Modal Verb WOULD 🎞️ Learn English Grammar Through Movies! 🎦

If you've watched my lesson on

prepositional phrases, like in the end, at the end, and by the end, then you know that I like disaster movies.

But that's not my favorite genre.

I'd have to say that I watch romantic

comedies the most, and I'd probably argue that romantic comedies are best for language practice

because they have a lot of everyday conversation.

In this lesson, I'd like to recommend 10 romantic comedies, and as we count down to my favorite,

we'll review the different uses of the modal verb WOULD.

Would you like that? Then let's start.

Number 10: Music and Lyrics. If you love music from the 1980s,

you'll enjoy this film. It stars Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore.

It's about a British musician who used to be part of a popular rock band, but his career went downhill after the 80s.

Things change for the better after he meets an American woman and together

they write new music and lyrics. There are several original songs in this film.

The film was released in 2007, but some of the songs sound exactly like music from the 1980s.

I would love to download the soundtrack, but I can't find it.

We use I would love to and I would like to as a softer alternative to I want.

I would love to download the soundtrack.

I'd really like to learn to play the songs on the piano.

"Would you like" works well in questions to make polite offers and suggestions.

Would you like to hear about another movie?

We can also express a desire with wish + would.

For example, I wish they would make more movies like this one.

Number 9: When Harry Met Sally. If you'd prefer to see a

relationship develop over time, then this is the movie to watch.

Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan star in this classic.

They make an unlikely couple because they always argue, but as they say, opposites attract.

In the end, Harry and Sally would rather be together loving and arguing than live apart.

We can use would prefer and would rather to politely state alternatives.

Perhaps you'd prefer a different kind of movie.

I'd rather watch a movie with more drama.

Note that would prefer can be followed by a noun or an infinitive.

Would you prefer a Hollywood classic? Would you prefer to watch a Hollywood classic?

We can present an alternative with TO or OVER.

I'd prefer a Hollywood classic to a new release.

I'd prefer a romantic comedy over a horror film.

"Would rather" is followed by the base form of a verb. I'd rather watch a movie with more drama.

We can present an alternative with THAN. I'd rather watch a movie at home than go to a theater.

Number 8: Sleepless in Seattle.

This romantic comedy has one of the best soundtracks. If I had to guess, I would say there were at least a dozen famous songs

used in this movie.

It stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

Yes, again Meg Ryan. If I had to name the queen of romantic comedies,

It would be a toss-up between Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts.

We can use WOULD to speak hypothetically, meaning we're imagining a situation.

In an unreal conditional sentence about the present or future, we use if + the simple past

in the condition, and then would + the base form of a verb in the result.

If you asked me to recommend only one romantic comedy, I would have a hard time deciding.

Number 7: Wimbledon. This is a very entertaining story about a British tennis player who falls in love with

an American tennis player at Wimbledon.

Before I watched the movie, I knew Kirsten Dunst, but I didn't know Paul Bettany.

If no one had told me otherwise, I would have believed that Paul Bettany could play tennis really well.

The filming and special effects make the tennis scenes very believable.

Notice how this time I said, "I would have believed."

This is another unreal situation, but it's about the past.

To express an unreal condition and an imagined result all in the past,

we use if + the past perfect and

then would have + the past participle in the result.

If no one had told me otherwise, I would have believed he could play really well.

Number 6: The Wedding Singer.

This is another film with a really great soundtrack. If you want to hear music from the 1980s,

I'd have to recommend this romantic comedy. The love story that plays out between Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore is

moved along with the help of many famous songs...songs by superstars like Billy Idol and David Bowie.

The use of WOULD, especially in conditional sentences, helps us give advice.

I would recommend this film.

I'd suggest watching romantic comedies.

I'd learn some of the songs if I were you.

Number 5: Jerry Maguire. This is another good movie from the

1990s. It's a drama, it's a romance, and thanks to the supporting cast, it's a comedy.

It's actually not the romance that moves me. It's the growth that Jerry Maguire goes through.

I think this is one of Tom Cruise's best characters.

It's about a guy who used to be motivated by money.

In the past, he would lie and manipulate

people using a lot of charm.

But in the end, he decides he wants to live a more genuine and meaningful life.

We can express past habits with WOULD + a base verb.

The structure is similar to USED TO + a base verb.

He used to lie all the time. He would lie all the time.

