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I came across the following sentence ”the downsides to this type of job WOULD be numerous.” Would it be incorrect if I said: ”The downsides to this type of job ARE numerous.” What’s the meaning of the auxiliary verb ”would” in the first sentence? Thanks, Emilia

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"Would be" indicates a conditional state or hypothetical situation. It suggests that the first half of the sentence is something like "If you had this job, the downsides would be numerous."

Your version is grammatically correct, but indicates a more concrete condition. You are describing something as it is. You might be talking about your current job to someone who just got the same job, or analyzing the working conditions in an industry, for example.

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"The downsides to this type of job ARE numerous."

This is fine as 'are' agrees with the plural subject 'downsides'.

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