What's the difference between "could" and "would"?
"My daily activities included going to the gym for a workout before going to work. Every morning I would see my friend Nicholas at the gym. He was seventy-nine and in terrific shape."
Can "would" in the second sentence be replaced by "could"?

Thanks for attention.

Question

What's the difference between "could" and "would"? 
"My daily activities included going to the gym for a workout before going to work. Every morning I would see my friend Nicholas at the gym. He was seventy-nine and in terrific shape."
Can "would" in the second sentence be replaced by "could"?

Thanks for attention.

Answer

Although both choices yield grammatical results, what is being emphasized in your sentence is NOT your ABILITY to see your friend Nicholas, BUT THE ABSOLUTE REGULARITY of his presence at the gym every morning. It is not a question of "possibility" (of seeing Nicholas at the gym), either, because your explicit intention is to declare that he is there every morning, so that "possibility" is 100% = 1: certainty, and if something is certain, you do not use the modal "could", which, on the contrary, implies uncertainty. That is what makes "would" much more adequate than "could" in this context.

Answer

I would say "yes" to that question. Either way sounds o.k. On the other hand, the word "could" may imply that it's a possibility, whereas the word "would" is definite. In other words, you're saying that every morning that you "are" seeing your friend. Therefore, the word "would" is more accurate. I hope I've helped you.

Answer

"could"means "would be able to"   在这个句子中没有“be able to”的含义，因此would 更为贴切

Answers · 3

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