tense of “would be” (when used as a synonym for “was”)
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In a school paper, my son wrote the sentence, "In 1763, the stalemate would be broken." His teacher told him to avoid the "past progressive tense." The phrase "would be" is clearly not an example of the past progressive tense--but I can't quite figure out what tense it is. Can anyone help?
grammar past-tense
asked Nov 8 at 3:48
user72069
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In a school paper, my son wrote the sentence, "In 1763, the stalemate would be broken." His teacher told him to avoid the "past progressive tense." The phrase "would be" is clearly not an example of the past progressive tense--but I can't quite figure out what tense it is. Can anyone help?
grammar past-tense
asked Nov 8 at 3:48
user72069
313
bumped to the homepage by Community♦ 19 mins ago
This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
up vote
0
down vote
favorite
In a school paper, my son wrote the sentence, "In 1763, the stalemate would be broken." His teacher told him to avoid the "past progressive tense." The phrase "would be" is clearly not an example of the past progressive tense--but I can't quite figure out what tense it is. Can anyone help?
grammar past-tense
asked Nov 8 at 3:48
user72069
313
In a school paper, my son wrote the sentence, "In 1763, the stalemate would be broken." His teacher told him to avoid the "past progressive tense." The phrase "would be" is clearly not an example of the past progressive tense--but I can't quite figure out what tense it is. Can anyone help?
grammar past-tense
grammar past-tense
asked Nov 8 at 3:48
user72069
313
asked Nov 8 at 3:48
user72069
313
edited Nov 8 at 4:06
asked Nov 8 at 3:48
user72069
313
asked Nov 8 at 3:48
user72069
313
asked Nov 8 at 3:48
user72069
313
313
bumped to the homepage by Community♦ 19 mins ago
This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.
bumped to the homepage by Community♦ 19 mins ago
This question has answers that may be good or bad; the system has marked it active so that they can be reviewed.
add a comment |
add a comment |
1 Answer
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Would is a modal verb that doesn't have a tense per se.
From the Cambridge dictionary:
Modal verbs do not change in form to make different tenses.
All of the modal verbs can refer to present and future time. Only some of them can refer to past time.
In the case of your sentence, would is referring to a past event.
answered Nov 8 at 4:43
Jason Bassford
15k31941
This tense is often called 'future in the past'. It isn't necessary here because a time reference is given, so it can simply be 'past'.
– AmI
Nov 8 at 6:30
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1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
0
down vote
Would is a modal verb that doesn't have a tense per se.
From the Cambridge dictionary:
Modal verbs do not change in form to make different tenses.
All of the modal verbs can refer to present and future time. Only some of them can refer to past time.
In the case of your sentence, would is referring to a past event.
answered Nov 8 at 4:43
Jason Bassford
15k31941
This tense is often called 'future in the past'. It isn't necessary here because a time reference is given, so it can simply be 'past'.
– AmI
Nov 8 at 6:30
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
Would is a modal verb that doesn't have a tense per se.
From the Cambridge dictionary:
Modal verbs do not change in form to make different tenses.
All of the modal verbs can refer to present and future time. Only some of them can refer to past time.
In the case of your sentence, would is referring to a past event.
answered Nov 8 at 4:43
Jason Bassford
15k31941
This tense is often called 'future in the past'. It isn't necessary here because a time reference is given, so it can simply be 'past'.
– AmI
Nov 8 at 6:30
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
Would is a modal verb that doesn't have a tense per se.
From the Cambridge dictionary:
Modal verbs do not change in form to make different tenses.
All of the modal verbs can refer to present and future time. Only some of them can refer to past time.
In the case of your sentence, would is referring to a past event.
answered Nov 8 at 4:43
Jason Bassford
15k31941
Would is a modal verb that doesn't have a tense per se.
From the Cambridge dictionary:
Modal verbs do not change in form to make different tenses.
All of the modal verbs can refer to present and future time. Only some of them can refer to past time.
In the case of your sentence, would is referring to a past event.
answered Nov 8 at 4:43
Jason Bassford
15k31941
answered Nov 8 at 4:43
Jason Bassford
15k31941
answered Nov 8 at 4:43
Jason Bassford
15k31941
answered Nov 8 at 4:43
Jason Bassford
15k31941
15k31941
This tense is often called 'future in the past'. It isn't necessary here because a time reference is given, so it can simply be 'past'.
– AmI
Nov 8 at 6:30
add a comment |
This tense is often called 'future in the past'. It isn't necessary here because a time reference is given, so it can simply be 'past'.
– AmI
Nov 8 at 6:30
This tense is often called 'future in the past'. It isn't necessary here because a time reference is given, so it can simply be 'past'.
– AmI
Nov 8 at 6:30
This tense is often called 'future in the past'. It isn't necessary here because a time reference is given, so it can simply be 'past'.
– AmI
Nov 8 at 6:30
add a comment |
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