Are these sentence grammatically correct?
Is there a time that would work better for you?
Let me know if there is a time that would work better for you.
Should these sentence use will instead?
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2 Answers
Would is softer, you're offering up the possibility of a more convenient time, if the person would like that. You're suggesting the idea, really! It sounds more polite to many people.
Will is more direct, similar to is there a time that works better for you - in a way, you're asking "do we need to change this time?" and that might make some people feel uncomfortable, like they don't want to cause trouble.
So either of them works, it's just that would can be more polite.
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Thanks for your response. I have always struggled with using modal verbs with the correct tenses in conditional sentences. When we are using would/could in a conditional or polite manner, we pair these modal verbs with "was/were" which confuses me as the sentences are referring to something that has not yet happened. But sometimes it's also correct to use present tense verbs with these modal verbs.– StudentCommented Jan 4, 2021 at 11:30
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1If you're just being polite, you use would + infinitive to add a little "distance" - I would like, would this be better? etc. When it comes to conditionals, we use the past tense to give things more of an "unreal" flavour, to imply something is unlikely (or didn't happen, but we're imagining it did). If I win the lottery and if I won the lottery both mean the same thing really, but if I win sounds much more like it could happen, that the person is going to buy a ticket, whereas if I won sounds more like a daydream. There's a lot to learn but it's all just speaking style Commented Jan 4, 2021 at 13:57
I would say: What time do you think is convenient for you?
