我说话。)
Parents will do everything to protect their children.(父母会愿意做任何事情来保护他们的孩子。)
“Would” 则意指某人在过去愿意做的事情:
I tried apologizing to Ann, but she wouldn’t talk to me.(我有试着跟Ann道歉,但是她不愿意跟我说话。)
My mom would let us decide what we want to do.(以前我妈会让我们选择自己想做的事情。)
4. “Will” 可用来叙述某人对未来所做的承诺:
I will get back to you as soon as possible.(我会尽快回答你。)
OK, I will be there.(好,我会去的。)
相同地,“would” 就能用来表达某人在过去对未来所做的承诺。
He said he would talk to her.(他说他会再和她聊聊。)
She promised she would come.(她答应会来的。)
5. 另外,“will” 和 “would” 皆可用来对他人提出请求,但两者的差异在于 “would” 更为礼貌和正式。
Will you open the window for me?
Would you open the window for me?
以上两个句子的意思都是“你可以帮我打开窗户吗?”,但以 “would” 提出的请求更为礼貌。
6. 最后,“would” 也可以用来礼貌、委婉地表达个人意见或是表达自己也不太确定的意见;常见的搭配用法有 “I would say/think/imagine” 等:
I would say it is quite a risky move.(我觉得这个做法蛮冒险的。)
I would imagine that the manager will call a meeting as soon as we get back to the office.(我猜经理会在我们回公司后马上开会。)