The difference is we can only use action verbs with WOULD. We can't use WOULD + a verb that refers to a state.

We could say USED TO BE, but we can't say WOULD BE when we're referring to a past habit.

Also, with WOULD, we use adverbs of frequency for emphasis, as in, he would lie all the time.

He would constantly manipulate people.

He would always try to negotiate to get more money.

He would repeatedly charm his clients.

Number 4: Strictly Ballroom.

This is an Australian film and I've seen it many times. The humor always makes me laugh.

It's about a young man who wants to dance to express himself, not to win competitions.

But his mother would rather he danced by the rules in order to win trophies.

In the past, she lied to him so that he would dance the way she wanted. In the end, he wouldn't listen to her anymore.

Did you notice another pattern with WOULD RATHER?

When you're talking about what you want someone else to do in the present, you can use WOULD RATHER

+ the simple past.

I'd rather you didn't do that.

His mother would rather he danced by the rules.

You also heard me use SO THAT

+ WOULD + a base verb to express a reason why something was done in the past.

She lied to him so that he would dance the way she wanted.

In other words, she wanted him to dance a certain way. That's why she lied to him.

We can use the negative would not or wouldn't + a base verb to state that something didn't happen

despite someone's efforts or expectations.

The end he wouldn't listen to her anymore

In other words, she couldn't make him listen. He refused to listen.

Number 3: While You Were Sleeping.

Talk about lies. This whole story is based on one.

Basically, a nice woman gets mixed up in an unfortunate situation and a whole family believes

She's the fiance of a man in a coma, but to this man, she's a complete stranger.

Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman star in this romantic comedy.

Sandra Bullock's character wants to tell the truth, but she would hate to upset the family that's so happy to meet her and welcome her.

You would think that the family could figure out the truth, but they don't.

Just like we could use "would love to" and "would like to" to express a want, we could use "would hate to"

to express a desire to avoid something.

"She would hate to upset them" is the same as "she wouldn't want to upset them."

We could use "would think" to express an idea or an opinion that were a little uncertain about.

You would think that the family could figure out the truth, but they don't.

Other verbs besides "think" compared with WOULD to express some

uncertainty or to express an opinion in a less direct,

less forceful way.

I would imagine that it's hard to pretend that, you know, someone really well when you actually don't.

I would say that not all lies are bad, but most lies hurt people in the end.

Number 2: The Cutting Edge.

I love this film because the story is about modifying your dreams and defining success on your own terms.

A hockey player had no idea that one day he would have a career in figure skating.

A figure skater never thought she would find the perfect partner on the ice or in life.

This is another story of "opposites attract" and it's really sweet.

To talk about the future in a past context,

we use WOULD + the base form of a verb.

In the movie, the hockey player had no idea that one day he would have a career in figure skating.

And the figure skater never thought she would find the perfect partner.

You see this pattern in reported speech. I say, "I'll tell you the number one movie on my list."

You can report my words and say:

Jennifer said she would tell us the number one movie on her list.

Future in the past. Get it?

Number 1: Notting Hill. Many of you have probably seen this film. It stars Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.

What would you sacrifice for love? That's a very real question in this movie.

Would a Hollywood star give up her fame?

Would a shy, quiet bookshop owner step into the glamorous but crazy world of movie stars?

This movie has one of the best endings. I wouldn't dream of spoiling it if you haven't seen the movie yet.

As I said, we could use WOULD + a base verb to speak hypothetically.

But these imaginary situations don't have to be part of a conditional sentence.

They would make a good couple.

It would be so sweet, wouldn't it?

We can also use WOULD NOT + a base verb to express a refusal or unwillingness.

I wouldn't dream of spoiling it.

I wouldn't spoil it for you. In other words, I refuse to spoil it for you.

Jennifer wouldn't tell us the ending because she didn't want to spoil it.

In other words, she refused to tell us. She wasn't willing to tell us.

Do you have a favorite romantic comedy that's not on my list?

Believe me, I'd love to add more, but I just don't have the time right now. Feel free to post your suggestions in the comments.

I'll end with one more use of WOULD.

Hypothetical statements are a polite way to express our openness or willingness to do something.

I'd be happy to share more movie recommendations.

I'd be delighted to help.

It would be my pleasure to teach more grammar.

I hope you found this lesson useful.

Please remember to like this video and share it with others who would like to study grammar through movies.

As always, thanks for watching and happy studies!

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