说明
it is natural that he should/would
核心问题
下面是《英语正误详解》(复旦大学出版社, p. 623)关于 should 和 would 用法的正误分析：
“[误]It is better that you would arrive in three hours.
[正]It is better that you should arrive in three hours.
[译文]你最好能在三小时后到达。
[解释]在某些以 it is + 形容词 + that 引导的句子中,用 should + 动词原形表示感情色彩,如忧虑、惊讶、高兴、奇怪等。在这样的句型中,只能用 should,不能用 would:It was natural that he should feel hurt.(他感受到伤害是很自然的。)”
请问上句中的 would 果真是错误的吗?
词典解答
上面的解释对于英国英语来说,是完全正确的。但是,该书作者忽略了一点:在美国英语中,在这种情况下常常使用 would。请看下面的例证:
It was natural that they would want him to go to a good school. (PEU) （英国英语：… that they should …）很自然，他们想让他进一所好的学校。