4. Paco said he would call Sonia

Reading activity

Paco is now on the ferry. He likes this type of transport because he feels safe and he does not have to be sitting all the time. He can walk, he can go up on deck and feel the fresh air from the sea. If the journey to other countries wasn't so long, he would always travel by boat.

When they were younger, they would go to the beach every summer

By hakahonu, C. Commons

Paco is thinking about his sister Sonia. He said he would call her when he arrived in Dublin. If she was here, she would enjoy this journey as much as him or even more. She would like to travel abroad and she would love to speak English all the time! When they were younger, they would go to the beach in Cádiz every summer and she would stare at foreigners speaking English. She's been keen on languages since then.

Paco is absent-minded when he realises an old lady is talking to him: 'Would you read this for me, please? I can't see without my glasses.'

Identify all the examples with 'would' that you can find in the text.

Self-Assessment activity

Read the text again and decide if the following statements are true or false:

1. Paco prefers to be sitting on the ferry.

By 96dpi, C. Commons

Verdadero Falso

2. Paco has already phoned Sonia.

Verdadero Falso

3. Sonia likes languages very much.

Verdadero Falso

4. A woman asks Paco for help.

Verdadero Falso

Solved exercise

Match these examples with 'would' with their appropriate uses.

Expressing preferences.
Polite requests.
Conditional sentences.
Past of 'will'.
Repetition in the past.

EXAMPLES	USES
If she was here, she would enjoy this journey.
She would love to speak English.
They would go to the beach in Cádiz every summer.
Would you read this for me, please?
He said he would call her.

Important

Remember that, in spoken English, we use contractions as often as possible. Therefore, 'would' is shortened in English as 'd.

Examples:

If she was here, she'd enjoy this journey.
She'd love to speak English.
They'd go to the beach every summer.
He said he'd call her later.

AV - Reflexión

You have just seen the different uses 'would' can have. According to these rules, what kind of uses do these other examples from the text follow?

If the journey to other countries wasn't so long, he would always travel by boat.

She would like to travel abroad.

She would stare at foreigners speaking English.

Further knowledge

If you want to learn more about 'would' or if you want to see more examples, there are good websites like this one.

In the next section, we are going to have a look at one of these uses with 'would', that is, the second type of conditional sentences. Let's go! It's the last section!

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