hii,

I am learning English for around 5 years and I still can’t comprehend the meaning of “would” and “count” in some context. are they just past form of “will” and “can”?

“would you like coffee” means a person is asking if you liked coffee in past? “I would do it” means I did it in past?

I really don’t understand since my language doesn’t have anything like those words.

Edit: Thank you for answering my naive question :)

  • otp@sh.itjust.works
    0·
    5 months ago

    Regarding your question about being the past tense, they are also used that way. But you also need to make other changes.

    Would you like coffee?

    This is not about the past. As others have said, this is an offer of coffee. The response is

    Yes I would. / No I wouldn’t.

    (Or any other acceptance of an offer)

    Would you have liked coffee?

    This is about the past. It means something like…“Before, is it possible that you wanted coffee?”

    It’s a little tough to explain. But a person might ask that question if invited a friend to a café, got there before the friend, and ordered two teas…then the friend looked disappointed about having a tea. “Sorry, do you not like tea? Would you have liked coffee instead?”

    The answer here is

    Yes I would’ve. / No I wouldn’t have.

    It’s a similar situation for “could”.

    Could you take out the trash?

    This is a request. As others have said, “would” could also be used as a request here, but it’s not very common (at least like this).

    Literally, I think it’s a question of capability. I think “could” means “is it possible for X to happen”…but we use it to be a request because of politeness. English speakers don’t think about it this way when making a request, but it will help understand what it means in the past.

    Could you have taken out the trash?

    This is a question about a past capability. It means something like…“Before, was it possible that you were able to take out the trash?”

    You’d ask this if your kid didn’t take out the trash and you want to know if it was possible (with the implication being that you want to know WHY).

    The kid would answer

    Yes, I could’ve, but …

    Or

    No, I couldn’t have, because …

    Or

    Not now mom/dad, I’m playing a game

    As you can see, using would/could in the past is possible, but complicated. “Should” is also usable in the past.

    Should I wear a hat?

    … Is a question about whether you need a hat (maybe before going outside for a walk).

    Should I have worn a hat?

    …is a question about whether you needed to wear a hat before. Maybe you didn’t wear a hat and got a sunburn on your scalp. Ouch! Yes, you should’ve worn a hat.