Would

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Would is a modal verb. As such, it is invariable, there is no other form of would. Historically it is the past tense of will and it still acts as such in reported speech:

It is pronounced /wʊd/, the l is not pronounced.

Reported speech (marks the "future in the past")

3:00pm: boss meeting
Barbara: Could you tell Liz that I won't be here for the dinner tonight, my flight is leaving at 8.
Melissa: Sure, I am seeing her this afternoon.
4:00pm: Melissa runs into Liz at the coffee machine
Melissa: Hi Liz... hey... before I forget... Barbara asked me to tell you she wouldn't be here for the dinner tonight because her flight was leaving at 8.
Liz: Wow, you can still get flights out of New York? I hope she makes it back safely.

Politeness

Would is often used to make a polite offer. Compare:

  • Do you want a coffee? (It's always nice when someone offers you a coffee, but...
  • Would you like (some/a) coffee? is even nicer! (a coffee) = from a machine, (some coffee) = brewed in coffeepot
Would you be willing to work weekends in August? I promise the air conditioner will be working.

This politeness is called "modal distancing". It's a bit like social distancing for language. It makes it a little easier for the other person to say "no" without feeling bad.

Habitual past activities

would can be synonymous with used to.

  • When I was a kid, I used to ride my bike everywhere. These days, not so much.
  • When I was a kid, I would ride my bike everywhere. These days, not so much.

One key difference is that would can only be used to talk about activities, or repeated events, e.g.

  • She would invariably arrive 20 minutes late at least once a week because of regular train strikes.
  • They would come over for dinner once a month when we lived in Seattle. They would often end up spending the night in our guest room.

and are not very often used to talk about states.

  • I guess I used to know them pretty well when we lived in Seattle, but we haven't spoken in years.
  • I would know them pretty well when we lived in Seattle.
  • When you were a kid, did you use to believe in Santa Claus?
  • When you were a kid, would you believe in Santa Claus?