虚拟式中的 would/might/could/should
（1）If you wrote to him, he would answer.
(2) If you wrote to him, he might answer.
(3) If we had enough money, we could buy a computer.
(4) If there were an accident, we should have to report it.
在主句的虚拟语气中使用 would, might, could 和 should 有什么区别?
中国学生在学习英语虚拟语气时有一个误区:认为 would 是“也许”“可能”的意思。其实,would 在这里是表示“肯定”意思的:说话人认为,如果 if 从句所表达的虚拟条件实现的话,则主句所表达的结果必定会实现。而 might 仅仅表示“可能”,could 表示“能力”或“可能”。should 在英国英语中用于第一人称,而在美国英语中第一人称也用 would。should 用于其他人称时,有时候表示“应当”的意思。
-
If you tried again you would succeed. (certain result) 要是你再试一试的话,你一定会成功的。(肯定的结果)
-
If you tried again you might succeed. (possible result) 要是你再试一试的话,你是有可能成功的。
-
If I knew his address, I could write to him. (ability) 要是我知道他的地址的话,我就能给他写信了。
-
I should not have laughed if I had thought you were serious. 如果我认为你是认真的话，我就不会笑了。