modal verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
How would you like (=would you like)
▪ How would you like to spend the summer in Italy?
It would be nice if
▪ It would be nice if you could let us know in advance.
no/any self-respecting ... would do sth
▪ No self-respecting actor would appear in a porn movie.
only then did/would/could etc sb do sth (=at that moment and not before)
▪ Only then did she tell him about the attack.
so do I/so is he/so would Peter etc
▪ Joe was a little upset, and so was I.
▪ He’s been ill, and so has his wife.
▪ As the demand rises, so do prices.
so it would appear (=used to say that something seems likely to be true, although you are not completely sure)
would dearly like
▪ I would dearly like to know what she said.
would have none of it
▪ We offered to pay our half of the cost but Charles would have none of it.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
I could/would go for sth
▪ I could really go for a taco right now.
▪ But at first I would go for a holiday.
▪ You always told me that if I worked hard, one day, I would go for Secondary.
I wish (that) sb would do sth
▪ I wish he would go away.
▪ I wish he would stop this.
▪ I wish Masklin would come back.
▪ I wish my friends would take that to heart.
▪ I wish they would continue to play at the Forum.
▪ I wished the Admiral would switch on the lights.
▪ I thought I was gon na die and-I hate to admit it-sometimes I wished I would.
▪ They are different from the views that he is saying are ours, and I wish that he would retract that.
I would be glad if
I would be grateful if you could/would ...
▪ I would be grateful if you could tell me anything about the guitar.
▪ I would be grateful if you could tell me where I can get hold of such posters.
▪ I would be grateful if you would examine Exhibit A. Do you recognise it?
▪ If you will be attending the site visit, I would be grateful if you could complete the tear-off slip below.
▪ This will take place at the above address on and I would be grateful if you could attend at.
I would prefer it if
▪ I'd prefer it if you would not insult my friends.
▪ I would prefer it if we had a bigger house, but we can't afford it.
I would say
▪ After the experience of working on this table I would say that this is absolute rot.
▪ And exactly this, I would say, is the difference between a gospel of war and one of peace.
▪ As far as filmmaking is concerned, I would say the future is his.
▪ Finally, I would say that in a show of sixty-four artists it is astonishing that there are only five women.
▪ I could never come to the situation where I would say we're all equal.
▪ Offhand, I would say a company director.
▪ Well organized, a nice grasp of social interplay. I would say a good beginning.
I would think
▪ "Will you have finished work by 6.30?'' "Oh yes, I should think so.''
▪ I should think Sarah and Greg will be going to the party.
▪ I would think that she would get tired of cleaning up the house every day.
▪ It'll be cooler down by the lake, I would think.
▪ I loathe this country, I would think, No, I love it.
▪ Male speaker I would think they'd like it two to three days old with a reasonable bounce.
▪ My head, I would agree with her. I would think she was right.
▪ No less than three hours, I would think, perhaps as many as five or six.
▪ Pretty heavily on fire, too, I would think.
▪ She would wear it for Chapel Anniversary, I would think, because that was a very special occasion in Baldersdale.
▪ This looks tough, I would think, and then immediately forget about it.
▪ Three reasons, I would think.
anyone would think (that)
▪ A woman like her ... To hear him talk, anyone would think she was some kind of Jezebel on the make.
▪ Really, Tom, the way you're defending her, anyone would think I'd tortured the girl!
▪ The way he went on anyone would think we were engaged in an exact science.
▪ To hear you talk, anyone would think I was some kind of wanton, a man-stealer.
as luck would have it
▪ As luck would have it, it rained the next day and the game was canceled.
▪ As luck would have it, there were two seats left on the last flight.
▪ This was the first time I had ever seen a panda, and as luck would have it, I had my camera with me.
▪ But, as luck would have it, for them anyway, no buses ran on Sunday.
▪ But, as luck would have it, I didn't have an opportunity to follow up my intention at the time.
▪ Somewhere in the Great Hall, as luck would have it, were two managing directors from Salomon Brothers.
▪ This particular shoe, as luck would have it, is a flip-flop.
chance would be a fine thing!
how would you like sth?
▪ How would you like a big plate of pancakes?
▪ If you were to have a new one delivered tomorrow, how would you like to learn how it works?
▪ Now, how would you like to eat tonight?
▪ Well, how would you like to take a case that lasts for at least four months?
it is better/it would be better
it might/would be as well
sb will/would/should etc go far
▪ A man of his abilities should go far in the Party.
▪ And the effects would go far beyond the natural world.
▪ Ghost: Oh, very droll, dear lad - you will go far.
▪ Her decisions would go far toward shaping the postwar world.
▪ It remains to be seen whether such measures will go far to avoid a repetition of the basic abuses, however.
▪ She'd been sure her daughter would go far.
▪ This will go far beyond pep talks and motivational speeches.
▪ Whether the stadium logs another round of lease-backed debt will go far in determining the fate of other major capital-improvement projects here.
sb would (just) as soon
▪ Absorbing Costs Self-defeating techniques yield consequences that most organizations would just as soon not deal with.
▪ After all, he delivers oil to you and would just as soon keep doing it.
▪ And a lot of them would just as soon not get this junk e-mail.
▪ And they would just as soon I was not there.
▪ Fiercely individualistic, Texas would just as soon give back the Alamo as institute a state tax.
▪ He would as soon not go.
▪ The dismissal of such people would stir up controversy the president would just as soon avoid.
sb would do well to do sth
▪ Nelson would do well to keep her political views out of her work.
▪ And President Dole or President Clinton would do well to take advantage of the services of such a splendid fellow.
▪ However, managers would do well to first address their own personal fears and discomfort.
▪ It's a motto the world of fundraising would do well to remember.
▪ Kansas City would do well to follow their example.
