John
Can I use "WOULD" in this way A man has been arrested by the police, because he committed a murder ten days ago. When I talk this event with my friend, can I say "The murder would be sentenced to death." which means "He will probably be sentenced to death" ? Is this expression right? "The murder would be sentenced to death." Thank you!
Aug 22, 2014 9:27 AM
Answers · 5
2
No. You'd say 'The murderer will be sentenced to death' or 'The murderer is going to be sentenced to death'. To use 'would', it would need to be a conditional sentence. For example, in a country without the death penalty, you might say 'He would be sentenced to death if he'd done that in China'. Or maybe if the person in question was a a teenager you'd say 'He would be sentenced to death if he were older'. NB murder = the crime murderer = the person who commits the crime
August 22, 2014
2
Not really, don't use would, it sounds like you are asking a question, these are better: 1. "The murderer could be sentenced to death." - You can't see the future, this might happen in the future, it's only a possibility. 2. "The murderer will be sentenced to death." - You have current information about the future sentencing, there is no uncertainty. 3. "The murderer will probably be sentenced to death." - This is sort of the same as the first one, you don't know the outcome yet, but have a very good idea of what will happen.
August 22, 2014
https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-modal-would.htm Try this link for a list of uses of 'would.'
August 22, 2014
You can say "The murderer would be sentenced to death." There is nothing wrong with it. But we need the rest of the conversation please. I cannot tell what kind of 'would' that is (modal/conditional/emphasis) without the context. So please use it... but give us the dialogue in which you want to use it. For example. Person A: "I think the man would get twenty years for such a crime." Person B: "I'm sure any murderer would be sentenced to death."
August 22, 2014
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