▪ Our selectors would do well to not pay too much attention to birth certificates.
▪ Parents would do well to discuss them with their doctor or hospital personnel before birth. 1.
▪ She would do well to remember that.
▪ This is highly regarded and influential in police circles and the social worker would do well to be aware of its thinking.
sb would give the world to do sth
sb would give their eye teeth for sth
sb would give their right arm to do sth
▪ These parents would give their right arms to get their kids into a prestigious school.
sb would sooner do sth (than)
sb would turn in their grave
sth that would make sb blush
▪ Jones' political moves would even make a crooked politician blush.
▪ She uses language that would make a construction worker blush.
sth would not come/go amiss
▪ A last round of the rooms wouldn't come amiss.
▪ A little humility in the medical debate would not go amiss.
▪ A little thank you to the Ombudsman would not go amiss. --------------------.
▪ A tankful of petrol wouldn't come amiss.
▪ Adding a few seconds to your dev.time to allow for the stop, etc. wouldn't go amiss.
▪ An apology wouldn't go amiss.
▪ In this climate, a down-home bear hug and attendant back slapping probably wouldn't go amiss.
▪ This remained a most important consideration, but some relaxation of the original prohibition would not go amiss.
that would be telling
▪ Well, that would be telling, as Barry Norman would say.
that would/will never do
▪ Bless my best boots, that would never do at all.
▪ Oh, no, that would never do, would it?
who would have dreamt that ...?
who would have thought?
▪ But who would have thought that a humble human could do these calculations?
▪ That's the only bait I didn't have but, who would have thought that with ice about?
▪ The girl was carrying a latchkey; she let herself into the cabin. ... who would have thought of that?
▪ Yet who would have thought I would talk to myself in this way in these notes? he wrote.
wild horses would/could not ...
will/would have none of sth
▪ But Kaptan would have none of it.
▪ Kronecker would have none of this.
▪ Pott would have none of it and, with the aid of his old friend Nourse, successfully set it himself.
▪ Stark would have none of that.
▪ Surprised and shocked, the Soviet government would have none of it.
▪ The world was going crazy and, or so it seemed, Trumptonshire would have none of it.
will/would stop at nothing (to do sth)
▪ Clearly, Franco would stop at nothing to retain his hegemonic position.
▪ Detectives are hunting three masked raiders who they believe will stop at nothing.
▪ Luke Calder was a coolly calculating, ruthless man who would stop at nothing to get where or what he wanted.
▪ Robert Sheldrake is an unscrupulous man who will stop at nothing to get this practice.
would give anything/a lot/your right arm etc for sth
would it be possible (for sb) to do sth?
▪ Would it be possible to get together at 6:30 instead of 5?
would just as soon
▪ I'd just as soon ride with you, if that's okay.
▪ Absorbing Costs Self-defeating techniques yield consequences that most organizations would just as soon not deal with.
▪ After all, he delivers oil to you and would just as soon keep doing it.
▪ And a lot of them would just as soon not get this junk e-mail.
▪ And they would just as soon I was not there.
▪ Fiercely individualistic, Texas would just as soon give back the Alamo as institute a state tax.
▪ The dismissal of such people would stir up controversy the president would just as soon avoid.
would like
▪ I'd like to reserve a room for Saturday.
▪ We'd like some information about flights to Chicago, please.
▪ We'd really like a new washing machine.
▪ We would like you to attend an interview at 3:30 on Friday.
▪ Would you like some more coffee?
▪ Would you like to borrow this book?
▪ A proposed right is a claim which the proposer would like the society to enforce.
▪ And, of course, your decision should, above all, reflect your feelings about what you would like to do.
▪ If you would like to reassess your life and learn how to use stress to your advantage, come along.
▪ People like Jennifer Grant, director of the Riley Center, would like to see it catch on big time.
▪ Sam Ruang would like to have one more child, but he under-stands that that is beyond his means.
▪ We are new to the London area, and would like to eat in restaurants or visit pubs with others.
▪ We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you and wish her a very happy retirement.
would rather
▪ I'd rather not talk about it, okay?
▪ I would rather stay home tonight.
▪ We could eat later, if you would rather do that.
▪ Beach says her generation, however, would rather visit with friends, play sports and watch television.
▪ But she loves to read and would rather listen to the radio than watch television.
▪ He would rather go down fighting, and try to salvage whatever he could from the wreckage of his dreams.
▪ I had the money, and there was nothing I would rather have spent it for than coming to you.
▪ I would rather die than retreat.
▪ I would rather taste ash on my tongue than blood in my mouth.
▪ Most people would rather stay home with their kids.
▪ Some members would abandon the evangelical parts of the platform, while others would rather give up politics.
would rather/would sooner ... than
would you be good enough to do sth?
▪ Would you be good enough to get my glasses for me?
▪ Would you be good enough to re-advise me of your full address so that I can send the documents to you?
would you be good/kind enough to do sth?
would you be kind enough to do sth/be so kind as to do sth
would you believe it!
▪ Would you believe it, she actually remembered my birthday!
would you care for sth?
▪ Would you care for a drink?
▪ How well would he care for them?
would you care to do sth?
▪ Would you care to comment on that, Senator?
would/could kill for sth
▪ But Katrinka is sustained by her search for her long-lost son, and a wardrobe a Vegas showgirl could kill for.
▪ I could kill for him, easily and without thought.
▪ Most retailers would kill for that kind of performance.
▪ Some of the lasses would kill for tab-ends and that.
would/do you mind ...?
you would be well-advised to do sth
you would be well/ill advised to do sth
you would have thought (that)
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Andy said he would give me a ride home.
▪ Dad would be really mad if he knew we borrowed his car.
▪ The total cost, I would guess, might be $100 per person.
▪ We would often go for long walks in the park.